You are passing a truck on a downgrade on a Texas highway. According to the manual, what may you need to do?
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A.
Slow down because the truck loses speed going downhill.
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B.
Match the truck's downhill speed and stay alongside it.
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C.
Increase your speed because the truck's momentum carries it faster. Correct
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D.
Move onto the shoulder to finish the pass around the truck.
The answer is "Increase your speed because the truck's momentum carries it faster."
A loaded truck picks up speed under its own weight on a downgrade, so completing the pass may take extra throttle from the car. Option A comes from the upgrade rule printed on the very same page (trucks lose speed climbing) and a reader who mixes upgrade and downgrade behavior gets the direction of the correction backwards.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Slow down because the truck loses speed going downhill.
The truck actually gains speed on a downgrade under its own momentum. This answer applies the upgrade behavior (trucks lose speed climbing) to the downgrade, flipping the direction the manual gives.
B. Match the truck's downhill speed and stay alongside it.
The manual wants the pass finished, not the two vehicles held side by side. This answer reads the passing situation as a lane share, ignoring the manual's rule to complete every pass as quickly as possible.
D. Move onto the shoulder to finish the pass around the truck.
The manual does not allow the shoulder as a passing lane on a downgrade. This answer substitutes an unrelated lane-choice move for the throttle adjustment the manual actually asks for.
This question tests your knowledge of Sharing the Road in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Share the Road with Trucks (Passing)," p.51..
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