Special Driving Conditions
- Anna Hayford
- Jul 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 25
Could you currently pass a written driving test?
We asked Isett associates this during safety week 2023.
After a 20-question exam on special driving situations, only about 75% of takers would currently be awarded a license without restudying.
Why do we forget?
Practice makes perfect, and lots of driving topics are not generally practiced, as they are not frequent occurrences.
Special driving situations are more like learning French than riding a bike. Without frequent reminders, our brains generally don’t log “how many feet of clearance to give an emergency vehicle” as need-to-know information.
How is this safety?
In 2022, each day 318 reportable traffic crashes occurred (about 13 crashes every hour). Each day 184 persons were injured in reportable crashes (about 8 injuries every hour).
PA Situational Driving Reminders
Bicycles and Pedestrians:
Four Feet Rule: Drivers must maintain a distance of at least four feet when passing a bicycle.
Crosswalks: Drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Yield to Blind Pedestrians: Drivers must yield the right-of-way to blind pedestrians carrying a white cane or accompanied by a guide dog.
School Buses:
Stopping for School Buses: Drivers must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm. This applies in both directions on undivided highways.
Emergency Vehicles:
Pull Over: Drivers must pull over to the right and stop when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is approaching.
Steer Clear Law: When approaching an emergency response area, drivers must move over to a lane not adjacent to the area, if possible. If not, they must reduce speed significantly.
Horse-Drawn Vehicles:
Stay Back: After stopping, horse-drawn vehicles often roll backward and following too close limits the horsedrawn vehicle driver's ability to see you.
Do Not Spook: When you pass a horse-drawn vehicle or horseback rider, do not drive too fast or blow your horn, as this may spook the horse.
Railroad Crossings:
Stopping for Trains: Drivers must stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail at railroad crossings when signals indicate a train is approaching.
Stopped for a Reason: Never try to pass someone as you approach or enter a railroad crossing. They may see or have a heard a train that you do not.
Check each time: Do not blindly follow another car across tracks. Always look both ways.
Roundabouts:
Entering and Exiting: Yield to traffic already in the roundabout and to pedestrians in crosswalks. Signal when exiting the roundabout.
Also view our full safety blast on roundabouts below:
A Recent Near-Miss
Recently, a traffic light was out near the Crackersport Office. An associate noted the confusion at the light.
There were multiple lanes of traffic in 4-directions and the drivers were not treating the intersection as a four-way stop, but various groups were continuing through.
The associate says, “Given the number of lanes and complexity of the traffic flows here, this was a bit dicey of a situation.”
