Sharing the Road: Pedestrians, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Trucks, Trains and Slow-Moving Vehicles: the Golden Rule of Defensive Driving, Who Counts as a Pedestrian, Crosswalk Rights Marked or Not, Never Honking at a Pedestrian, Helping the Unseen Pedestrian, Three Feet to Pass a Bicycle, Never Passing Between a Bicycle and Oncoming Traffic, Merging Right Before a Right Turn, When a Bicycle May Take the Full Lane, the Hearing-Impaired Flag, Bicycle Rules at Stop Signs and Red Lights, Why Two-Thirds of Motorcycle Crashes Are the Driver's Fault, a Full Lane and Three Seconds for Motorcycles, Trucks That Carry 72 Percent of Goods, Blind Spots to 200 Feet and the Hidden 10 to 20 Feet, Passing a Truck and the Headlight Signal, the Right-Turn Squeeze, Trains That Take a Mile to Stop, Stopping 15 to 50 Feet From the Rail, Warning Devices, the 20-Second Escape at 45 Degrees, the ENS Sign, and Farm Equipment Under 25 mph

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Oklahoma Class D driver license written test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Oklahoma Driver Manual (Service Oklahoma, November 2025), Chapter 10 "Sharing the Road" (pages 50–58).

Pedestrians

A defensive driver adapts to the other people and vehicles on the road, following the golden rule of protecting each other. Pedestrians include people walking, skateboarders, in-line and roller skaters, and people with disabilities using wheelchairs, walkers, tricycles or similar supports. A pedestrian in a crosswalk, marked or not, has the right-of-way over most vehicles; crosswalks encourage crossing at set places, but some people cross wherever they please, and as the one controlling a dangerous machine you play it safe and protect them. Be alert wherever pedestrian traffic is heavy; yield to blind pedestrians with a white or chrome cane or a guide dog; take special care in school zones, at school crossings and where children play; yield to people on the sidewalk when entering or leaving a driveway or alley; and never honk, gun the engine or otherwise rush or scare a pedestrian crossing in front of you, even with the legal right-of-way. Help the unseen pedestrian: when a person steps into a crosswalk on a multi-lane street and the driver nearest them stops, drivers in the next lane may not see why and drive on at full speed into the pedestrian's path. If you are the stopped driver, warn those behind with a stop hand signal or several taps on the brakes to flash your lights; if a car in the lane beside you stops suddenly for no visible reason, slow down and look out, because it may be stopped for a pedestrian.

Bicycles

Bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as you and in most cases must share the lane; always expect sudden moves, since trash, oil slicks, a pothole or crack, a barking dog, a parked car or an opening door can force a rider to swerve in front of you. When overtaking a bicycle going your way the law (Title 47-11-1208-A) requires due care and a safe distance of not less than 3 feet until you are safely past. Watch for riders, especially children, turning in front of you without looking or signaling; allow at least three feet; avoid passing between a bicyclist and oncoming vehicles on a two-lane road, slowing to let the oncoming vehicles pass and then moving left with plenty of room; never pass where the street is too narrow but wait for room; treat residential areas as danger zones where bicyclists carry all the rights and duties of drivers; watch for bikes emerging from driveways and behind parked cars; on a narrow road, if you think the rider does not know you are coming, honk briefly to signal your pass without blasting or intimidating; at night watch the roadside, since riders must show a front light and rear reflector but approaching headlights can hide them; and before a right turn merge with bicycle traffic rather than turning directly across a rider's path. Riders must keep as far right as possible only when the lane can safely be shared side by side; a bicycle may take the full lane when passing another vehicle, when preparing a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway, when parked cars, moving vehicles, machinery, obstacles, pedestrians, animals, potholes or debris make the roadside unsafe, or when the lane is too narrow to share, in which case letting the bicycle take the full lane is safest; a flag on a bicycle means the rider may have impaired hearing, so slow down; and all riders must use the correct lane of traffic. Special bicycle rules apply at stop signs and red lights, with an "immediate hazard" meaning a vehicle approaching at a speed or distance that could cause a collision: at a stop sign a cyclist must slow, must stop before entering if there is a risk of danger, should yield to pedestrians and other traffic, and may proceed without stopping if no danger is present; at a red light a cyclist must stop before entering, yield to oncoming traffic that is an immediate hazard, may then proceed through the red if safe, may turn right on red after slowing and yielding, and may turn left onto a one-way street after stopping and yielding.

Motorcycles

Research shows two-thirds of car-motorcycle collisions are caused by the driver who turned in front of the motorcycle without seeing it, or seeing it too late. Drivers look for cars rather than motorcycles; a motorcycle's narrow profile and short body make it hard to see and to judge for distance and speed; and riding requires frequent lane movements. Motorcycles have the right to the lane's full width, which riders need for potholes, traffic that blocks their view or hides them, and wind or air blasts from passing vehicles, so never share a lane with one and respect its space; every rider must hold an M endorsement. Pass as you would a car, never too close or fast, since the air blast can blow a motorcycle out of control; always signal a left turn and watch for oncoming motorcycles; follow at least three seconds behind so the rider can maneuver or stop, since too little space leads both of you to bad decisions; check blind spots before changing lanes, since a rider alongside is often out of view; and anticipate lane-position changes, which riders make to see and be seen, avoid others' blind spots, avoid surface hazards, protect their lane, communicate intentions, avoid windblast, keep an escape route and set up turns. At intersections, where most collisions and injuries happen, wait until the rider's intention, turning or going straight, is absolutely clear before moving into the path, and take even more care in rain, on wet roads, on ice and in heavy wind when a motorcycle's braking and handling suffer. At night the single headlight and taillight blend into other lights and distort distance, and you dim your headlights for a motorcycle as for any vehicle. Watch for the narrow profile whenever you share the road. Motorcycles must have a windshield of sufficient quality, size and thickness to protect the rider from foreign objects, or the rider must wear ANSI-approved goggles or a face shield.

