School Zone and Pedestrian Signs
School Zone and Pedestrian Signs
School and pedestrian signs protect people who are walking, biking, or boarding buses. The exam tests school-zone speed rules, the school bus stop law, crosswalk behavior, and recognition of fluorescent yellow-green signs. These signs often use a pentagon shape for school advance warnings and may include flashing lights or a posted lower speed.
Core rules
- School advance and school crossing signs are fluorescent yellow-green with black symbols. Slow down and watch for children near schools, playgrounds, and bus stops.
- School-zone speed limits apply when posted or when lights flash. In North Carolina, the school-zone limit is typically 25 mph when flashing unless a different limit is posted. Obey the lower limit even if you do not see children.
- When a school bus stops with red lights flashing and its stop arm out on a two-lane road, traffic in both directions must stop. On a divided highway with a median, only traffic in the lanes behind the bus must stop; opposite-direction traffic may proceed with caution. Remain stopped until the red lights stop and the bus moves.
- At a crosswalk, yield to pedestrians. Do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk-it may be yielding to someone you cannot see.
- Pedestrian signals: WALK means start crossing; flashing DON'T WALK means finish crossing if already started, but do not begin.
Worked example
You are driving on a two-lane road and a school bus ahead stops with red lights flashing. You are in the opposite direction. Because the road is not a divided highway with a median, you must stop too. Do not proceed just because you see no children; a child may be crossing behind or in front of the bus. Wait until the red lights stop and the stop arm retracts.
Traps that cost marks
Do not stop only when children are visible. Do not pass a stopped school bus on a two-lane road. Do not confuse the divided-highway exception with an ordinary four-lane road-the median matters. Do not block a crosswalk while waiting at a light, and do not start crossing on a flashing DON'T WALK.