Bicyclists, Motorcyclists, Commercial Vehicles, Railroad Crossings and Work Zones: Bike Lanes, the Three-Foot Pass Across the Center Line, Bicycle Laws and Hand Signals, Sidewalk Riding, the Red-Light Defense, Mopeds, Following and Crowding Motorcycles, Lane Splitting at 25 mph and Lane Filtering, Vulnerable Road Users, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, Passing and Following Trucks, the No Zones, Wide Turns, Crossing Devices and the 10-Foot Rule, Vehicles That Must Stop at Tracks, Second Trains, the ENS Sign, Work Zone Fines and the Zipper Merge
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Minnesota Class D knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual (DPS DVS, June 2026 edition), Chapter 4 "Sharing the road", "Sharing the road with bicyclists" through "Late merge (zipper merge)" (pages 47–55).
Bicyclists
Bicycles are legal vehicles with the same rights and duties as others. Bike lanes separate bicycle traffic; driving in one is illegal except to park where permitted, to enter or leave the road, or to prepare for a turn, and before crossing one you must yield to approaching bicyclists, then signal and move into the lane before turning. When passing a bicyclist keep at least 3 feet between your car and the rider, make sure the rider is not signaling or making a left turn, and you may cross the center of the road, even in a no-passing zone, when safe. Electric-assist bicycles count as bicycles; gas mopeds follow different rules. Riders must obey all traffic laws: ride with traffic, signal turns and obey signals, slow at stop signs to a speed that allows stopping and may proceed without stopping if no vehicle is near, ride just right of faster traffic but move toward the center for hazards, when passing or when turning left, use the same hand signals as drivers (left arm out for left, left arm bent up or right arm out for right, left arm bent down for stop), ride no more than two abreast without impeding traffic and within one lane, wear a helmet, and use lights and reflectors at night, with a flashing white front lamp and/or a flashing red rear lamp allowed; spiked tires are permitted. On sidewalks and crosswalks riders yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing, may not ride on a sidewalk in a business district unless allowed, may be banned locally, and have a pedestrian's rights and duties. A bicyclist stuck at a red light that fails to detect the bike may proceed after a complete stop and a reasonable wait if the signal seems to be malfunctioning and no traffic is close, a defense only against the red-light violation. Drivers should watch for bicyclists at intersections, on sidewalks, at alleys and driveways, and especially at night. A motorized bicycle (moped) is defined by a top speed of 30 mph or less, generally follows bicycle rules, and is barred from sidewalks, freeways and pedestrian or bicycle lanes and trails.
Motorcyclists
Motorcycles are small, so their speed and distance are hard to judge; keep at least the following distance you would give a car, since riders may weave while controlling the bike; leave as much room as for a car when moving in front of one; hold your lane and speed when a rider passes you; and never crowd a motorcycle by driving beside it in the same lane, which is illegal. Riders may share your lane to pass in slow or stopped traffic, and you must not block or stop them. Lane splitting is allowed with two or more lanes moving the same way when traffic is moving, at no more than 25 mph and no more than 15 mph over the traffic's speed; lane filtering is allowed through stopped traffic, such as at a light or jam, at no more than 15 mph over the traffic's speed. Motorcycles offer little crash protection; the most common car-motorcycle collision is at an urban intersection when a driver turns left in front of an oncoming rider. Right-of-way laws apply to riders, who may use HOV lanes.
Vulnerable road users and NEVs
Vulnerable road users are people on highways, bikeways, sidewalks or trails with less protection than a car offers: riders of two- or three-wheeled vehicles, electric mobility devices, horses and motorized scooters, and walkers. Share the road safely with them; they must also obey traffic laws. A neighborhood electric vehicle has three or four wheels and reaches 20 to 25 mph, must be titled and registered, may be driven by any Class D holder only on streets posted 35 mph or less, and may not be used for a road test.
Commercial vehicles
A commercial vehicle weighs more than 26,000 pounds and carries passengers or property; buses of all sizes, including school buses, and placarded hazardous-materials vehicles also count. Passing one takes three to five seconds longer than passing a car; allow time to return before coming within 100 feet of oncoming traffic, do not pass if you will exit or turn soon, expect trucks to slow uphill (easier to pass) and speed up downhill (allow more room), finish quickly without lingering alongside, return only when you see the truck's front in your mirror, and keep your speed. When a truck passes you, keep to the far side of your lane and slow slightly; when you meet one head-on, stay far right, since turbulence pushes the vehicles apart rather than together. Trucks look slower than they are, and many collisions at intersections come from misjudging them. Cutting in close in front of a truck is especially dangerous because you land in a blind spot and it cannot stop in time. A car at 55 mph stops in 130 to 140 feet; a loaded tractor-trailer may need more than 400 feet. Follow far enough back to see ahead and to appear in the driver's side mirrors, dim your headlights behind a truck at night since its big mirrors reflect, give merging trucks room to accelerate, and when stopped behind one on an upgrade leave space for it to roll back and sit at the left of your lane to be seen. Trucks swing wide on right turns because rear wheels track inside the front ones, so never pass a truck on the right that might turn right. Stay out of the No Zones: up to 20 feet in front of the cab, along either side of the trailer, and up to 200 feet behind. Trucks and buses have operating limits and speed limiters, so honking and weaving gain nothing.
