1993 GMC Sonoma Owner's Manual - Page 175

So herearesometipsforpassing: "Driveahead."Lookdowntheroad, to thesides,and to crossroadsfor situationsthatmightaffectyourpassingpatterns. If youhaveanydoubt whatsoeveraboutmakingasuccessfulpass,waitforabettertime. Watchfortrafficsigns, pavement markings, and lines.Ifyou can seea signupaheadthatmightindicatea turn or an intersection,delayyour pass. A brokencenterlineusuallyindicatesit'sallrighttopass (providingtheroad ahead isclear).Nevercrossasolidlineonyourside of thelaneoradoublesolidline,even if theroadseemsempty of approachingtraffic. If yoususpectthatthedriver ofyourpresence,tapthehorn of the vehicle you want to pass isn't aware a couple of timesbeforepassing. Do notget too close to thevehicleyouwanttopasswhileyou're awaitinganopportunity.For one thing,followingtoocloselyreducesyour area of vision,especially if you'refollowingalargervehicle. Also, you won'thaveadequatespace if thevehicle ahead suddenlyslowsorstops. Keep backareasonabledistance. to passiscomingup,start to accelerate When it lookslikeachance butstay in therightlaneanddon'tget too close.Timeyourmove so youwillbeincreasingspeedasthetimecomes to moveintotheother lane. If thewayisclear to pass,youwillhavea"runningstart"that morethanmakesupforthedistance you wouldlosebydroppingback. And if something happens to causeyou to cancelyourpass,youneed onlyslowdownanddropbackagainandwaitforanotheropportunity. If othercarsarelinedup to passaslowvehicle,waityourturn.But takecarethatsomeoneisn'ttrying to passyouasyoupullouttopass theslowvehicle.Remembertoglanceoveryourshoulderandcheckthe blindspot. Checkyourmirrors,glanceoveryourshoulder,andstartyourleftlane changesignalbeforemovingout of therightlane to pass.Whenyou arefar enough ahead of thepassedvehicle to seeitsfront in your insidemirror,activateyourrightlanechangesignalandmovebackinto therightlane.(Rememberthat if yourrightoutsidemirror is convex,the vehicleyou just passed may seem to befurtherawayfromyouthan it reallyis.) Try not to passmorethanonevehicleatatimeontwo-laneroads. Reconsiderbeforepassingthenextvehicle. 4-2 1