1993 GMC Safari Owner's Manual - Page 177

Passing The driver of a vehicle about to passanotheronatwo-lanehighwaywaits forjusttherightmoment,accelerates,movesaroundthevehicleahead,then goesback into the rightlaneagain. A simplemaneuver? Not necessarily!Passinganothervehicleonatwo-lanehighway is a potentiallydangerousmove,sincethepassingvehicleoccupiesthesamelane A miscalculation,anerrorin asoncoming trafficforseveralseconds. judgment,orabriefsurrender to frustration orangercansuddenlyputthe passingdriverface to facewiththeworst of all traffic accidents-thehead-on collision. So herearesometipsforpassing: "Driveahead."Lookdown the road, to thesides,and to crossroadsfor situationsthatmightaffectyourpassingpatterns. Ifyouhaveanydoubt whatsoeveraboutmaking a successfulpass,waitforabettertime. Watch fortrafficsigns,pavementmarkings,andlines. If youcanseea sign upaheadthatmightindicateaturn oran intersection,delayyour pass.Abrokencenterlineusuallyindicatesit'sallright to pass (providingtheroadaheadisclear).Nevercrossasolidlineonyourside if theroadseemsempty of of the lane oradoublesolidline,even approachingtraffic. If yoususpectthatthedriver of the vehicle you wanttopassisn'taware ofyour presence,tapthehornacouple oftimes before passing. Do notgettooclose to the vehicle you want to passwhileyou're awaitinganopportunity.Foronething,followingtoocloselyreducesyour Also, you area of vision,especially if you'refollowingalargervehicle. if thevehicleaheadsuddenlyslowsorstops. won'thaveadequatespace Keepbackareasonabledistance. When it lookslikeachance to pass is comingup,start to accelerate butstay in therightlaneanddon'tgettooclose. Timeyourmove so youwillbeincreasingspeedasthetimecomes to moveintotheother lane. If the wayis clear to pass,youwillhavea"runningstart"that morethanmakesupforthedistanceyouwouldlosebydroppingback. And if somethinghappens to causeyoutocancelyourpass,youneed only slow downanddropbackagainandwaitforanotheropportunity. If othercarsarelineduptopassaslowvehicle,waityourturn.But takecarethatsomeoneisn'ttrying to passyouasyoupullouttopass theslowvehicle.Remember to glanceoveryourshoulderandcheckthe blindspot. 4-2 1