Trucks

Trucks haul more freight more miles than any other transportation, carrying 72 percent of America's goods and serving as the only delivery in most communities, and their drivers watch constantly for smaller vehicles. When following a truck, stay far enough back to see the road ahead; stay out of the truck's blind spots, immediately in front on either side of the cab and up to 200 feet behind, making sure the driver can see you in the mirror, since if you cannot see the truck's mirror the driver cannot see you; a long hood can hide the first 10 to 20 feet of pavement ahead of the bumper, room enough for a car to slip unnoticed into danger; stopped behind a truck on an uphill grade, stay left in your lane so the driver sees you and leave extra space in case it rolls back; dim your lights at night, since bright lights reflected in the mirrors blind the driver; and in rain stay back from the spray and splash of the rear wheels. To pass a truck, check front and rear and move into the passing lane only when it is clear and legal, let the driver know by blinking your headlights, especially at night, and the driver will stay to the far side of the lane; because of their weight trucks run faster downhill and slower uphill, so you may need more speed to pass on a downgrade; finish quickly without lingering alongside, and keep your speed afterward rather than slowing and forcing the truck to brake downhill; if the driver blinks the truck's lights after you pass, you are cleared to pull in, but only once you see the truck's front in your rearview mirror. When a truck passes you, keep to the far side of your lane and slow slightly, never speeding up; when you meet a truck coming the other way, keep as far right as possible to avoid a sideswipe and to reduce wind turbulence, which pushes vehicles apart rather than pulling them together. Studies show two-trailer trucks are as safe as single-trailer trucks and can be passed with care and skill. Two risky situations: a truck turning right swings wide and often leaves an open space on its right, and a car that moves into it or tries to pass gets crunched or sideswiped in the driver's blind spot, so watch the signals and wait; and a truck backing into a loading dock may have to block the road briefly, so never cross behind it, but give room and wait the few minutes it takes.

Trains

You do not share the road with trains; you stop and give them the right-of-way, because a train at 55 mph needs a mile or more to stop, and a train collision is always the car driver's fault. Nearly half of car-train collisions happen at crossings with lights, bells or gates and two-thirds in daylight, from impatience, drivers unwilling to wait the average 30 seconds to 2 minutes for a train to pass, and negligence, drivers who ignore the warning and cross without looking, listening or stopping; most collisions happen within 25 miles of home, and in Oklahoma in 2021 there were 45 train crashes with three deaths and 25 injuries. Operation Lifesaver, teaching crossing safety since 1972, has cut such collisions by half. The law requires every driver approaching a crossing to stop within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet of the nearest rail, and not proceed until safe, when a visible electric or mechanical signal warns of a train, when a gate is lowered or a flagman signals, when a train within about 1,500 feet sounds an audible signal and is an immediate hazard because of its speed or nearness, or when an approaching train is plainly visible and dangerously close. Every public crossing carries warning devices, and more than 1,200 have gates, lights or bells: advance warning signs placed far enough back to let you stop; pavement markings of an R X R and a stop line, behind which you wait; crossbucks at most public crossings, treated as a yield sign, with a plaque giving the number of tracks, which tells you when to wait and when to go; flashing lights meaning a train is coming, so stop and cross only when they stop, after every track is clear; gates with flashing signals, stopping before the gate lowers across your lane and staying until the gates rise and the lights stop; and stop signs requiring a complete stop and a look both ways. Slow, stay alert and watch for the sign or signal; look both ways and listen; expect a train on any track at any time; never move onto the tracks unless certain you can cross, and once started, keep going; never drive around gates or through lowered gates, which is against the law; if the lights start flashing or the gates begin lowering while you are already crossing, keep moving, since the signals allow time to finish and the far gate will not trap you, whereas stopping and backing may stall you; watch for a second train after the last car passes a multi-track crossing; if your vehicle stalls on the tracks get out, because once the lights flash you may have only 20 seconds before the train arrives; run at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks toward the direction the train is coming from, then dial 911; if you are stuck with no warning lights active, get out and call 911 and the Emergency Notification System number on the blue-and-white sign at the crossing posts or control box, giving the location, crossing number and road and stating that a vehicle is on the tracks; never race a train; be ready to stop behind hazardous-materials trucks, school buses, church buses and passenger buses, which must stop; never pass at a crossing, since a bicycle's tires can catch in the rails and throw the rider into your path; never misjudge a train, whose size makes it look slower than it is, so stop and wait whenever you see or hear one; and take special care at night, when speed and distance are hardest to judge.

Slow-moving vehicles

Be alert in rural areas for tractors, combines and other farm equipment moving between fields and along state highways, often very large, using more than one lane and traveling under 25 mph; topping a hill at 65 mph to find a tractor ahead is frightening, so expect the unexpected. In some areas you will share the road with animal-drawn vehicles, which have the same rights and duties as motor vehicles and suffer heavy damage and injury when hit; warning signs mark where to expect them.

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