INDIANA FIELD GUIDE
Sharing the road.
Look for people, buses, bicycles, and vehicles that need extra room.
Give pedestrians the right of way and do not turn in a way that forces someone walking to stop or dodge your vehicle. Be especially careful near children and people using a white cane or guide dog.
When passing a bicyclist, leave at least three feet and pass only when there is safe room and no danger from oncoming traffic. A bicyclist may use a travel lane even when a bike lane exists. Check for approaching cyclists before opening a parked car door.
Keep these in mind.
- Stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm. On a road divided by a barrier or unimproved median, only vehicles traveling in the bus’s direction must stop.
- Amber bus lights warn that the bus is preparing to stop. Watch for children near bus stops.
- Move over away from emergency vehicles displaying the specified flashing lights, authorized parked vehicles with amber lights, and disabled stationary vehicles with hazard lights. If unable to move over, reduce to 10 mph below the posted limit and proceed cautiously.
- Give motorcycles a full lane. Their smaller profile can make speed and distance harder to judge.
Rules and worked examples.
Driving rules below summarize the official manual. Safety recommendations explain its practical guidance; example numbers are not additional legal requirements.
Driving rule
School buses: painted lines are not a median
Stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop arm. The opposite-direction exception applies on a roadway divided by a barrier or unimproved median. A painted center line or turn lane alone is not that separation.
Example. You approach an oncoming stopped bus on a five-lane road with a painted center turn lane. Stop. If a barrier or unimproved median separates the directions, only traffic traveling in the bus’s direction must stop under the manual’s exception.
Why it matters. Children may cross the road while boarding or leaving the bus. Amber lights are advance warning to prepare to stop.
Driving rule
Move over for stopped vehicles with warning lights
Indiana’s Move Over law, identified in the manual as IC 9-21-8-35, requires moving to a lane away from the covered vehicle when possible. If unable to move over, reduce to 10 mph below the posted limit and proceed cautiously. This includes specified emergency vehicles, authorized parked vehicles with amber lights, and disabled stationary vehicles with hazard lights.
Example. On a road posted at 60 mph, a disabled car is stopped with hazards flashing. Move to a lane away when safe. If traffic prevents that, reduce to 50 mph or slower as conditions require and pass cautiously.
Why it matters. The space protects people outside their vehicles. This stopped-vehicle procedure differs from yielding to an emergency vehicle approaching with lights flashing.
Official manual: page 51
Driving rule
Bicycles need passing room and a clear path
Leave at least three feet when passing a bicyclist, and pass only when safe with no danger from oncoming traffic. Do not move into a bicycle lane to prepare for a turn; cross it only when turning or entering or leaving an alley, driveway, or private road, while yielding to cyclists.
Example. A cyclist is ahead on a narrow road and a car is approaching in the opposite direction. Slow and wait behind the cyclist until you can pass with the required space. At a right turn, let a cyclist approaching on your right go through first.
Why it matters. A bicycle may use the travel lane even when a bike lane is available. Squeezing past or turning across its path risks a collision.