The car behind you begins to pass you. You should:
- Maintain your speed so traffic will flow smoothly.
- Pull to the right and stop so it can pass.
- Slow down slightly and stay in your lane. ✓
- Blow your horn to signal that it to pass.
Answer: C. Slow down slightly and stay in your lane.
Slow down slightly and stay in your lane when the car behind you starts to pass.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's section on being passed says that when another vehicle passes you on the left, you should ease off your speed a little and keep your car centered in its lane. Once that vehicle has cleared you and is ahead, you go back to your normal speed. So the right response is a small speed reduction while holding your lane position, not a stop and not speeding up.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Maintain your speed so traffic will flow smoothly. — Holding your speed is not what the manual asks for when you are being passed; it tells you to decrease your speed slightly instead.
- B. Pull to the right and stop so it can pass. — The manual says to stay centered in your lane, so pulling to the right and stopping is not the described response.
- D. Blow your horn to signal that it to pass. — Nothing in the manual says to sound your horn at a vehicle that is passing you; it only describes easing your speed and holding your lane.
Remember it
Being passed on the left: ease off the gas, hold your spot in the lane, then resume normal speed once they are clear.
Official handbook: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 6: Passing – Being Passed