Sharing the Road
What this domain covers
Sharing the road tests your duty to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, large-truck drivers, and school children. These road users are harder to see and more vulnerable; the exam rewards specific passing, following, and stopping rules rather than general caution.
Core rules
Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. When passing a bicyclist, leave at least three feet of space where Missouri law applies and do not sound your horn unnecessarily. Motorcycles are entitled to a full lane; never share a lane with one, and allow extra following distance because motorcycles can stop quickly. Large trucks have large blind spots-especially on the right, directly behind, and in front-and they swing wide before a right turn. Do not pass a truck on the right if it is signaling a right turn. For a school bus with flashing red lights and its stop arm out, stop before reaching it whether you are behind it or meeting it on a two-lane road. Traffic in the opposite direction does not have to stop on a divided highway separated by a median. Stop far enough back-at least 10 feet-to leave children a safe path. Missouri's Move Over law requires moving over one lane or slowing down for stopped emergency, tow, and maintenance vehicles with lights.
Worked example
A school bus stops ahead on a two-lane road with red lights flashing. The reasoning: the red lights and stop arm require traffic in both directions to stop; you wait until the lights stop flashing and the arm retracts. If the road had a raised median separating directions, only traffic on the bus's side would stop.
Traps
Passing a stopped school bus because you are in a hurry; squeezing past a cyclist with less than three feet; riding in a truck's right-side blind spot; and assuming a motorcycle will be easy to see. Also, do not stop for a bus on the opposite side of a divided highway when a median separates you.