Tags show the kind of rule and whether it’s a written-test point or matters on the drive test (our tagging). Each rule links to its official source.
When a school bus flashes the yellow lights near its roof, front and back, it’s about to stop to load or unload passengers: slow down and be ready to stop.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing
When a stopped school bus flashes red lights, traffic from both directions must stop before reaching it, on every New York road, even in front of schools and in school lots. Stop at least 20 feet away.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1174
Even across a divided highway, a school bus flashing its red lights means you stop.
California differs: The opposite of California, where the Vehicle Code and handbook let you keep going when the bus is across a divided highway or a road with two or more lanes each way; California’s drive-test scoring criteria list only the divided highway. In New York you always stop. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1174
Stay stopped until the bus moves again or its driver or a traffic officer signals you to go. Then look for children along the road and drive slowly until you’re past them.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1174
Most school-bus deaths and injuries happen to children crossing the street after leaving the bus, not in crashes involving the bus.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing
Vehicles that carry people with disabilities may be equipped as school buses; when their red lights flash, stop just as you would for any school bus.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing
Passing a stopped school bus costs at least $250 the first time and up to $1,000 for a third offense in three years; three convictions in three years mean a revocation of at least six months.
Changed 2024-11-01: Since 2024-11-01, a third conviction within three years for passing a stopped school bus is fined $750 to $1,500 (the cap used to be $1,000); the manual hasn’t caught up. The law also allows jail: up to 30 days for a first offense, and up to 180 days for a second or later conviction within three years. NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1174
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1174
School districts and towns may use stop-arm cameras on buses. The owner of a car caught passing a stopped bus pays $250, then $275 for a second within 18 months and $300 for a third or more.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 6: Passing
Speeding fines double in work zones, even when no workers or work vehicles are present.
Changed 2026-02-16: Since 2026-02-16, speeding in a work zone carries 8 points; before, its points depended on how far over the limit you were. DMV news: updated point values (2026)
California differs: In California, work-zone fines double when workers are present or in posted Double Fine Zones; in New York, speeding fines double in any work zone, workers or not. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1180
Orange diamond-shaped signs warn of a work zone ahead. Expect lanes to shift or close, workers and equipment near your lane, and the need to slow down sharply or stop.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
A flagger directing traffic in a work zone carries the same legal weight as a sign; you can be ticketed for ignoring a flagger’s signals.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
When signs warn of a closed lane ahead, merge into the open lane as soon as it’s safe. Don’t speed to the end of the closing lane and force your way in.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
Slow down at the first warning sign: at 60 mph you cover the distance on a ‘Road Work 1,500 feet’ sign in about 17 seconds.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
Rear-end collisions are the most common work-zone crash. Stay at least 2 seconds behind the vehicle ahead, and leave room from barriers, trucks, equipment and workers.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
Some work zones move, such as line painting, patching or mowing. Keep obeying work-zone signs until you reach the sign marking its end, and use a posted detour or another route when you can.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 8: Defensive Driving
At every crossing, assume a train could come on any of the tracks, from either direction, at any hour. Trains are nearer and faster than they look and slow to stop, so never race one.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
At a crossing with flashing lights or gates, wait until the lights go dark and the gates are all the way up. Never drive around a lowered gate, or under one that is moving up or down.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
Stop at least 15 feet from the nearest rail when crossing lights flash, a bell rings, a gate is down or a flagger signals, or whenever a train is clearly close enough to be a hazard.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1170
Never start across railroad tracks unless your whole vehicle can clear every track. If traffic ahead would leave you stopped on the rails, wait until there is room on the other side.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
A crossbuck, the X-shaped RAILROAD CROSSING sign, means yield to trains; a number on it tells you how many tracks there are. With no gates or lights, slow down, look and listen, and be ready to stop.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
Where there is more than one track, wait after a train passes until you can see clearly down every track in both directions. A second train may be hidden behind the first.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
Pavement markings often warn that a railroad crossing is ahead. While you wait for a train to pass, stay behind the stop line.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
School buses (even empty), passenger-carrying buses, and vehicles carrying explosives or flammable loads are required to stop at every railroad crossing. Be ready to stop behind them.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1171
Stuck or stalled on the tracks? Get everyone out at once and move away from the rails, even if you see no train. Then call the number on the crossing’s Emergency Notification System sign.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
If a train is coming, run away from the tracks at about a 45-degree angle, heading toward the oncoming train, not away from it. Running in the train’s direction of travel exposes you to flying wreckage.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 10: Special Driving Conditions
People on foot are the most exposed road users, and the law demands extra care around them. Be especially alert for children around schools, playgrounds, parks, bus stops and ice cream trucks.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
When backing up with children nearby, look through the rear window instead of relying on mirrors. Before backing into or out of a driveway, get out and check behind your vehicle.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A blind pedestrian using a guide dog, or a cane that is white or metal, always has the right-of-way at marked and unmarked crosswalks, even if the signal or other rules are in your favor.
