You may drive off of the paved roadway to pass another vehicle:
- If the shoulder is wide enough to accommodate your vehicle.
- If the vehicle ahead of you is turning left.
- Under no circumstances. ✓
Answer: C. Under no circumstances.
You may not drive off of the paved roadway to pass another vehicle under any circumstances.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says you may pass on the right when the driver ahead is turning left and you can do it safely, but that permission does not let you leave the paved or main-traveled road. The same passage states plainly that you must never drive off the paved or main-traveled part of the road to pass. A wide shoulder does not change that rule. The bank answer matches this: passing off the roadway is not allowed.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. If the shoulder is wide enough to accommodate your vehicle. — A shoulder being wide enough does not make it legal; the handbook's rule against leaving the paved or main-traveled part to pass has no width exception.
- B. If the vehicle ahead of you is turning left. — The driver ahead turning left can allow a safe pass on the right, but it still does not permit you to drive off the paved or main-traveled roadway.
Remember it
Remember the rule as: pass on pavement, not on the shoulder.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 6: Navigating the Roads, p. 25