To safely pass a bicycle, you should:
- Honk at the bicyclist to let them know you're trying to pass.
- Drive in the bicycle lane until you get a chance to pass.
- Slow down and give them as much space as possible. ✓
- Rush ahead to pull in front of the bicyclist.
Answer: C. Slow down and give them as much space as possible.
Slow down and give the bicyclist as much space as possible when you pass.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's sharing-the-road section tells you to give bicyclists room and to reduce your speed as you pass them. It explains why: air pressure from a vehicle moving past quickly can knock a cyclist off balance. The passing section adds that you must give a cyclist enough space and pass on the left at a safe distance until you are clear of the bicycle. Slowing down and leaving room does both of those things at once.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Honk at the bicyclist to let them know you're trying to pass. — Nothing in the handbook tells you to honk at a bicyclist you want to pass; the guidance is to reduce speed and leave room instead.
- B. Drive in the bicycle lane until you get a chance to pass. — The handbook treats the bicycle lane as space for bicyclists to ride in, not as a lane for you to drive in while lining up a pass.
- D. Rush ahead to pull in front of the bicyclist. — Cutting in front of the cyclist works against the handbook's rule to keep passing on the left at a safe distance until the bicycle is cleared.
Remember it
Think room plus slow: ease off the speed first, then go around with a wide gap.