When must you yield to pedestrians?

Prepare for the California DMV Traffic School Test. Study with interactive quizzes, flashcards, and understand with detailed explanations. Get cleared for your driving confidently!

The main rule is that drivers must yield to pedestrians who have the right of way. In California, that means you give priority to people who are crossing the street, and you should be prepared to stop if they are in a crosswalk or about to enter one.

This covers crosswalks that are marked as well as those that aren’t marked but exist at intersections. It also applies at intersections where a pedestrian is crossing within a crosswalk or where they have begun crossing even if you have a green light. The key idea is that a pedestrian’s safety comes first when they are in or about to enter the roadway, so you should slow down or stop as needed to let them finish crossing.

So, the correct practice is to yield to pedestrians whenever they have the right of way—at crosswalks, at intersections, and in any situation where a pedestrian is crossing. This is why other options that limit yielding to just marked crosswalks or suggest that pedestrians yield to drivers aren’t correct.