Sharing the Road: Pedestrians, School Zones, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Large Vehicles, Buses, Stopped Vehicles, Emergency Vehicles and Police Stops: Who Counts as a Vulnerable Road User, When a Pedestrian Is Crossing, Staying Stopped for Your Lane, the Next Lane and the Lane You Turn Into, the Six-Foot and Extra-Lane Turning Rules, Never Passing at a Crosswalk, Unmarked Crosswalks at Every Corner, White Canes and Guide Dogs, Children, the 20 mph School Zone and What Children Present Means, Bike Lanes, Passing Bicycles Above 35 mph, Bike Boxes and Sharrows, Full Lanes for Motorcycles, Trucks That Stop in Three Times the Distance, Pilot Vehicles, School Bus Red and Amber Lights and Painted Medians, Transit Bus Yield Signs, Slow-Moving Emblems, Long Loads, Funerals, Moving Over or Slowing Five mph for Stopped Vehicles, Emergency Vehicles and 500 Feet, and What to Do When Police Stop You
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Oregon Class C knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Oregon Driver Manual 2026–2027 (ODOT DMV), "Sharing the Road" (pages 46–58).
Vulnerable road users and pedestrians
Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, highway workers and people on skateboards or scooters in a public way, crosswalk or shoulder are vulnerable users: hard to see and unprotected in a collision, so look for every kind of user. A pedestrian is anyone walking or rolling on a skateboard, scooter or wheelchair. You must stop for pedestrians crossing at any marked or unmarked crosswalk, and a pedestrian is crossing as soon as any part or extension of them, a cane, wheelchair or bicycle, moves onto the road. Stop and stay stopped while the pedestrian is in your lane, in a lane next to yours including a bike lane, or in the lane you are turning into. Turning at a signalized intersection, the pedestrian must be six feet or more from the lane you are turning into before you begin; at an intersection without a signal, the pedestrian must be past your lane plus the next lane. Passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk is against the law, since its driver may be waiting for someone to cross. You need not stop for a pedestrian on the far side of a safety island. Every intersection has a crosswalk even without painted lines: imagine the sidewalk or shoulder at the corner extended across; an unmarked crosswalk is at least six feet wide and exists with no sidewalk or shoulder at all. A mid-block crosswalk may have a flashing yellow light meaning someone is crossing or about to. Never stop with any part of the vehicle overhanging the crosswalk, which forces pedestrians around you into danger. Crossing a sidewalk to enter or leave a lot, alley or driveway, stop before the sidewalk and yield to pedestrians and bicyclists. A pedestrian with limited vision, blind, or deaf and blind, carrying a white cane or using a guide dog, always has the right-of-way: stop when the person is about to cross or crossing and stay stopped until they have crossed the entire road, even on a green light. Be extra careful in residential areas and parks, keep back from parked cars that block your view, and watch when backing in or out of a driveway, since children may be playing behind the vehicle.
School zones
A school zone is a road section beside a school or a school crosswalk marked by signs; the five-sided yellow sign marks its start and warns of school crossings, so actively look for children and be ready to stop. A school speed zone carries a reduced limit of 20 mph, beginning at the School Speed Limit 20 sign and ending at the End School Zone sign or another posted speed. A flashing school speed sign means children are arriving or leaving whenever the yellow light flashes; a school hours sign applies between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on days school is in session, and if unsure whether it is a school day, slow to 20; a when children are present sign applies any day and time children are waiting at, occupying or walking within a crosswalk or a traffic patrol member is assisting at one. Stop and yield when children enter the crosswalk or a crossing guard signals, and stay stopped until they clear it.
Bicycles
Bicyclists are harder to see and hide in blind spots, and they react differently to potholes, glass, litter, storm grates, railroad tracks and opening doors, any of which may push them into your path or slow them, so give them room. Approaching a rider, be alert and ready to slow, since you cannot predict their intentions. Do not drive or park in a bike lane, though you may cross one when turning or entering or leaving an alley, driveway or private road; never move into or travel in a bike lane to prepare a turn; yield to bicyclists in a bike lane or on a sidewalk before turning across it; yield to them at intersections as to any vehicle; above 35 mph you may pass a bicyclist in your lane only if you leave enough distance to avoid contact should the rider fall; the passing rules for vehicles apply, so slow and stay behind until a safe pass is possible; and motorized wheelchairs, scooters and personal assistive mobility devices may use bike lanes and paths and must be yielded to like bicycles. A bike box is usually a green box with a white bicycle symbol, with green lanes leading in and out: stop for the signal behind the box, never in it, since riders move into the box ahead of you; no right turns are allowed on red at these intersections, and a right turn on green requires signaling and yielding to bicyclists on the right. A sharrow, two chevrons above a bicycle symbol, marks a shared lane where riders may be in the road. The Oregon Bicycling Manual gives the rules for riders.
Motorcycles and mopeds
Motorcycles and mopeds hide in blind spots and their distance and speed are hard to judge; yield to an oncoming rider as to any vehicle, and it is safest to wait until they pass before turning. Follow a motorcycle at more distance than another car. Some motorcycle signals do not cancel automatically, so before turning in front of an oncoming rider with a signal on, be sure the rider is actually slowing to turn. Sharing a lane with a motorcycle or moped is illegal; when passing, allow the full lane. Wind can push a rider out of the lane, and gravel, debris, seams, grooved pavement and manhole covers can make riders change speed or direction, so increase your following distance.
