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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?

  1. Stop completely, then look left, right, left again and behind before turning. Correct answer
  2. Slow down and turn once traffic from your left is clear.
  3. 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

  1. 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?
  2. You come up behind a Class B moped. Where on the road is it allowed to operate?
  3. A snowmobile rider needs to cross a state highway ahead of you. How does New York law require the crossing to be made?
  4. You are approaching a person riding a horse along the side of the road. Which of these actions is illegal?

All 26 questions on this topic

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