Right-of-way and intersections
The car in the lane beside you has stopped at a crosswalk. Your light is green and your own lane looks clear. What should you do?
- Do not pass it: a pedestrian you cannot see may be crossing. Correct answer
- Pass it, but at no more than 10 mph.
- Pass it at normal speed, because the green light gives you the right-of-way.
Why
A stopped vehicle at a crosswalk is a screen, and the handbook gives that as the reason not to pass it: you may not be able to see the pedestrian who made it stop. The green light does not settle the question either, because a green light still requires you to stop for any pedestrian in the intersection, and pedestrians have the right-of-way in marked and unmarked crosswalks alike. The 10 mph answer is a real limit from a neighboring rule, the one that lets you pass a bus, streetcar or trolley stopped at a safety zone or a traffic light at no more than 10 mph. Here the correct response is not a slower speed at all; it is waiting until you can see what the other driver can.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Do not pass it: a pedestrian you cannot see may be crossing.
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Right-of-Way Rules: Who Goes First? › Pedestrians, page 41
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Right-of-Way Rules: Who Goes First? › Crosswalks, page 41
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Traffic Control › Traffic Signals › Solid Green Light, page 34
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Sharing the Road › Buses, Streetcars, Trolleys, page 43
The rule behind this one
Right of way in California: who goes first goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- A firefighter at the scene of a collision waves you through a red light. What should you do?
- You are on an on-ramp, about to merge onto the highway. Who has the right-of-way?
- You are waiting to turn left. An oncoming car has its right turn signal on. When should you start your turn?
- You come up to a solid red light and want to turn right. No NO TURN ON RED sign is posted. What must you do?