You are in a highway acceleration lane and a slower vehicle is ahead of you in the same lane. What does the manual say?
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A.
Pass on the paved shoulder if the vehicle is under the speed limit.
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B.
Pass only after both vehicles have reached full highway speed.
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C.
Passing that vehicle inside the acceleration lane is illegal. Correct
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D.
Pass whenever the through lane beside you is clearly open.
The answer is "Passing that vehicle inside the acceleration lane is illegal."
The manual states outright that passing a vehicle ahead of you in an acceleration lane is illegal. Drivers who see an open through lane beside them (choice D) miss this, treating the acceleration lane as a normal travel lane instead of a merge-only ramp.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Pass on the paved shoulder if the vehicle is under the speed limit.
Shoulder passing is not a permitted response in an acceleration lane, and a slower vehicle ahead does not create an exception to that prohibition. This answer stretches the narrow berm-or-shoulder allowance for passing a driver signaling a left turn into a general rule for any slow vehicle on a ramp.
B. Pass only after both vehicles have reached full highway speed.
The prohibition on passing inside an acceleration lane does not depend on either vehicle's speed. This answer fixes on the acceleration lane's job of reaching traffic speed and treats that milestone as the point when the passing ban lifts.
D. Pass whenever the through lane beside you is clearly open.
A clear adjacent lane does not authorize passing inside the acceleration lane. This answer imports the general passing checklist step about making sure the passing lane is clear and applies it to a ramp where a stricter rule governs.
This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "MERGING WITH TRAFFIC," p.46..
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