Sharing the Road: Pedestrians and Service Animals, School Buses on Two-Lane and Multilane Roads, Transit Buses, Large Vehicles and Snowplows, Motorcycles, Bicyclists and Bike Lanes, Trains and Light Rail, Agricultural Vehicles, and Emergency Vehicles
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Washington Driving Knowledge Exam. The facts follow the official guide; the wording is ours.
Source: Washington State Driver Guide (text-only edition, 2025), Washington State Department of Licensing, chapter 4 "Roads" (sections 4.0–4.9).
People walking
Always yield to pedestrians. Pedestrians and bicyclists have the right-of-way at crosswalks and intersections whether marked or not. Wait until a pedestrian has cleared your lane and one additional lane before proceeding; if the person uses a wheelchair, cane, guide dog or other service animal, wait until they have completely crossed. Never drive into oncoming traffic to pass a pedestrian or bicyclist. Watch for people who cannot see you (behind buildings or cars, backs turned, hats or umbrellas), who are distracted (children, delivery workers, road workers, people on phones or headphones), who may be confused (tourists, people following a map), and who use a wheelchair, cane or service animal. Interfering with a service animal is unlawful, and do not honk near one; it can confuse or frighten the animal or the person.
School buses
School bus lights work like traffic signals: red means stop, yellow means caution or slow down. Fines are doubled for passing a stopped school bus, and passing while red lights flash is unlawful. Every driver traveling in the same direction must stop when the red lights flash and the stop sign extends; drivers in a center turn lane or any turn lane must stop too. Go only after the lights stop, the sign retracts and the metal arm returns to the bus's front bumper, and keep watching for children afterward. Approaching from the front on a two-lane road, all vehicles stop. On a multilane road, drivers behind the bus stop, but drivers coming the opposite way need not stop if there are three or more lanes or the lanes are separated by a median or barrier.
Transit buses
Yield to a transit vehicle traveling your direction that has signaled and is pulling back onto the roadway.
Large trucks and buses
Large vehicles need more time and space. Follow far enough back to see the road ahead. If you cannot see the driver's mirrors, the driver cannot see you; there are blind zones on each side, so do not linger alongside. A loaded truck with properly adjusted brakes at 55 mph needs 450 feet to stop, so never cut in front without room. Before merging ahead of one, wait until you can see both of its headlights in your rearview mirror, then keep up with traffic. Large vehicles may need more than one lane to turn and two lanes in a roundabout; do not pass one while it is turning, a frequent cause of collisions. Avoid driving near vehicles placarded for hazardous materials, and expect slow trucks in the right lane on long steep grades. Give snowplows room: they throw snow that creates blizzard-like conditions for anyone following closely.
Motorcycles
Motorcyclists have the same rights and duties as everyone else but are small, vulnerable and hard to see. Leave extra stopping room, more in rain or on slick surfaces. They move around within their lane to see, be seen and avoid debris; they are entitled to the full lane width, so never share a lane alongside one. They hide in blind zones: before turning, look left, right and left again, because drivers pulling out or turning in front of a motorcycle often miss it or misjudge its speed. Gravel, seams, small animals, potholes and manhole covers can force a rider to change speed or position. Give riders time to notice your signals and brake lights; they may slow with the throttle and show no brake light, and some signals do not cancel automatically.
Bicyclists
Bicyclists have the rights, duties and responsibilities of a vehicle driver. Watch for them in crosswalks and on sidewalks when turning or entering a driveway, and yield at intersections as you would to a vehicle. You cannot share a lane with a bicyclist: they may legally take the full lane and ride where they are most visible, and behind one you leave at least 3 feet. A bicyclist in a crosswalk is treated as a pedestrian in marked and unmarked crosswalks alike. To pass, wait until safe, move over one full lane where there are two lanes your direction, or into the oncoming lane only when it is clear on a two-lane road, keeping 3 feet between the rider and the widest part of your vehicle. Pass slowly on the left, never into oncoming traffic, and do not return until clear of the rider. Let the bicyclist clear the intersection before turning; never pass one just before a right turn. Bike lanes are typically painted green, bordered by solid white lines and marked with a bicycle symbol; treat the markings as continuing even where they end. Drive in a bike lane only when turning or crossing it to park at the curb, and look all around for riders before opening a door.