Large vehicles and pilot vehicles
Recreational vehicles, vehicles towing trailers, trucks and commercial buses accelerate slowly, need more room to maneuver and take about three times the distance to stop as smaller vehicles at the same speed. They have larger side blind spots, and if you cannot see the driver in the side mirror, the driver cannot see you; a deep rear blind spot hides you directly behind while following closely also blocks your own view, and a stopped large vehicle may roll back slightly when starting, so do not pull up close. Passing takes longer, so finish quickly, never linger alongside in a blind spot, and look for the entire front of the vehicle in your rearview mirror before pulling in; on wet roads its spray will seriously cut your vision, so keep as far away as your lane allows. Large vehicles often cannot see vehicles directly behind or beside them when turning; watch their signals, never cut between a large vehicle and the curb or shoulder, expect them to swing wide and use more than one lane, watch for long loads extending into adjacent lanes, and do not crowd the intersection while they turn. A backing large vehicle may need to block the street; never cross behind one preparing to back or backing. On hills and mountain roads large vehicles cannot hold speed climbing and must descend slowly; smoking wheels or high speed can mean brake loss, so leave more space and do not pass. Pilot vehicles are specially marked escorts that lead or follow an especially large load: with one oncoming, slow and move as far right as your lane allows; following one, increase your distance; and pass a pilot vehicle or its load with caution.
Buses and other vehicles
School buses carry flashing amber and red lights near the top, front and rear, and may extend a stop arm when the red lights flash. Amber lights warn the bus is about to stop to load or unload children, so prepare to stop; when the red lights flash, stop before reaching the bus and stay stopped until the driver turns them off. On a divided highway whose two roads are separated by an unpaved median or a barrier, you stop only if you are on the same side as the bus; a painted median or turn lane does not make two roads, so all lanes must stop. Buses for places of worship and worker transport may use the same amber and red lights, which you treat exactly like a school bus's. Public transit buses pull to the curb for passengers, and vehicles approaching from behind must yield when the driver signals to re-enter and an electric "yield" sign flashes on the back. Slow-moving vehicles such as farm equipment must show the slow moving vehicle emblem, a reflective red border around a fluorescent orange center, so be ready to slow or adjust position. A load extending 4 feet or more beyond the rear needs a red flag at least 12 inches square, replaced in limited visibility by a red light visible 500 feet to the rear and sides; passenger vehicle loads may not extend beyond the left fenders, more than 6 inches beyond the right fenders, or more than 4 feet in front. Funeral processions are exempt from certain rules: their vehicles may enter intersections without stopping and need not obey traffic control devices, other vehicles yield to them, and joining or driving between the procession's vehicles is against the law.
Stopped vehicles, emergency vehicles and police stops
On a road with two or more lanes your way, approaching any motor vehicle stopped with its lights flashing, you must change lanes so you are not beside it, or slow to at least 5 mph below the posted limit, giving as much room as safely possible; approaching an emergency scene, slow and be ready to stop, and never drive over fire hoses unless officials say to. Fire trucks, police vehicles and ambulances using a light or siren from any direction have the right-of-way: immediately drive as close as safely possible to the right side and stop, not in an intersection, without interfering with them, and stay stopped until they pass or an officer moves you; afterward stay at least 500 feet behind. Police stop drivers with flashing lights or a siren. When stopped, pull as close as safely possible to the right side, not in an intersection or the center median, stop and turn off the engine; limit your and your passengers' movements; keep your hands on the wheel and passengers' hands in plain view; show your privilege or registration only when asked; stay in the vehicle unless requested; after dark, turn on the interior light after stopping and before the officer approaches; and do not argue at the scene, since violations and traffic crimes are decided in court.
Practise this with Oregon Driver License questions
More of this guide
The vision test, the 35-question knowledge test and its 28-answer pass mark, online testing rules, the drive test and its vehicle checklist, permits at 15 and licenses at 16 with six months and 100 supervised hours, proof documents, the 25/50/20 insurance minimums, collision duties and the 72-hour report, and how privileges are lost.
Red prohibitive signs, white regulatory signs from transit-only lanes to HOV, yellow warning signs for curves, merges, railroads and deer, route, green guide, safety corridor, brown and blue signs, dark signals treated as four-way stops, turns on red, flashing signals and every arrow, with sign pictures.
Where to drive, the 15, 20, 25 and 55 mph limits, variable speed signs and the basic rule, every yellow, white and red marking, the two- to four-second cushion, stopping distances, curves, lane changes, passing and no-passing rules, passing on the right, freeway entry, ramp meters and exits, and towing limits.
Signaling 100 feet ahead, hand signals, bike lanes and turns, which left turns are allowed on red, dual turn lanes, U-turn bans with the 500- and 1,000-foot rules, stop lines and unmarked crossings, four-way and uncontrolled intersections, roundabouts step by step, parallel parking within 12 inches, hill parking, disabled spaces and fines, and every no-parking location.
Orange devices and doubled fines, temporary speeds that apply at all times, flaggers and automated flagger devices, railroad signs, signals and markings, stopping 15 feet from the rail, when you must stop, never driving around a gate, escaping a stuck vehicle at 45 degrees, and the rules for driving, parking and turning around streetcars and light rail.
Belts and child seats, communicating, stopping, turning or speeding up to avoid a crash, leaving the road, drifting cars and animals, headlights and dimming distances, night, fog, rain, snow, skids and traction tires, the under-18 device ban and hands-free rule, drowsiness, DUII, implied consent, zero tolerance, open containers, external passengers and equipment failures.