A motorist approaching a bicyclist should:
- Speed up to pass them.
- Proceed as usual.
- Swerve into the opposite lane.
- Exercise extreme caution. ✓
Answer: D. Exercise extreme caution.
A motorist approaching a bicyclist should exercise extreme caution.
Why this is the answer
The handbook groups bicyclists with other vulnerable road users and says drivers must do everything possible to respect their safety. It puts the responsibility on you to exercise due care by being aware, alert and driving defensively, watching for these road users along the roadside, in bike lanes, at intersections and at crosswalks. Passing a bicyclist is therefore not a routine maneuver to rush through; the safe approach is to slow your thinking down and give the rider your full attention, which is what exercising extreme caution means here.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Speed up to pass them. — Speeding up to get past a bicyclist is the opposite of the alert, defensive driving the handbook asks for around vulnerable road users.
- B. Proceed as usual. — Proceeding as usual ignores the handbook's point that drivers must actively watch for bicyclists and adjust, not just drive on unchanged.
- C. Swerve into the opposite lane. — Swerving into the opposite lane is not a careful or defensive response, and the handbook says nothing that supports moving into oncoming traffic.
Remember it
Treat a bicyclist like a pedestrian on wheels: ease off, look hard, and give them room before you do anything else.