Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Passing

You are moving into the passing lane on a Texas two-lane road. According to the manual, what should you do to warn the driver ahead?

  1. A.
    Tap your horn when necessary. Correct
  2. B.
    Flash your high beams three times.
  3. C.
    Wait for eye contact in the driver's mirror.
  4. D.
    Signal with your left arm out the window.
The Why

The answer is "Tap your horn when necessary."

The manual's basic passing rules include a horn tap so the driver ahead is not caught off guard. Answer B pulls the headlight flash out of the truck-passing section and applies it to a general two-lane pass, where the horn is what the rule actually names.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Flash your high beams three times.

A headlight flash belongs to the truck-passing section, not the general basic passing rules. This answer applies the truck-passing headlight-flash from the night-driving rule to the general two-lane pass.

C. Wait for eye contact in the driver's mirror.

The manual does not turn the alert on eye contact; it names the horn. This answer substitutes a merging courtesy (the eye-contact wave) for the audible alert the manual writes into the rule.

D. Signal with your left arm out the window.

A left-arm hand signal can communicate a lane change: the manual lists hand and arm signals alongside turn signal lights. But the passing rule specifically names tapping the horn to alert the driver ahead. This answer comes from a driver whose signaling reflex is the arm out the window, learned first in bicycle safety or picked up as the manual's fallback for a broken turn-signal light.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Passing in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 6: Signaling, Passing, and Turning (Basic Safety Rules When You Are Passing)," p.38..

More from this topic

Related Texas questions

More than a book

You just took one Texas question apart. The book does it for the whole test.

The Texas 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.

Get the book on Amazon

$18.99 paperback, free companion included.

Free study plan

Your free Texas study plan

A short run of study emails for the Texas DPS test: what to drill, the rules people trip on, and a final pre-test checklist. The printable cheat sheet is free to grab either way.

One email a few times a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. Privacy.