Stopping, School Buses, Right-of-Way, Emergency Vehicles, Traffic Stops and Pedestrians: Where You Must Come to a Complete Stop, School Bus Yellow Lights at 100 and 300 Feet, Stopping 20 Feet From Red Lights, the Divided-Road Exception and the $500 Penalty, Safety Patrols, Crossing Guards and Bus Flaggers, Who Yields at Intersections, Transit Buses, Funeral Processions, Pulling Over for Sirens, the Move Over Law, 500 Feet Behind Fire Trucks, Careless and Reckless Driving, How to Behave When Police Stop You, Fleeing Penalties, Pedestrian Right-of-Way and Crosswalks

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", "Stopping" through "Crosswalks" (pages 41–47).

Where you must stop

At a stop sign, stop completely before the stop line, or before the crosswalk if there is one, and yield to pedestrians, bicyclists and traffic; if your view is blocked, be ready to stop again. You must also stop completely before entering a road from an alley, driveway, parking lot or ramp, always before crossing a sidewalk or crosswalk; at a red light, waiting for green and a clear path; at any intersection or crosswalk, marked or not, where a pedestrian or bicyclist is crossing, staying stopped until they have passed your lane; at a flashing red light, treated as a stop sign; at a freeway ramp meter on red; at a railroad crossing with a stop sign; when a flagger or device directs it; and at a bridge raised for boats.

School buses

School buses flash alternating yellow and red lights. The driver turns on the yellow lights at least 100 feet before stopping where the limit is 35 mph or less and at least 300 feet before stopping where it is higher, and it is illegal to pass a bus on its right while either color flashes. Flashing red lights mean students are loading or unloading: stop at least 20 feet from the bus, whether you face its front or its back, and stay stopped until the red lights stop, even if the stop arm does not swing out. Failing to stop is a misdemeanor with a fine of at least $500 and loss of your privileges, an officer with probable cause may arrest you within four hours, and the vehicle's owner is guilty of a petty misdemeanor unless someone else is shown to have been driving. The only exception is a divided roadway when the bus is on the other side of the divider. Every license applicant certifies on the application that they understand the school bus law. You must also stop completely for a student safety patrol helping schoolmates cross and for an adult crossing guard showing a stop sign or flag, and driving through a line of crossing children is illegal even with no patrol present, a misdemeanor and a gross misdemeanor for a second offense within a year. A school bus flagger letting buses leave school property can stop you, and you may not proceed until the flagger or an officer says so.

Right-of-way

Right-of-way rules rest on courtesy and common sense, and breaking them is a leading cause of crashes. At an intersection without signals, and at all-way stops or flashing red lights, when you arrive with another driver the one on the left yields to the one on the right. Turning left, yield to oncoming vehicles in the intersection or close enough to be a risk. A green left arrow still requires yielding to vehicles and pedestrians already in the intersection. At an uncontrolled T-intersection the turning driver yields to all cross traffic. Entering a public road from a driveway or private road, stop and yield to pedestrians and traffic. In the right lane, yield to transit and Metro Mobility buses merging from a stop or shoulder, and to a school bus re-entering from a shoulder or turn lane after loading, signaled with its left turn signal. Yield to an entire funeral procession identified by headlights or hazard lights. Yield to pedestrians crossing at intersections and crosswalks, marked or unmarked.

Emergency vehicles

When an emergency vehicle with flashing red lights and a siren or bell approaches on a two-way road, pull right and stop; on a one-way road pull to the nearest side; clear an intersection first; and stay stopped until all emergency vehicles have passed. An officer with probable cause may arrest a violator within four hours. You need not stop when a barrier such as a fence, wall or median separates the emergency vehicle from your lane. Under the Move Over law, when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights, including a tow truck, ambulance, fire truck or police car, is stopped on or beside a road with two lanes in your direction, move to the lane farthest from it if safe; if you cannot, or the road has one lane your way, slow and pass with caution. The same applies to stalled or disabled vehicles and to service patrol, maintenance, utility, construction, postal and waste or recycling vehicles stopped with warning lights on. Only vehicles on official emergency business may follow within 500 feet of a fire truck on a run, and never drive over an unprotected fire hose without permission.

Following, careless and reckless driving

Keep a distance that lets you stop or turn to avoid a crash, judged by weather, traffic and road conditions, using the three-second rule. Careless driving is driving or stopping in a way that endangers people or property; reckless driving is knowingly disregarding a substantial, unjustifiable risk, including racing, defined as intentionally comparing or contesting speeds whether or not the limit is exceeded. Either is tried as a misdemeanor.

When police stop you

Stay calm, slow down, signal and pull to the right shoulder as soon as it is safe (or the left shoulder on a multi-lane road if you are nearer it and a full lane exists), avoiding bridges, curves and traffic lanes; turn on the interior light after dark; keep the doors shut and stay inside unless told otherwise; keep your hands on the wheel and give the officer full attention. Tell the officer where documents are before reaching for them. You may get a verbal or written warning or a citation; do not argue, explain in court, ask questions before the stop ends, do not get out after the officer leaves, and know that disobeying a lawful order can lead to arrest and resisting custody is illegal. With a firearm aboard, keep your hands on the wheel, tell the officer at the first approach that you have one and where it is, do not reach for it (the officer may hold it during the stop), and wait for instructions. Never reach around inside the vehicle or get out unexpectedly without asking. Expect the officer to greet you, identify themselves, take your license and proof of insurance, explain the stop and check the license. Acceptable identification includes Minnesota and out-of-state licenses, temporary licenses, learner's permits, military ID and consular or international licenses. Accepting a citation is not admitting guilt but a promise to appear; diversion programs such as driver education may be offered; and conduct complaints go to the officer's agency or supervisor named on the citation. Fleeing an officer in a vehicle is a felony: up to three years and a day in prison and up to $5,000; up to ten years and $20,000 if someone dies, seven years and $14,000 for great bodily harm, five years and $10,000 for substantial bodily harm.

Pedestrians

Stay alert everywhere: yield to pedestrians at intersections and crosswalks, watch near parked cars, in poor visibility and where children are, stop for anyone in a marked or unmarked crosswalk until they pass your lane, and never honk or rev at a blind pedestrian with a white or metallic cane or a guide dog. Passing a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian is illegal; look for the pedestrian and be ready to stop. Violating pedestrian right-of-way is a misdemeanor, and a second within a year is a gross misdemeanor. Marked crosswalks have solid white lines and sometimes signs or flashing lights; unmarked ones exist wherever a road meets a sidewalk; never block either. Pedestrians should obey signals and wait a few feet back for the WALK signal, yield to vehicles already in the intersection when WALK appears, make eye contact and be sure drivers yield before stepping out, use sidewalks, yield to all vehicles when crossing without a crosswalk, walk facing traffic when they must walk on the road, and wear light or reflective clothing or carry a flashlight at night, remembering that drivers may not see them in time even when they have the right-of-way.

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