Right-of-way · medium
A pedestrian has stepped into a marked crosswalk at an intersection with no traffic signal. What are you required to do?
- A Sound the horn once and pass behind the pedestrian
- B Slow to 10 mph and proceed carefully around the pedestrian
- C Stop and remain stopped until the pedestrian has cleared your lane and the lane beside it Correct
- D Continue if the pedestrian has not yet reached the centre of the road
Why C is correct
Once a pedestrian has entered a marked crosswalk, the driver must yield, and yielding means stopping rather than squeezing past. The obligation lasts until the pedestrian has cleared the lane you are driving in and the lane immediately next to it, because someone walking quickly can still be in your path even after passing your lane markers. There is no partial credit for creeping forward: rolling slowly behind a walker, or overtaking a car that has correctly stopped for one, are both illegal and rank among the most common ways people on foot are struck. The same duty applies when turning, since a driver watching for a gap in traffic often never looks at the crosswalk at all.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Sound the horn once and pass behind the pedestrian
- A horn warns someone that you exist; it does not transfer the right of way to you. Passing behind a pedestrian still puts a moving vehicle through the same physical space they occupy, which is precisely what the rule prevents.
- B. Slow to 10 mph and proceed carefully around the pedestrian
- Slowing to a crawl is not stopping. A pedestrian reads a creeping car as a car that intends to keep going, and the few miles per hour you retain is enough to cause serious injury to someone who steps back into your path.
- D. Continue if the pedestrian has not yet reached the centre of the road
- Reaching the centre of the road earns a pedestrian nothing and gives you nothing. The duty begins the moment they step into the crosswalk with the intent to cross, and it does not expire until they are clear of your lane and the one beside it.
On the road
You turn right on a green light at a downtown corner and see a woman two lanes away crossing with the signal. She is nowhere near your lane yet, so you roll forward — and by the time she has covered half the distance you are already beside her. Waiting until she reaches the far kerb costs four seconds. That four seconds is the whole rule.
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Sources
- Section referenced: Colorado Driver Handbook — Pedestrians; Right-of-Way
- Colorado Driver Handbook, January 2025 (DR 2337) — English PDF · Spanish PDF
- Retrieved 2026-10-17 from Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles
Every question on this page is written in our own words and is not copied from the handbook. Reviewed by Ethan Wen on 2026-10-17.