Driver's License Test Prep
Oregon Practice Right of Way

A pedestrian is walking across the road in your lane at a marked crosswalk. What's required of you?

  1. A.
    Stop only if the pedestrian is directly in front of your bumper.
  2. B.
    Slow down but proceed if there is room to pass.
  3. C.
    Stop and remain stopped until they clear your lane and the next. Correct
  4. D.
    Stop, but proceed as soon as the pedestrian steps out of your lane of travel.
The Why

The answer is "Stop and remain stopped until they clear your lane and the next."

Oregon law requires you to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk when the pedestrian is in your lane of travel, in a lane next to your lane (including a bike lane), or in the lane you are turning into. Drivers who half-remember the rule as "wait until they're out of your lane" pick D; Oregon extends the wait through the next lane over, bike lanes included.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Stop only if the pedestrian is directly in front of your bumper.

You must stop as soon as any part of the pedestrian is in your lane or the lane next to it, not wait until contact is imminent. This answer applies the everyday instinct that you only need to brake when a collision looks imminent, ignoring the manual's earlier lane-based trigger for a full stop.

B. Slow down but proceed if there is room to pass.

You must stop and remain stopped, not slow and pass. The manual requires a full halt and staying put, not a yield. This answer treats the crosswalk like a yield sign, applying the slow-look-proceed habit that works at yields but not at Oregon's mandatory pedestrian stop.

D. Stop, but proceed as soon as the pedestrian steps out of your lane of travel.

Clearing your lane is not enough. You must remain stopped while the pedestrian is still in the lane next to your lane of travel, including a bike lane. This answer half-remembers the rule as 'wait until they clear your lane,' the common shorthand that drops the adjacent-lane extension Oregon adds for bike lanes.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Sharing the Road, Pedestrians," p.46..

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