Passing trucks and buses — Tennessee Permit Test

Passing trucks and buses on the Tennessee permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Complete a pass of a truck or bus as quickly as possible; staying alongside puts you in the driver's blind spot.

Beside the cab, the truck driver cannot see you and may move over into your car.

Complete your pass as quickly as possible.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64

If you cannot see the side mirrors of the truck or bus you are following, its driver cannot see you.

If you can't see the mirror, the driver has no way of knowing you are there when he brakes or backs.

An excellent point to remember is that if you cannot see the side mirrors on the truck or bus you are following, then the truck or bus driver CANNOT SEE YOU.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64

Never pull in front of a truck or bus and slow down.

A loaded truck cannot stop like a car. Slowing in front of it takes away its room to stop.

NEVER pull in front of a truck or bus (or any type of vehicle) and slow down.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64

On an upgrade, heavy trucks and buses often lose speed, which makes them easier to pass; on a downgrade, they tend to go faster.

Knowing when a truck slows or speeds up tells you when a pass will be short and when it will drag on.

On an upgrade, these heavier vehicles often lose speed, making it easier to pass.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64

It is illegal to go over the posted speed limit even when passing another vehicle.

A pass that needs you to break the limit is a pass you did not have room for.

Remember, it is illegal to exceed the speed posted speed limit even when passing other vehicles.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64

On the test

Why should you not stay alongside a truck you are passing?

You are in the driver's blind spot. Beside the cab, the truck driver cannot see you and may move over into your car. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.64: “Complete your pass as quickly as possible.”

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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  • Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

All Tennessee permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, published by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-03.