Sharing the Road: Commercial Vehicles and No Zones, Slow-Moving Vehicles and Horses, Pedestrians and Children, Motorcycles, Scooters, Mopeds and Bicycles, and Autocycles
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Michigan driver's license written knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: What Every Driver Must Know (SOS-133, revised October 2025), Michigan Department of State, chapter 6 "Sharing the Road" (pp. 53–57).
Commercial vehicles
Big vehicles cannot stop or maneuver quickly, and a crash with one usually hurts the car's occupants. A car at 55 mph stops in about 130 feet; a commercial vehicle at the same speed needs about 400 feet. Keep a safe distance and never draft behind a truck: the driver cannot see you and you cannot see ahead, and lengthen the gap as weather worsens. Trucks have no zones, blind spots directly ahead, alongside and close behind, where lingering invites a hit during a lane change or turn; at night use low beams behind a truck or bus. Trucks swing wide left to turn right, so a truck signaling right at an intersection will swing wide, and stopping past the white stop line can put you in its path. Never cross behind a truck that is backing or about to; most trailers are eight and a half feet wide and hide a car completely. Merging onto a freeway, trucks may be unable to move over, so match the flow, pick your spot and go; exiting, leave space and signal early.
To pass a truck safely: signal well ahead and never cut one off or force it to brake; pass on the left at a steady speed; pull back only when you can see the entire cab in your rearview mirror; stay visible; keep both hands on the wheel against the truck's air blast; watch its signals before passing, since trucks pulling trailers swing out before turning; avoid passing or riding beside trucks in roundabouts; and when a truck or bus passes you in bad weather, slow down and start the wipers before the spray hits.
Slow-moving vehicles
Vehicles that cannot exceed 25 mph, such as Amish buggies, tractors, combines and construction equipment, carry an orange triangle on the back; four-wheelers and golf carts do not count. Be patient; the driver will usually pull over when possible. Behind a horse and rider or horse-drawn buggy, slow to 15 to 20 mph, stay at least 20 feet back, pass with caution when safe, and never honk or rev the engine, which can spook the horse.
Pedestrians and children
Always yield to pedestrians, including joggers, skateboarders and people pushing strollers, and take every precaution to avoid hitting one. Watch for them leaving driveways and alleys, at stop signs, signals, roundabouts, crosswalks and intersections, and mid-block. Yield to people crossing even when your light is green, and never pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian, especially a large truck or bus that may hide one. Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians should walk facing traffic. Give the elderly, the young and people with disabilities extra time. You must stop or yield for a pedestrian with a white cane or guide dog, and avoid honking or revving near them, since noise masks the cues they use. Stop at the marked crosswalk limit line, or before the intersection where there is none, and never block a crosswalk. Mid-block crosswalks may use a yield line showing where to stop. Near parked cars, schools, playgrounds and parks, expect children to dart out.
Motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and bicycles
Small two- and three-wheeled vehicles are hard to see and their speed and distance hard to judge, and any crash with a larger vehicle usually injures or kills the rider. Treat riders with courtesy and room; pass them as you would any vehicle, by moving into an adjacent lane when legal and safe, remembering that riders are allowed to share a lane with each other. Intersections are among the highest-risk places, and drivers often tell police they never saw the motorcycle; take extreme care turning left, assume riders are closer than they look and let them pass first. Tailgating is illegal: leave 3 to 4 seconds behind a motorcycle, scooter or bicycle, which can stop shorter than a car and may swerve for potholes, pavement seams or rail crossings. Your vehicle's wind blast can push a rider off balance. Watch for signals, hand signals, a shift within the lane, a head turn or a lean, all signs of a coming turn, and look carefully because a single headlight or taillight blends into other lights. Motorcyclists often slow by engine braking, which shows no brake light, so leave extra space, especially on city streets. Check your blind spot before changing lanes and again after passing, and when parking open the door with your right hand so you look over your left shoulder; opening a door into approaching traffic is dangerous and illegal.
It is illegal to drive beside a motorcyclist or pass one in the same lane; use an adjacent lane. Most car-motorcycle crashes happen at intersections and on busy city streets. Motorcycles of 125 cc or more may use freeways and limited-access highways; a single headlight and small profile distort your sense of the rider's speed and distance, worse at night and in bad weather. Use the horn sparingly around riders.
A moped under Michigan law has two or three wheels, an engine of no more than 100 cc, a top speed of 30 mph on level ground, and a drive that needs no gear shifting; "scooter" is a general term covering mopeds and more powerful machines. Bicyclists may ride on all Michigan roads except limited-access freeways, anywhere in the lane as long as they ride with traffic, with the same rights and duties as motorists. Before turning right at an intersection, into a driveway or onto the shoulder, look for cyclists coming from behind on the shoulder or in a bike lane and let them pass; never use a bike lane as a right-turn lane or overtake a cyclist and then turn right unless it is safe. Leave at least 3 feet when passing a bicyclist (some cities require 5 feet), or pass at a safe distance and speed, using another lane or waiting; you may pass a bicyclist in a no-passing zone when safe. Return to your lane only when well clear; large vehicles and oversized loads need more room. Cyclists are not required to use a bike lane and may leave it to turn left or avoid hazards. Low three-wheeled recumbents and handcycles, often with orange flags, are hard to see. An autocycle is a three-wheeled motorcycle with seat belts, a roll bar or hoops and a steering wheel but no straddle seat; give it the same respect as a motorcycle, especially at intersections and when turning.
Practise this with Michigan Driver License questions
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