Passing another vehicle — Minnesota Permit Test

Passing another vehicle on the Minnesota permit test — 7 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

On two-lane roads where passing is allowed you may pass on the left of vehicles ahead of you.

Passing on the left puts you where an oncoming driver can see you soonest.

On two-lane roads where passing is allowed and traffic moves in both directions, you may pass on the left side of vehicles ahead of you.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

Use your left turn signal before moving into the left lane to pass, and your right signal before returning.

Two signals, because a pass is two lane changes with an oncoming lane in between.

Use your left turn signal before moving into the left lane to pass. Use your right turn signal after passing and before returning to the right lane.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

Return to the right lane when you can see the whole vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror.

The mirror is the one view that tells you the car is really behind you and not beside your rear wheel.

Return to the right lane when you can see the entire vehicle you have just passed in your rearview mirror.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

You must return to the right side of the road before coming within 100 feet of an oncoming vehicle.

A hundred feet at closing speed is about a second. That is the margin the rule leaves.

You must return to the right side of the road before coming within 100 feet of an oncoming vehicle.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

Do not exceed the speed limit to complete a pass.

The pass is not an emergency. If it takes speeding to finish, it should not have been started.

Do not exceed the speed limit to complete a pass.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

Be extra cautious passing at night, when visibility is poor and when the road is slippery.

All three take away the margin a pass depends on: seeing far enough, and stopping if it goes wrong.

Be extra cautious when passing at night, when visibility is poor and when the road is slippery.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

Before passing, make sure there is a safe distance between your vehicle and oncoming traffic.

The gap has to cover the whole pass, not the moment you decide to start it.

Ensure there is a safe distance between your vehicle and oncoming traffic.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34

On the test

Which side do you pass on along a two-way road?

The left. Passing on the left puts you where an oncoming driver can see you soonest. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.34: “On two-lane roads where passing is allowed and traffic moves in both directions, you may pass on the left side of vehicles ahead of you.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Minnesota Driver’s Manual, published by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-22.