Passing — Illinois Permit Test

A driver passing on a two-lane highway must have the left lane clearly visible and free of oncoming traffic for a distance great enough to pass.

A pass on a two-lane road is a deliberate drive into the oncoming lane. The only thing that makes it safe is being able to see that nothing is there.

On a two-lane highway, the left lane should be clearly visible and free of oncoming traffic for a distance great enough to permit passing.

A driver must not turn back into the right-hand lane until the whole vehicle just passed is visible in the rearview mirror.

Cutting back in early puts your rear wheels beside their front bumper. The mirror is the test because it shows the gap rather than guessing at it.

Do not turn back into the right-hand lane until the entire vehicle you just passed is visible in the rearview mirror.

A driver must return to their own lane before getting within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle.

Two cars closing head-on cover ground faster than either of them is moving. Two hundred feet is about two seconds at highway speed.

You must return to your lane before getting within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle.

A driver passing a pedestrian walking on the road or the shoulder must leave at least 3 feet between the vehicle and the pedestrian.

A car passing close enough to touch is a car that will if anything goes wrong. Three feet is the margin Illinois puts round a person on foot.

When passing a pedestrian who is walking on the road or shoulder of the roadway, keep a minimum of 3 feet between your vehicle and the pedestrian.

A driver passing a bicyclist on any road, including on the shoulder or in a dedicated bike lane, must keep at least 3 feet from the bicyclist.

A bicycle wobbles, and the air a passing car pushes makes it wobble more. Three feet is the gap that leaves room for that.

When passing a bicyclist on any road, including a bicyclist on the road shoulder or in a dedicated bicycle lane, keep a minimum distance of 3 feet from the bicyclist.

It is against the law to flash turn signals as a courtesy or do pass signal to another driver.

Waving somebody past means taking responsibility for a gap you cannot see. Illinois puts the decision back on the driver doing the passing.

It is against the law to flash turn signals as a courtesy or “do pass” signal to other drivers.

A driver may not drive off the pavement or the main traveled part of the road to pass another vehicle on the right or the left.

The shoulder is for breakdowns and for people walking, not a spare lane. Using it to pass is where it stops being either.

Driving off the pavement or main traveled part of the road is not allowed when passing another vehicle on the right or the left.

A driver may pass on the right on a one-way street, or on a roadway with two or more clear lanes in each direction.

Passing on the right is only safe where a lane is meant to be there. On those roads it is ordinary lane use rather than a pass.

On a one-way street or on a roadway with two or more clear lanes in each direction.

A driver may pass on the right on a two-lane roadway where there is enough room and the vehicle being passed is making or about to make a left turn.

A car waiting to turn left is stopped in a lane nobody else needs. Passing it on the right is allowed because the room is real, not imagined.

When you have enough room on a two-lane roadway, and when the vehicle you are passing is making or is about to make a left turn.

The driver of a vehicle being passed must not increase speed until the passing maneuver is complete.

Speeding up while somebody is alongside leaves them nowhere to go. The rule puts a duty on the driver being passed as well.

The driver of the vehicle you are passing must not increase speed until you have completed your maneuver.

What must an Illinois driver have before passing on a two-lane highway?

A clear view of the left lane with no oncoming traffic. A pass on a two-lane road is a deliberate drive into the oncoming lane. The only thing that makes it safe is being able to see that nothing is there. Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.28: “On a two-lane highway, the left lane should be clearly visible and free of oncoming traffic for a distance great enough to permit passing.”