Sharing the road
You want to get past a large truck on the freeway. What does the handbook tell you to do?
- Pass it on the left, then move ahead of it instead of staying alongside. Correct answer
- Pass on whichever side is open, then stay beside it so the driver knows where you are.
- Pass it on the right, then cut back in front of it to reach your exit.
Why
Large trucks are passed on the left, every time, and once you are by, you keep going until you are ahead of the truck. Lingering next to one makes it hard for its driver to steer around a danger in the road. Each wrong answer bundles a mistake the handbook names. Staying beside the truck is one. Changing lanes right in front of it to make an exit or a turn is another, and it is risky because large vehicles take longer to stop than cars at the same speed. A quick check while you are around trucks: if you cannot see the truck's side mirrors, its driver cannot see you.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Pass it on the left, then move ahead of it instead of staying alongside.
The rule behind this one
Sharing the road in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on sharing the road
- Raised buttons mark off a space on the road where people wait to board a streetcar. When may you drive through that space?
- You are waiting to turn left across light rail tracks. Which of these is correct?
- You come up behind a road maintenance vehicle with an orange and red triangle on its back. What does the triangle tell you?
- You ride a bicycle after dark. From how far away must your rear red reflector or red light be visible?