Sharing the road
Outside New York City, you want to turn right on a red light where turning is allowed. What should you do to avoid hitting a bicyclist coming up from your right rear?
- Stop completely, then look left, right, left again and behind before turning. Correct answer
- Slow down and turn once traffic from your left is clear.
- Stop, check your right mirror once, then turn.
Why
A right turn on red crosses the path of anyone coming up along the curb, and a bicyclist approaching from your right rear is easy to miss because you are busy looking left for a gap. The manual's advice is a full stop, then a left-right-left scan, and then a look behind before you turn. Rolling through after checking only the left leaves the cyclist out of the picture, and a single mirror check is not enough because the manual warns against relying on mirrors alone to spot bicyclists. A full stop is required anyway before any right turn on red. Remember too that in New York City you may not turn on red at all unless a sign allows it. Where the turn is allowed, the sequence is a full stop, a look left, right and left again, and a look behind you before the car moves.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is Stop completely, then look left, right, left again and behind before turning.
More on sharing the road
- Your light is green. A pedestrian using a white cane starts across the street in front of you at an unmarked crosswalk. What must you do?
- You come up behind a Class B moped. Where on the road is it allowed to operate?
- A snowmobile rider needs to cross a state highway ahead of you. How does New York law require the crossing to be made?
- You are approaching a person riding a horse along the side of the road. Which of these actions is illegal?