Alaska · Handbook chapter 8 · 7 min read

Chapter 8: Sharing the road

Driving safely around pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, school buses, slow-moving vehicles, emergency vehicles, large trucks and trains in Alaska, and what to do when police stop you.

Why this chapter matters

Many test questions are about other road users: when to stop for a school bus, how to react to an emergency vehicle, and how much room trucks and motorcycles need. Learn 500 feet behind emergency vehicles, 25 mph for slow-moving vehicles, 400 feet for a truck to stop, 1500 feet for trains and 20 seconds on the tracks.

Vulnerable road users

People walking or biking, highway workers on foot and people in wheelchairs have no protection in a crash. Their chances of survival drop sharply as speed rises: nearly all pedestrians survive a 12 mph crash, about 90 percent at 25 mph, fewer than half at 50 mph and only about 10 percent at 62 mph.

• Look for pedestrians and bicyclists everywhere, especially at dusk, dawn, night and in bad weather.
• Slow down and be ready to stop when turning into a crosswalk; make eye contact and yield.
• Stop well back from the crosswalk so other drivers can see the people crossing too.
• Never pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. Someone may be crossing where you cannot see.
• Take extra care when backing up.

Pedestrians' duties

Pedestrians should cross only at crosswalks, obey signals, not start across on a stale green or a DON'T WALK, look for turning vehicles, walk on the left side of the highway facing traffic, not hitchhike on the highway, and wear light clothing at night.

Bicycles

A bicycle is a vehicle. Bicyclists may share the road and ride in the same direction as traffic, and you must yield to them as you would to any other vehicle. They are hard to see and unprotected, so check your blind spots by turning your head before you turn, parallel park, open a door or pull away from the curb. Children under nine cannot yet handle traffic safely, so take special care near them.

Bicyclists must obey traffic laws and signal turns and stops by hand. Under AS 28.15.231(b), no points are assessed for violations made on a bicycle.

Motorcycles

Motorcycles are less than 4 percent of U.S. vehicles but are in 11 percent of motor vehicle deaths, and in most of those crashes the other driver is at fault.

• Left turns in front of oncoming motorcycles cause many crashes. Look once, then again, and be sure of the motorcycle's speed before you turn.
• Motorcycle turn signals usually do not turn off by themselves. Make sure the rider is really turning.
• Give a motorcycle the same four-second following distance, and more on wet or slippery roads.
• A motorcycle needs a full lane. Never share its lane, even if it is riding to one side; that is illegal and very dangerous.
• Strong crosswinds, truck wind blasts, gravel, pavement seams, railroad tracks and metal bridge decks can make a rider change speed or position suddenly.

School buses

• From behind: you may not pass a school bus with flashing red lights. Stop before you reach it and stay stopped until the stop sign is pulled in, the red lights stop and the bus moves, or the driver signals you on.
• Meeting a bus: when its yellow lights flash, slow down; stop when it stops with red lights flashing and the stop sign out, and wait until the sign is pulled in and the lights stop.
• Divided highway exception: on a highway with separated roadways and two or more lanes in each direction, you need not stop for a bus going the opposite way.

Slow-moving vehicles

The orange triangle with a red border marks a vehicle that travels at 25 mph or less. In daylight the fluorescent orange center can be seen from over one-fifth of a mile; at night the red border reflects headlights.

Emergency vehicles

Police, fire and ambulance vehicles use sirens and red and/or blue lights.

• When an emergency vehicle with flashing lights approaches from any direction, slow down, pull to the right-hand edge of the road, clear of any intersection, and stop until it passes. Where you can, move to the lane away from it; if you cannot, slow down and drive safely around the scene.
• Move over: when you meet a stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck with flashing overhead lights on a four-lane road, move to the lane away from it if it is safe. If not, or on a two-lane road, slow to a reasonable and prudent speed.
• Do not follow an emergency vehicle responding to a call closer than 500 feet, and do not park within 500 feet of a stopped fire truck with its lights on.
• Never drive over a fire hose without a fire official's consent: a $100 fine and 2 points.

When police stop you

You must stop as soon as it is practical and safe when police signal you. If you carry a concealed deadly weapon, tell the officer immediately. Show your license, proof of insurance (a phone display is fine) and registration when asked. Good practice: signal and pull to the right even from a left lane, avoid stopping on a curve or hilltop, stay in the vehicle, turn on the interior light at night, keep your hands visible, and wait to be asked before reaching for documents.

Large trucks and buses

In car-truck crashes, the people in the car suffer 78 percent of the deaths.

• Stay out of the No-Zone, the blind spots in front, behind and beside a truck. If you cannot see the driver in the side mirrors, the driver cannot see you.
• Do not cut in front. A car at 55 mph stops in about 130 to 140 feet; a truck needs about 400 feet. After passing, do not move back in until the entire front of the truck shows in your rear-view mirror, and keep your speed up.
• Do not tailgate. You cannot see what is ahead, and trucks have no energy-absorbing bumpers.
• Wide right turns: trucks may swing left to turn right. Never pull into the gap between the truck and the curb.
• Trucks have a "deaf spot" where the driver may not hear your horn.

Railroad crossings

The white crossbuck and the round yellow railroad warning sign tell you to be prepared to stop for trains.

• Never get trapped on a crossing. In heavy traffic, wait until you know you can clear it.
• After a train passes, watch for a second train before you go.
• Never drive around lowered gates; it is against the law.
• Never race a train, and do not shift gears while crossing.
• Be ready to stop behind buses and trucks that must stop at crossings.
• Be prepared to stop if a train is within 1500 feet, and stop even at an unmarked crossing.

If you are stuck on the tracks

If the warning lights start flashing, you may have only 20 seconds. Get out, run away from the tracks and the vehicle in the direction the train is coming from, then call 911. If no lights are flashing yet, get out and call 911 and the railroad's emergency number on the blue Emergency Notification System sign at the crossing, giving the crossing number. The Alaska Railroad's number is 1-800-478-2334.