When faced with an oncoming car to the left and a bicyclist to the right, you should:
- Pull onto the shoulder.
- Split the difference.
- Let the car pass and then pass the bike. ✓
- Pass the bike quickly.
Answer: C. Let the car pass and then pass the bike.
Let the car pass first, then pass the bicyclist when it is safe.
Why this is the answer
The correct move is to wait for the oncoming car to clear, then pass the bicyclist when there is room. The handbook says you pass a bicyclist on a two-lane road as you would a slow-moving vehicle, and only when it is safe. It also says to yield to bicycles as you would to other vehicles and to give at least three feet of clearance while using caution and slow speed. With a car coming from the other direction, there is no safe gap to squeeze through, so waiting is the supported choice.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Pull onto the shoulder. — Pulling onto the shoulder is not what the handbook describes; it says to pass a bicyclist only when it is safe, not to leave the roadway.
- B. Split the difference. — Splitting the difference would put you between an oncoming car and a bicyclist without the safe passing gap and clearance the handbook requires.
- D. Pass the bike quickly. — Passing the bike quickly conflicts with the handbook's direction to use caution and slow speed and to pass only when safe.
Remember it
If another vehicle is coming, wait for your opening; passing a bike is a when-safe move, not a squeeze-by move.