Sharing the Road and Hazard Awareness
Sharing-the-road questions focus on vulnerable road users and blind spots. Give pedestrians the right-of-way at crosswalks and intersections; do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. Yield to cyclists and give them space; when passing, leave a safe margin and check your mirror and shoulder before moving back. Motorcyclists are small and easy to miss - never share a lane with them, and allow extra following distance.
Large vehicles such as trucks and buses have extensive blind spots and wide turning paths. Do not linger alongside a turning truck; it may need to swing wide and can crush a vehicle in its path. Allow buses re-entering traffic from a stop. School buses with flashing red lights require traffic in both directions to stop (unless divided by a median).
Watch for emergency vehicles: pull to the right and stop when an ambulance, fire truck, or police vehicle approaches with lights and siren. At railway crossings, stop if signals activate, never stop on the tracks, and look both ways even when gates are up.
Traps: assuming a cyclist will yield to you; forgetting the school-bus red-light rule; passing a stopped truck on the right where it is turning; ignoring crosswalk pedestrians when turning.
Worked example: A school bus ahead displays flashing red lights on an undivided road. Traffic in both directions must stop until the lights stop flashing. If the road were divided by a median, only traffic on the bus's side would need to stop.