You sound your horn to warn a pedestrian who is crossing against the signal, but the pedestrian does not stop. What must you do?
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A.
Speed up to clear the crosswalk before the pedestrian reaches your lane
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B.
Continue through at the same speed
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C.
Stop until the pedestrian is clear Correct
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D.
Swerve into the next lane
The answer is "Stop until the pedestrian is clear"
If your horn warning does not stop the pedestrian, you must stop. Option B is the trap for drivers who treat a green light as absolute priority; the manual explicitly overrides that, saying the safe driver yields to a pedestrian whether they are entitled to right of way or not.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Speed up to clear the crosswalk before the pedestrian reaches your lane
The manual tells the driver to stop, not to race the pedestrian across the intersection. This answer borrows the timing-the-yellow habit of accelerating through a closing window, applied to a person in the crosswalk instead of a signal change.
B. Continue through at the same speed
The manual overrides your green with the pedestrian's safety; you must stop. This answer applies the ordinary green-light habit of holding speed through the intersection, a reflex that fits an empty crosswalk but not one where a pedestrian is already walking against the light.
D. Swerve into the next lane
Swerving risks a crash with adjacent traffic; the manual's instruction is to stop. This answer borrows the debris-avoidance reflex drivers use for a fallen tire tread or bag in the lane, forgetting that a walking pedestrian keeps moving into the space you would steer toward.
This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Chapter 4 - Your Driving, Pedestrians," p.47..
Related North Carolina questions
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- You are moving through an intersection on a green light. A pedestrian starts to cross in your path against the red pedestrian signal. What does the law require you to do first? →
- A railroad crossing has a crossbuck sign but no lights and no gates. Who yields at that crossing? →
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