Railroad crossings
Most vehicle-train collisions kill the driver. Warning signs and pavement markings tell you a crossing is near and signs show the number of tracks. When lights, bells or gates activate, do not cross; stop at least 10 feet from the nearest rail or gate, and cross only when traffic ahead has moved so you can clear the rails without stopping within 10 feet past them. Obey a flag person as you would a signal. Passenger vans, buses and larger trucks must stop at every crossing; do not pass them, and never pass any vehicle within 100 feet of a crossing. More than one train may come from different directions; after the last car passes, wait until you are sure no second train is coming, and look both ways at every crossing, devices or not. In heavy traffic wait behind the tracks until you can cross without stopping on them. Never race a train, never shift gears on the tracks (downshift a manual before entering), and motorcyclists should not swerve for a better angle. Trains' speed and distance are hard to judge, especially at night; if in doubt, wait. Every crossing has a blue Emergency Notification System sign on the post or control box with a 24-hour number to report an obstruction or other problem so dispatchers can stop or slow trains.
Work zones and the zipper merge
Work zones have moving and stationary machinery day and night, with signs and markings that you must understand and obey. Be patient with delays, reduce speed and follow flaggers (ignoring one is a violation with a financial penalty), obey posted reduced limits or the regular limit if none is posted (a work zone speeding fine is $300 on top of the regular ticket), and adjust your lane position away from workers in altered lanes, where distraction can be fatal. The zipper merge replaces early merging, which lengthens backups and provokes crashes and road rage: when a "lane closed ahead" sign appears and traffic backs up, stay in your lane to the merge point and take turns entering the open lane; in heavy, slow traffic it is safest to stay in your lane until drivers can alternate in order. Benefits include worker safety, smaller speed differences between lanes, backups up to 40 percent shorter, less interchange congestion, a sense of fairness and less road rage.
Practise this with Minnesota Driver License questions
More of this guide
Who needs a Minnesota license and the 60-day rule, identification, Driver's License for All, REAL ID and enhanced cards, the written test, the 20/40 and 105-degree vision standards, the road test and its instant failures, the instruction permit and provisional license with their night and passenger limits, Vanessa's Law, the under-21 license, farm, medical and moped licenses at 15, license classes and renewal.
Required equipment and headlight rules, tire pressure and the penny test, window tint, the basic speed law and default limits, the 10 mph passing allowance, signaling 100 feet, blind spots, left and right turns, turning on red, roundabouts, J-turns, divided highways, U-turns, right-lane travel, passing rules and the 700-foot sight line, backing, and every parking rule.
Who must buckle up and the exemptions, rear-facing until two and boosters to nine, children under 13 in back, unattended children and pets, airbags, littering, duties after a crash and the 72-hour rule, no-fault insurance and its penalties, registering within 60 days, the texting ban, and suspension, revocation, limited licenses and cancellation.
Where you must come to a complete stop, school bus yellow lights at 100 and 300 feet, stopping 20 feet from red lights and the $500 penalty, safety patrols and crossing guards, who yields at intersections, transit buses, funeral processions, pulling over for sirens, the Move Over law, careless and reckless driving, how to behave when police stop you, fleeing penalties and pedestrian rules.
Sign colors and shapes, regulatory signs from Stop to Center Lane Left-Turn Only, warning signs including railroad, school, slow-moving vehicle and intersection signs, construction signs and the $300 fine, route markers, every signal light and arrow, gridlock, pedestrian signals, lane-use control signals, ramp meters, white and yellow lines, turn, center, reversible and carpool lanes and traffic officers.
Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute, the three-second rule, stopping distance, low beams within 1,000 and 200 feet, entering and leaving the freeway, ramp meters, buses on the shoulder, the diverging diamond, stopping on a freeway, distraction types and illegal behaviors, aggressive drivers, projecting loads, towing rules and limits, winter driving, snowplows, the survival kit and being stranded.
Staying alert every 100 miles or two hours, handling a skid, anti-lock brakes, rain and fog, hydroplaning at 35 mph, never coasting downhill, blowouts, steering and brake failure, running off the pavement, deer from dusk to dawn, a vehicle in your lane, stalling on the tracks, flooded roads, plunging under water, fire, overheating, a stuck gas pedal, utility poles and carbon monoxide.
Alcohol in a third of road deaths, drugs and household products, how alcohol attacks judgment, vision and reaction, standard drinks and proof, one drink per hour, the 0.08 and 0.04 limits, implied consent and refusal, first, second and third offense penalties, the ignition interlock and 0.02, felony DWI, the under-21 no-tolerance rule, commercial drivers, cannabis and open container laws.