Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Passing

You are passing another vehicle on the right on a Texas road. According to the manual, what limit does this rule have?

  1. A.
    You may not exceed the posted speed limit.
  2. B.
    You may not drive off the paved portion of the highway. Correct
  3. C.
    You may pass only in a designated shoulder lane.
  4. D.
    You may pass only on divided highways.
The Why

The answer is "You may not drive off the paved portion of the highway."

Texas allows a right-side pass in narrow conditions, but the manual bars you from driving off the paved portion of the highway to do it. Drivers who reach for a speed-limit qualifier are borrowing the "keep to the speed limit while passing" habit from general passing advice; the manual singles out the pavement itself, not your speed, as the limit.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. You may not exceed the posted speed limit.

The passing rule turns on where you drive, not on how fast. This answer borrows the 'obey the speed limit while passing' habit from general passing advice and treats it as the Texas limit, where the manual instead ties this limit to leaving the pavement.

C. You may pass only in a designated shoulder lane.

Texas doesn't require a designated shoulder lane; the manual allows shoulder passing when the vehicle ahead is slowing, stopped, disabled, or preparing to turn left, and the actual limit is staying on the paved portion. This answer applies the rule of thumb that shoulders are only for slow vehicles or right turns, missing that Texas treats a paved shoulder as a valid passing surface under the specific vehicle-ahead conditions the manual lists.

D. You may pass only on divided highways.

The manual sets no divided-highway condition on right-side passing. This answer carries over a divided-highway restriction from other states' right-side passing statutes, where Texas instead sets the pavement limit alongside the specific traffic conditions the manual lists.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 6: Signaling, Passing, and Turning (Passing on the Right)," p.39..

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