Ohio driving lesson · Passing, Railroads, School Buses & Parking
Passing safely
A 3-minute lesson from the Ohio course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Passing puts you in the path of oncoming traffic, so the rules focus on seeing far enough ahead and getting back into your lane with room to spare. When someone passes you, your job is to make it easy for them.
How to pass:
Check for oncoming traffic
Check mirrors and over your shoulder for vehicles following or passing you
Signal when it is safe to pass
Steer smoothly into the passing lane; maintain or adjust speed
Keep going until both headlights of the passed vehicle show in your rear-view mirror
On a two-lane road with a solid double yellow line, passing is prohibited from both directions. You may cross the center line only to turn left into a driveway or to pass a slow-moving vehicle (like a bicycle or a vehicle with a slow-moving vehicle sign) when safe.
You're behind a slow truck on a two-lane road and the line on your side is broken, but a hill hides the road ahead. Don't pass: a hill blocking your view is on the do-not-pass list, whatever the paint says.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
When passing another vehicle, when should you return to your lane?
As soon as you're alongside the vehicle
Immediately after signaling
After both headlights of the passed vehicle are visible in your rearview mirror
When the passed driver flashes their lights
Answer: After both headlights of the passed vehicle are visible in your rearview mirror
Continue passing until both headlights of the passed vehicle are visible in your rearview mirror before returning to your lane.