Law Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1153
Yield to pedestrians at every crosswalk and intersection, marked or unmarked. Where there’s no traffic signal, you must yield to anyone in a crosswalk and to anyone your car would put in danger.
Law Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Don’t overtake a car that’s stopped at a crosswalk or for people crossing: it may be hiding a pedestrian you can’t see.
Law Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
When you stop for people crossing, stop well back from the crosswalk so drivers in other lanes can see the pedestrians too and stop.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Yield to pedestrians when turning right or left at an intersection. Look every way, then look again: turning right, watch your right side; turning left, watch for people across the street to your left.
Law Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Left turns are especially dangerous for pedestrians: more than 35% of pedestrian-injury crashes in New York City happen while a driver is turning left.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Pedestrians must obey signals, signs and traffic officers, use the sidewalk where there is one, and otherwise walk facing traffic as far from it as they can. Hitchhiking or selling from the roadway isn’t allowed.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Expect pedestrians anywhere, including outside crosswalks, and expect some who can’t see, hear or move quickly. Take extra care near children at play, older people, and anyone with a guide dog, white cane or mobility aid.
Safety advice Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
The pillars beside your windshield (A-pillars) can block your view of people crossing and create blind spots; stay aware of them.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
You can be ticketed for hitting or injuring a pedestrian or bicyclist, or for failing to exercise due care around them.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Cyclists ride with traffic and have the same rights and duties as drivers. Yield to them as you would to any vehicle, don’t underestimate their speed, and be ready for riders who break the rules.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Cyclists must use a bike lane when there is one; otherwise they keep near the right curb, edge or shoulder, except to turn left or avoid hazards. At most two may ride abreast in a lane.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A cyclist must stop fully before entering the road from a driveway or alley or by riding over a curb, and may not ride on sidewalks where local law bans it.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Cyclists and bike passengers aged 1 to 13 must wear approved helmets. Carrying a baby under 1 is illegal, and children aged 1 to 4 must ride in an attached bicycle child seat.
California differs: California requires helmets for every rider under 18; New York’s requirement covers ages 1 to 13, and adults follow local rules. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
At night a bicycle needs a headlight visible 500 feet ahead, a red taillight visible 300 feet behind, and a light visible 200 feet to each side.
California differs: California’s numbers run the other way: a front light visible from 300 feet and a red rear reflector or light from 500 feet. New York wants a 500-foot headlight and a 300-foot red taillight. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A bicycle used on public roads needs brakes that work and a bell or horn that can be heard at least 100 feet away.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Cyclists use arm signals for turns, stops and lane changes; a right turn may also be shown by holding the right arm straight out. Learn these signals so you can predict what a rider will do.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A cyclist must always have a hand on the handlebars, may carry a passenger only on a passenger seat, and may not carry anything that interferes with control of the bike.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Any bike crash that kills or seriously injures someone must be reported to DMV within 10 days, using form MV-104C or online.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Before turning, parallel parking, opening a door or pulling away from the curb, turn your head to check blind spots for cyclists, skaters and scooter riders. Mirrors alone aren’t enough.
Safety advice Written test · Drive test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Give cyclists plenty of room and slow down as you pass, since a fast car’s air blast can knock a rider off balance. Pass them as you would any vehicle, moving into the next lane when it’s safe.
California differs: New York’s manual gives no fixed 3-foot minimum like California’s. It says the law requires passing on the cyclist’s left at a safe distance. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1122-A
A cyclist may suddenly change speed, direction or lane position to dodge road hazards, much as a motorcyclist would. Expect it and leave room.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Turning right on red? A cyclist may be coming up on your right rear. Stop completely, look left, right, left again and behind, and only then turn.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
After parking, look for approaching cyclists before opening your door so you don’t swing it into their path. Don’t open a door on the traffic side if it would get in the way of cyclists or other traffic. New York law (VTL §1214) also bars leaving a traffic-side door open longer than needed to load or unload passengers.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road NY Vehicle and Traffic Law §1214
Bike lanes, two-way cycle tracks, green-painted bike lanes and bike boxes (marked waiting areas ahead of the stop line) are for cyclists; drivers may not drive in them.
