Sharing the road
Raised buttons mark off a space on the road where people wait to board a streetcar. When may you drive through that space?
- Never, under any condition. Correct answer
- Only when nobody is waiting in it.
- When the streetcar is stopped, at no more than 10 mph.
Why
A safety zone is space set aside for people waiting for a bus, streetcar or trolley, and the handbook allows no exceptions: you never drive through one, empty or not. The raised buttons or markers on the pavement are how you spot it. The 10 mph figure is real but answers a different question. It is the top speed for passing a bus, streetcar or trolley that has stopped at a safety zone or a traffic light, which means going by the vehicle, not across the zone. Keep the two ideas apart: the zone itself is off-limits, while the vehicle stopped beside it may be passed slowly.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Never, under any condition.
The rule behind this one
Sharing the road in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on sharing the road
- You are waiting to turn left across light rail tracks. Which of these is correct?
- You come up behind a road maintenance vehicle with an orange and red triangle on its back. What does the triangle tell you?
- You ride a bicycle after dark. From how far away must your rear red reflector or red light be visible?
- Ahead of you, a rider on horseback is moving cattle along a rural road. What does the handbook tell you to do?