After you pass another vehicle on a two-lane road, when should you move back into your lane?
-
A.
As soon as your rear bumper passes the other vehicle
-
B.
When both its headlights appear in your rearview mirror Correct
-
C.
Right after signaling your intention to move back
-
D.
When the passed vehicle flashes its high beams
The answer is "When both its headlights appear in your rearview mirror"
The manual tells you to wait until you can see both headlights of the passed vehicle in your rearview mirror before moving back over; a rear-bumper feel or a courtesy flash from the other driver is not enough. The rear-bumper cue in A comes from an everyday lane-change habit of gauging clearance by your own bumper rather than by the passed vehicle's headlights in the mirror.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. As soon as your rear bumper passes the other vehicle
The bumper cue leaves the passed vehicle without a safe gap and risks cutting the other driver off before you have real clearance. This answer substitutes the everyday habit of gauging clearance by your own rear bumper for the manual's requirement to see both of the passed vehicle's headlights in your rearview mirror.
C. Right after signaling your intention to move back
Signaling does not create the space you need to move back. The manual's step 6 is a separate mirror check that must clear after you signal your return. This answer comes from equating the return signal with permission to merge, a shortcut for drivers used to signaling once and moving over without a separate visual check.
D. When the passed vehicle flashes its high beams
The manual does not treat a courtesy flash from the other driver as the cue to merge back. It puts the check on you to see both headlights in your rearview mirror first. This answer borrows the trucker convention of a headlight flash meaning 'you're clear to return,' which Pennsylvania's manual does not adopt.
This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Passing," p.47..
Related Pennsylvania questions
- Unless an official traffic control device says you may, you may not pass within how many feet of an intersection or railroad grade crossing? →
- When passing a bicyclist on the roadway, what minimum clearance must you allow? →
- About how much faster than the vehicle you are passing should you be traveling? →
- At highway speeds, up to how long can it take to safely pass a truck? →
- A road has a combination centerline with a solid yellow line and a broken yellow line. The broken line is on your side. What are you allowed to do? →
You just took one Pennsylvania question apart. The book does it for the whole test.
The Pennsylvania book unlocks a free companion: an adaptive study plan, progress synced across your devices, a denser laminate cheat sheet, and a test-day walkthrough. Verify your copy once, usually in seconds; there's nothing extra to buy.
$18.99 paperback, free companion included.