Trains and light rail
Cross tracks only at designated crossings. Flashing red lights mean a train is coming and you stay outside the gates. Trains always have the right-of-way and can take up to a mile to stop. When lights flash and bells ring you must stop whether or not the gate is down, and never drive around a gate. Stop 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail when a signal flashes, a gate is lowering or down, a flagger signals, a train is close enough to be an immediate hazard, you hear a train horn, or a stop sign is posted; go when the lights stop and all warnings deactivate. Never try to beat a train or stop on the tracks; if stuck, get everyone out at once. Trust the signals: trains can be closer, quieter and faster than they look, and can come from either direction on any track. For anything on or near the tracks, call the number on the blue-and-white Emergency Notification System sign and give the crossing ID, or dial 911 if there is no sign. Near Sound Transit's Link light rail, obey signs and markings, watch for trains, keep at least one car length from them, and never stop, park or leave a car on the tracks.
Agricultural vehicles
Farm vehicles built for 25 mph or less carry a triangle emblem on the back. Be patient, slow down and pass with care: move over a full lane where there are two lanes your direction, or proceed carefully when the oncoming lane is clear, leaving at least 3 feet from the widest part of your vehicle.
Emergency vehicles
Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars using lights and/or sirens always have the right-of-way. As soon as you see or hear them, pull to the right side of the road and stop, wait until they have passed, then signal and reenter traffic in the order you were traveling before.
Practise this with Washington Driver License questions
More of this guide
Your WDL number and License Express, the 30-day rule for new residents, standard versus enhanced cards and REAL ID, the instruction permit at 15 or 15½, the 6-month, 50-hour and 6-clean-month rules at 16 and 17, the intermediate license passenger and 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. limits, agricultural permits, the two exams and their 2-year validity, renewals and the 8-year rule, offenses that cost the license, implied consent, the .08 and .02 BAC and 5 ng THC limits, test refusal, the open container law and the 10-day address rule.
Title and registration, the 5-day report of sale and 15-day title transfer, plates front and rear, the $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 insurance minimums, driver assistance systems and their limits, 2/32-inch tread, the half-hour headlight rule, high beams at 500 and 300 feet, brake lights at 100 feet, hand signals, the 10-inch air-bag distance, belt fit, rear-facing to 2, harness to 4, boosters to 4 feet 9 inches and no front seat under 13, hand-to-hand and hand-over-hand steering, braking levels, ABS, pitch, roll and yaw, reference points and blind zones.
Vision and hearing rules, the earbud ban and one-ear hands-free exception, the no-phone rule for permit and intermediate drivers, alcohol, cannabis, medication and polydrug impairment, fatigue and the 20-minute nap, aggressive driving as a traffic offense, racing, road rage as a crime and how to report it, informed decisions and the OODA loop, the hand-held device ban and doubled fines, attention and scanning, litter fines, idling and the Clean Car Law, and self-evaluation.
Keep right except to pass, no backing on a freeway, treating a dead signal as a four-way stop, every light color and arrow including right and left turns on red, ramp meters, sign colors, stop, yield, speed limit, keep right, safety cameras, variable speed signs, one way, do not enter, wrong way, no passing, center turn lane and work zone signs with doubled fines, white and yellow lines, medians, the 300-foot center-lane limit, HOV, reversible, reserved and toll lanes, crosswalks, bike lanes and buffers, stop lines, fire lanes, sharrows and bicycle boxes, with pictures of the signs.
Every intersection is a crosswalk, four-way and two-way stops, uncontrolled intersections, turning into the closest lane and signaling 100 feet ahead, U-turns, T and Y intersections, mid-block crossings, calming circles, roundabouts at 15 to 25 mph, diverging diamonds, the 20 mph school zone, work zones, the emergency zone move-over or 10-under rule and 50 mph cap, the full no-parking list with its 30, 5, 75, 20, 50, 12 and 15-foot distances, curb colors, the Dutch Reach, children and animals left in cars, parallel and hill parking, disabled and EV spaces, towing, loads, animals, ferries and beach driving.
Fatal crash factors, risk awareness and the plan-communicate-check-execute-evaluate routine, what speeding does, safe speed for conditions, the two-vehicle-length space, merging and zipper merging, eye-lead time and the 15-second count, fields of vision, night driving within 400 feet, curves and the laws of motion, slippery roads, black ice, skids and hydroplaning, blowouts, engine, headlight and accelerator failures, flares at 200 to 300 feet, what to do after a crash, the 4-day collision report, injuries and 911, power lines and the 35-foot rule, the emergency kit, police stops and the 15-day ticket rule.