A 4-minute lesson from the Vermont course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Drivers must watch carefully for pedestrians. Crashes happen both when pedestrians enter traffic carelessly and when drivers fail to yield or don't use caution. Either way, the law expects you to yield, even to someone crossing carelessly.
Know the rule
Be especially alert for young, elderly, disabled or intoxicated pedestrians. They are the most frequent victims in vehicle-pedestrian collisions.
Many signals have "No Turn On Red" signs that light up during pedestrian crossing times. Don't turn right on red while they're lit, and never turn right on a red arrow.
State law sign: Yield to pedestrians within crosswalk
Know the rule
School zones often have lower speed limits marked "when flashing" or "when children are present." Watch for school buses arriving and leaving, and remember children are at schools after hours and on weekends too.
You're in the right lane of a four-lane street. The car in the left lane stops at a crosswalk. You can't see why, but you must not pass it, because a pedestrian may be stepping out in front of it. Stop too.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
A vehicle ahead of you has stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk on a two-lane road. What should you do?
Pass carefully in the open lane
Wave the pedestrian across first, then pass
Pass only if the pedestrian has cleared halfway
Not pass the stopped vehicle
Answer: Not pass the stopped vehicle
Never pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian, even with two lanes available; it's a frequent cause of pedestrian deaths.
