General Driving: Pedestrians and the Horn, Motorcyclists, School Buses, Emergency Vehicles and the Move Over Law, What to Do When Stopped by Police, Farm Equipment and Funeral Processions
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the North Carolina driver license knowledge test. The facts follow the official handbook; the wording is ours.
Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles, revised May 2025, chapter 4 "Your Driving": General Driving (pp. 47–53).
Pedestrians
Always yield to pedestrians. At intersections without signals, pedestrians have the right-of-way in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks formed by imaginary extensions of the sidewalks. At signalized intersections pedestrians obey the same signals as drivers going their way and should not start on red or yellow; crossing on green, they have the right-of-way over every vehicle, including turning vehicles; and if the light changes while someone is still in the street, drivers must let them finish. A blind pedestrian with a white cane, a white cane with a red tip, or a guide dog gets special consideration at unsignalized intersections. Where Walk and Don't Walk signals operate, pedestrians obey them instead, and crossing on Walk carries the same right-of-way as on green.
If a pedestrian starts across against a red light in your path on green, warn with the horn. The law requires the horn whenever a pedestrian may be affected by a turn, a stop or a start from a parked position; if the pedestrian does not stop, you must. The safe driver yields whether or not the pedestrian is entitled to it.
Motorcyclists
A driver who fails to signal properly and forces a motorcyclist to change lanes or leave the road is charged and fined, and more so if the result is a crash with damage or injury.
School buses
The maximum speed for a school bus is 45 mph. Buses run mostly 7 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., carrying almost three-quarters of a million children a day. When a bus shows its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights to load or unload, every approaching driver must stop and may not pass until the stop arm is withdrawn, the red lights are off and the bus has started moving. Children dart out near buses and at bus stops even when no bus is in sight.
- Two-lane road: traffic from both directions stops.
- Two-lane road with a center turn lane: both directions stop.
- Four-lane road without a median: both directions stop.
- Divided highway of four or more lanes with a median: only traffic following the bus stops.
- Road of four or more lanes with a center turn lane: only traffic following the bus stops.
Emergency vehicles
Police cars, ambulances, fire engines and rescue vehicles with lights and sirens always have the right-of-way. As one approaches from ahead or behind, pull to the right curb or edge and stop completely; stay stopped until it has passed or an officer waves you on. All vehicles yield regardless of direction, except traffic going the opposite way on a four-lane limited-access highway with a median. Do not park within 100 feet of an emergency vehicle stopped at a crash or giving assistance, do not drive or park closer than one block from fire trucks answering an alarm, and never drive over a fire hose.
Move Over: approaching any police, fire, ambulance, rescue or public service vehicle assisting motorists that is parked or standing within 12 feet of the road with warning lights on, you must, on a road with two or more lanes your way, move into a lane not next to the vehicle and stay there until clear; on a road with one lane your way, slow to a reduced, safe speed until past it.
When police stop you
Stay calm, signal, and pull to the right, off the travel lanes, at the nearest safe spot. If no safe place is at hand, turn on the four-way flashers, slow by about 10 mph to show you have noticed, and keep driving lawfully to the nearest safe area. If an unmarked car stops you and you doubt it is a real officer, you may call 911 before pulling over to give your name and location. Once stopped, shift to park, lower the window, turn off the engine and silence devices and the radio; everyone stays seated; keep your seatbelt on unless asked; put both hands on the wheel and have passengers keep their hands visible (back-seat passengers on the back of the front seat); turn on the interior lights at night. The officer may approach from either side. State law requires you to identify yourself and produce your license and registration; after that you may choose whether to answer more questions. An officer out of uniform will show credentials, or you may ask. Do not reach for a weapon; a weapon must be in plain view or locked away unless you have a permit, and a concealed-carry permit holder must tell the officer a weapon is in the vehicle. Do not get out unless told; do not rummage under seats or in the glove box for documents unless asked; do not talk on a phone during the stop; listen and ask for clarification if needed. A ticket may follow, and signing it is not an admission of guilt; argue in court, not at the roadside. Resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer is a class 2 misdemeanor. If you think the officer acted improperly, document it and report it to the agency named on the ticket.
