Washington driving lesson · Lane Markings and Special Zones
Crosswalks, bike lanes, and other markings
A 3-minute lesson from the Washington course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Paint on the road also protects people outside cars. Crosswalks, bike lanes, sharrows, and bicycle boxes all tell you where walkers and riders will be and what you must do around them. Other markings show where to stop and where you can never drive or park.
Know the rule
You must yield to people in or about to enter a crosswalk. Stay alert for pedestrians and bicyclists whenever you cross an intersection or turn.
A buffer of two solid white lines with diagonal crosshatching is part of the bike lane. Don't enter it unless you're making a legal turn after checking that it's safe.
Fire lanes are usually marked with red stripes or a red curb. Don't park or stop in them. Some communities mark the road in front of a fire station as a fire lane.
You're first at a red light with a green bicycle box ahead and want to turn right. You can't turn on red here. Wait behind the white line; when the light turns green, let the bicyclists in the box go first, then turn.
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.
You see sharrow markings in a lane ahead. What should you do?
Drive slowly and give at least 3 feet of space to bicyclists
Pass cyclists within the same lane
Treat it as a bike-only lane
Ignore it if no cyclist is visible
Answer: Drive slowly and give at least 3 feet of space to bicyclists
Sharrow markings mean the lane is shared with bicycle traffic; drive slowly and leave 3 feet of space.