California differs: California lets you enter a bike lane within 200 feet of a turn. New York’s manual gives no such exception and just says drivers may not drive in these spaces. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
In-line skaters, skateboarders and riders of non-motorized scooters are as vulnerable as pedestrians. Watch for them along the roadside, in bike lanes, at intersections and at crosswalks, and use due care.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Motorcyclists have the same rights and duties as other drivers but are far more likely to be badly hurt in a crash. Many drivers who hit one say they never saw it, so actively look for motorcycles.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Motorcycles are hard to see and judge: their small size makes them seem farther away than they are and makes their speed hard to judge, and their headlights, brake lights and turn signals stand out less than a car’s.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Many motorcycle turn signals don’t cancel themselves, so a blinking signal doesn’t prove the rider is about to turn.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Two motorcycles may ride side by side in one lane, but a motorcycle may not share a lane with, or pass within the lane of, a car or any other vehicle that isn’t a motorcycle.
California differs: California allows motorcycles to ride between lanes (lane splitting). New York doesn’t let a motorcycle share a lane with a car. California rule
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A rider may suddenly shift speed or lane position to avoid gravel, debris, pavement seams, covers or small animals, rise off the seat at rail crossings, or move to mid-lane on steel-deck bridges. Stay well back.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Don’t tailgate a motorcycle: it can stop shorter than a car and its braking is easy to miss. Give extra room in rain or darkness, and pass carefully, since your car’s air blast can unsettle it.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A motorcycle can hide in front of the car you’re about to pass, or in the left part of the lane you’re merging into from a ramp. Check carefully before you pass or merge.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Left turns are a classic motorcycle trap: in 41% of fatal U.S. motorcycle crashes in 2015, the other vehicle was turning left while the motorcycle went straight, passed or overtook.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Mopeds (limited-use motorcycles) come in three classes by top speed: A 31–40 mph, B 21–30 mph, C 20 mph or less. All must be registered and ridden with the headlight on; helmets are required on A and B.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Class B and C mopeds must keep to the far right of the right lane except when turning left; Class A may use any lane. Mopeds stay off expressways unless signs allow. Treat a moped like a bicycle.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
In more than 60% of fatal car-truck crashes, the car driver contributes to the cause, and in four of every five, it’s the person in the car who is killed.
Safety advice NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
The bigger the vehicle, the bigger its blind spots (‘no zones’): deep behind it, wide on both sides, and up to 20 feet in front of a long-hood tractor. Don’t linger there; the driver can’t see you.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Big trucks need much more distance to stop, partly because air brakes add delay. Leave plenty of space behind one, and if you’re ahead of it, signal turns and lane changes early and avoid sudden moves.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Never cut abruptly in front of a large vehicle. After passing one, return to its lane only when you can see its whole front in your mirror; when exiting, slow down and leave behind it.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Large vehicles swing wide to turn, often moving left before a right turn. Watch their turn signals, and don’t linger in the space a turning truck needs, where the driver may not see you.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Passing a large vehicle takes more time and room than passing a car, so allow extra on two-way roads. Trucks slow on upgrades but can speed up a lot going downhill, stretching out your pass.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Don’t try to slip past close behind a truck that’s backing up, often across the road toward a loading dock. Wait until it’s done; going around can put you in its blind spot.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
An approaching tractor-trailer is often bigger and faster than it looks and reaches you sooner than you expect. On a two-way road, keep as far right as is safe as it passes.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
When stopped behind a truck or bus at a light or sign, especially facing uphill, leave extra space: it may roll back as it starts, and the gap lets you pull around it.
Safety advice Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
A reflective orange triangle marks a slow-moving vehicle: animal-drawn vehicles, most farm machines, construction equipment and rural mail carriers. Approach with caution and pass only when it’s safe.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
ATVs and snowmobiles may legally cross many roads, but they must stop, yield to traffic and cross at a 90-degree angle.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Horse riders must obey traffic rules and are protected by them too. They ride single file near the right edge, or on a usable right shoulder, lane or path.
Law NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road
Near a horse being ridden or led along the road, slow to a reasonable speed and keep a reasonable distance. Sounding your horn while approaching or passing a horse is illegal.
Law Written test NY Driver’s Manual, ch. 11: Sharing the Road