When passing an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road, drivers should:
- Increase their speed.
- Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle or slow down. ✓
- Ask the emergency worker if they need help.
- Move to the lane closest to the stationary vehicle.
Answer: B. Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle or slow down.
Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle or slow down when passing it.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook says that when you approach a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights on, and an officer has not directed you otherwise, you must clear the lane nearest that vehicle if the road has two or more lanes going your way, or reduce your speed. It gives specific slower speeds based on the posted limit. Another chapter repeats the same choice: move out of the closest lane when multiple lanes run in the same direction, or reduce speed. That is why clearing the lane or slowing down fits the rule.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Increase their speed. — Increasing speed does not meet the handbook rule, which calls for clearing the nearest lane or reducing your speed.
- C. Ask the emergency worker if they need help. — Asking the emergency worker if they need help is not part of the passing rule and does not describe the required lane or speed action.
- D. Move to the lane closest to the stationary vehicle. — Moving into the lane closest to the stationary vehicle is the opposite of the handbook instruction to vacate that lane when possible.
Remember it
Think clear the near lane or ease off the gas, never crowd the stopped emergency vehicle.