Sharing the Road: Pedestrians, Motorcycles, Bicycles, Scooters and Mopeds, Large Vehicles, Disabled and Slow Vehicles, Snowmobiles and Horses
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Illinois driver's license written exam. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, Illinois Secretary of State, 2025 edition, chapter 5 "Sharing the Road" (pp. 40–47).
Pedestrians
A pedestrian is anyone on foot, on in-line skates or a skateboard, including people with physical, hearing or visual disabilities. Drivers should always be ready to yield and never drive needlessly close. Pedestrians crossing anywhere other than a marked or unmarked crosswalk, including between closely spaced signalized intersections, must yield to drivers, and should use a tunnel or crossing bridge where provided. They may walk on a roadway only when there is no sidewalk or shoulder, as far from the edge as possible, facing oncoming traffic on a two-way road, and on the shoulder where there is one; never while impaired. A pedestrian with a disability using a guide dog, white cane, wheelchair or other device has the right-of-way and every pedestrian right. Joggers use paths where provided, wide roads with shoulders otherwise, face traffic, and wear reflective clothing at night. Pedestrians must obey railroad and bridge gates; hitchhiking from the roadway and soliciting money or business beside a highway are prohibited; adults 18 and older may skate on roads posted 45 mph or less from sunrise to sunset without impeding traffic. Around children, watch for school zone, bus stop, playground and park signs, slow in residential and school areas, and be extremely careful backing into or out of a driveway.
Motorcycles
Riders have the same rights and duties as everyone else, and drivers' failure to see them is the most common cause of motorcycle crashes; they are small, their speed is underestimated, and they are on the road in every season. More than 50 percent of motorcycle crashes happen at intersections, most often when an oncoming car turns left in front of the motorcycle; watch for them before turning and be sure of the rider's intent before a left turn. A motorcyclist stuck at a red light that fails to change within 120 seconds may proceed after yielding. Never share a lane with a motorcycle; it is entitled to the whole lane. When one passes you, hold your lane and speed. Follow at three to four seconds, since motorcycles can stop faster than cars on dry pavement; dim your headlights behind any vehicle. Riders react to wet or icy roads, wind gusts (natural or from large vehicles), potholes, oil, gravel, debris and railroad tracks by changing speed or position. In a crash a rider may have only a helmet, eye protection, boots, gloves and clothing; use extreme caution and get emergency help. An autocycle, a three-wheeler with a steering wheel and non-straddle seating, needs a valid driver's license and proper title and registration.
Bicycles
Bicyclists, including riders of electric or gas bicycles not exceeding 20 mph, have the same rights and duties on most roads, including the right-of-way. Vehicles may not drive, park, idle or load passengers in a designated bike lane even when empty; cyclists may need to leave the lane and drivers should be ready to move around them safely. Bicycles are barred from controlled-access highways and expressways. Cyclists ride with traffic, just right of faster traffic, moving toward the center for rough surfaces, debris, drainage grates or narrow lanes, and may ride two abreast if traffic is not impeded (never more, except on bicycle-only paths). Yield to a cyclist as to any vehicle. Pass slowly leaving at least 3 feet from the edge of your side mirror, and wait if you cannot; a too-close pass that causes a crash can bring criminal charges, and crowding or threatening a cyclist is prohibited. Give following room, be ready to stop quickly, take extra care in bad weather, and do not use high beams at an oncoming cyclist. Turning left with a cyclist coming from the opposite direction, wait for the cyclist to pass; sharing a left-turn lane, stay behind until the cyclist finishes. Turning right with a cyclist approaching on the right, let the cyclist through first, and signal. Low-speed electric or gas bicycles need a motor under 1 horsepower, a rider at least 16, streets only (no sidewalks), and top out at 20 mph. After parking, check for bicyclists before opening the door, reaching with the right hand so you turn and look behind.
A low-speed electric bicycle has working pedals and a motor under 750 watts and may use roads, bike lanes and paths but not sidewalks (local authorities may restrict). Class 1 assists only while pedaling and cuts out at 20 mph; Class 2 can propel the bike alone but not above 20 mph; Class 3 assists while pedaling up to 28 mph, and its riders must be at least 16 (a younger person may ride as a passenger on a Class 3 built for passengers).
Scooters and mopeds
Only motor-driven cycles and motorcycles titled and registered in Illinois may be used on the road; a scooter can be registered if it carries a federal safety certification label and a VIN. Scooter and moped riders obey all traffic laws and most bicycle laws; carrying a passenger requires a seat and footrest, and at night a headlight visible from 500 feet and a taillight visible from 100 to 600 feet. Under 150 cc a scooter is a motor-driven cycle needing a Class L license; 150 cc or more it is a motorcycle needing Class M; a moped (combustion engine of 50 cc or less with no gear shifting) may be ridden on any valid Illinois license. A low-speed electric scooter weighs under 100 pounds, has two or three wheels, handlebars and a floorboard, is powered only by electric motor and human effort, and tops out at 10 mph; it needs no license, only local permission for roads, trails or sidewalks, a rider at least 18, no highway posted over 35 mph, a headlamp visible 500 feet and a rear red reflector or lamp, and carries one person only.
Large vehicles
Stay out of the No Zone blind spots and where the truck driver can see you in the side mirrors; watch the turn signals and give room for wide right turns, which may leave an open space on the right just before the turn; allow extra space for their size and weight; dim your headlights behind a truck at night, since bright lights blind the driver off the big mirrors; and blink your headlights when passing a truck, especially at night, so the driver can keep to the far side of the lane, then finish the pass quickly rather than lingering alongside.
Disabled vehicles
Approaching a disabled vehicle with hazard lights on a four-lane highway, change lanes away from it if safe, otherwise slow down until well past. You may not push a disabled vehicle on a rural highway except in an emergency, remove a wrecked vehicle without clearing all glass and debris, or tow a vehicle except by a drawbar, generally no more than 15 feet apart, with two chains or cables. Disabled, unattended or abandoned vehicles must be removed promptly, and police may have them towed at the owner's expense after two hours on an interstate, expressway or tollway, 10 hours on an urban highway, and 24 hours on a non-urban highway.
Low-speed and slow-moving vehicles
A low-speed vehicle is a four-wheeler with a federal safety label and a VIN, top speed 25 mph, titled and registered like any vehicle, allowed on streets posted 30 mph or less unless a city prohibits it, and equipped with a parking brake, steering wheel, tires, windshield, belts, interior and driver-side exterior mirrors, red rear reflectors, a headlight visible 500 feet, red taillights visible 100 feet, brake lights and turn signals.
Slow-moving vehicles (farm equipment, construction machines, animal-drawn vehicles) normally travel 5 to 20 mph, so a vehicle at highway speed closes on them frighteningly fast; they carry the orange slow-moving emblem on the rear, and when lights are required a flashing amber light mounted high and visible 500 feet in sunlight, sometimes reflectors or rotating amber lights. They make wide turns and may turn either way at any time into unmarked entrances; stay well back, pass only when safe, and make sure the operator knows you are there and intend to pass. Slower traffic keeps right, and wide slow vehicles may need to move temporarily into an adjoining lane. Snowmobiles may share roads in winter where signs warn. Horseback riders may use public roads except controlled-access highways and most expressways, riding with traffic as far right as possible; never sound a horn near a horse or livestock, and pass or meet riders with caution, ready to stop.
Practise this with Illinois Driver License questions
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