When passing a bicyclist on the roadway, what minimum clearance must you allow?
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A.
4 feet Correct
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B.
6 feet
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C.
2 feet
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D.
3 feet
The answer is "4 feet"
The manual requires at least four feet of clearance between your vehicle and a bicycle when passing, and permits crossing the center double yellow line only if necessary and if you can do it safely to maintain that four feet. Three feet is the clearance many other states use, and the manual gives three feet on the next page as how far bicyclists should ride from parked cars, so test-takers carrying either figure pick D instead of Pennsylvania's four-foot passing clearance.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. 6 feet
Overshoots the manual's minimum; the required clearance is four feet, not six. This answer rounds the four-foot rule up toward a full car width, guessing that more must be safer.
C. 2 feet
Only half the manual's required clearance and not enough space for wobble or wind turbulence. This answer treats an arm's length as enough room, ignoring the four-foot figure the law actually names.
D. 3 feet
A common figure in other jurisdictions, but not the clearance the Pennsylvania manual sets. This answer recalls the three-foot rule used in other states and drops it in for the Pennsylvania standard.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Safe Passing is the Law," p.92..
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