Farm equipment
Slow farm machinery appears everywhere, even in suburbs, and most crashes with it happen on clear days on dry pavement, typically sideswipes and angle crashes when the equipment turns left and a driver behind tries to pass, sometimes mistaking a left-hand signal for a wave-through. Passing farm equipment in a no-passing zone is illegal and dangerous: it may be wider than it looks and block your view of oncoming traffic. Be patient; the only advisable time to pass is when the operator pulls off the road to let traffic by. Farm equipment must show one white light in front and a red light visible 500 feet behind (or two red reflectors at least four inches across), and closing speed on it is high. It may use most roads except interstates.
Funeral processions
Every vehicle in a procession runs its headlights and hazard lights. The lead vehicle obeys the signals, but once it has crossed an intersection legally, or an officer, funeral director or police escort directs, the rest may follow through without stopping, with extra care. Procession vehicles keep right and follow closely. A driver going the opposite way may yield by slowing or stopping completely off the road so others in that direction can keep going. A driver going the same way may not pass except where the road has two or more lanes in that direction. Never drive between procession vehicles, and when a procession is going through a red light do not enter on your green unless you can do so without crossing its path.
Practise this with North Carolina Driver License questions
More of this guide
The vision, signs, knowledge and road tests and the three-point turnabout, adult and motorcycle learner permits, regular and commercial classes, Levels One, Two and Three of graduated licensing with their hours, curfews and passenger limits, the Driving Eligibility Certificate, required documents and proof of insurance, REAL ID, the 60-day rule for new residents, renewal, duplicates and fees.
The Safe Roads Act, chemical tests and the 30-day and 12-month refusal revocations, the .08 and .04 limits, one-year to permanent DWI revocations, .04 and .00 BAC restrictions and ignition interlock, underage alcohol revocations, the driver license point chart, the 7-, 12- and 8-point rules, the suspension tables, hearings and appeals, failure to appear, provisional licensee suspensions and restoration fees.
Drowsy driving warning signs and limits, the texting ban and the under-18 phone ban, medications and alcohol's effects, the seat belt law and its exemptions, child restraints for children under 8 and 80 pounds, rear seats for children under 5, boosters, air bags at 200 mph, the FMVSS 218 helmet law, children in pickup beds and hot cars.
Stopping distance at 55 mph, the 35, 45, 55 and 70 mph limits, curves and turns, the two-second rule, passing with the horn and two feet of clearance, where passing is illegal, passing on the right, backing at 10 mph, where you may not park, right-of-way at intersections, roundabouts, stopping 15 to 50 feet from the tracks and the blue emergency sign, bicycle lanes, city, rural and interstate driving.
Headlight, taillight, plate light and brake light distances, brakes, ABS, tires, horn and muffler rules, scanning and blind spots, hand signals and the 100- and 200-foot signal rule, black-on-orange work zone signs, headlights at 400 feet, rain and the first 15 minutes, hydroplaning at 30 mph, six and twelve inches of flood water, snow and ice, wildlife, brake and gas pedal failures, blowouts, breakdowns, skids, and what to do and report after a crash.
Circular and arrow signals, right turn on red and the pedestrian fine, dark signals treated as all-way stops, flashing signals, flashing yellow arrows, ramp meters and hybrid beacons, the octagon, triangle, pennant, diamond, round and pentagon signs, route markers and blue service signs, yellow and white lines, edge lines, two-way left-turn lanes, reflective markers and traffic officers' signals.
Bicycles as vehicles and their lights and helmet rules, walking facing traffic, truck No-Zones of 20 and 200 feet, RVs and trailers, passing motorcycles and mopeds, the moped definition and registration, littering fines, driver record fees, registration and plate rules, the 30/60/25 insurance minimums, the 30-day plate revocation, annual inspections within 90 days, emissions exemptions, window tint and Tag and Tax Together.