Before opening your door on the traffic side of a parked vehicle, the manual tells you to check for what?
-
A.
Pedestrians on the sidewalk behind you
-
B.
Oncoming buses in the next lane
-
C.
Approaching motorcyclists Correct
The answer is "Approaching motorcyclists"
The manual tells drivers to check for motorcyclists before opening a door next to traffic, because motorcycles are small, easy to miss in a mirror, and a door pushed open into their path can knock a rider down. The pedestrian answer comes from readers who generalize the rule to any bystander, when the manual anchors it to a door opening into a traffic lane where a motorcycle is the specific hazard.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Pedestrians on the sidewalk behind you
The manual's warning is about the traffic side of the vehicle, not the sidewalk behind you. This answer carries over the parking-lot habit of checking for people walking past a car, rather than the traffic-side motorcyclist the manual singles out.
B. Oncoming buses in the next lane
The manual names motorcycles as the traffic-side hazard here, not larger vehicles that already fill a mirror. This answer reaches for the biggest traffic-side vehicle a driver worries about, when the manual singles out the small rider that disappears in mirrors.
This question tests your knowledge of Sharing the Road in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Sharing the Road, Motorcycles," p.44..
Related California questions
- You are driving alongside a large truck and cannot see the truck's side mirrors from your seat. What does this tell you? →
- Compared to a passenger car at 55 mph, how much farther can a large vehicle need to come to a full stop? →
- When you overtake a large vehicle on the highway, on which side does the manual tell you to pass? →
- A siren and lights appear behind you while you are already in the middle of an intersection. What does the manual tell you to do? →
- A vehicle ahead shows an orange and red triangle on its back. What does the marker tell you? →
You just took one California question apart. The book does it for the whole test.
The California book unlocks a free companion: an adaptive study plan, progress synced across your devices, a denser laminate cheat sheet, and a test-day walkthrough. Verify your copy once, usually in seconds; there's nothing extra to buy.
$18.99 paperback, free companion included.