Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Passing

Another driver on a Texas road is passing you on the left. According to the manual, what should you do about your speed?

  1. A.
    Do not increase your speed. Correct
  2. B.
    Match the passing car's new speed.
  3. C.
    Speed up so the pass ends sooner.
  4. D.
    Brake hard until the other car finishes.
The Why

The answer is "Do not increase your speed."

The manual's first instruction when another vehicle is passing you is to hold your speed steady, stay in your lane, and if the lanes are unmarked, ease over to the right. The impatient reflex to close the gap is what makes C tempting, and it is the exact move the manual is telling you not to make.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Match the passing car's new speed.

The manual asks you to keep the speed you already had, not to sync it with the passer. This answer reads matching as courtesy, when the manual instead asks the driver being passed to hold the pace they were at.

C. Speed up so the pass ends sooner.

Adding speed while another car is beside you drags out the pass and pushes it into the return zone. This answer falls back on an impatient reflex to close the gap, which is the reflex the manual names as the wrong move.

D. Brake hard until the other car finishes.

Sharp braking startles the driver behind and is not what the manual asks; you are told to hold your speed. This answer overshoots a steady-speed rule into a defensive slowdown drawn from emergency-braking drills.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 6: Signaling, Passing, and Turning (When Another Vehicle is Passing)," p.39..

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