A pedestrian crossing in a school zone
School / Playground zones · Alberta Class 5 road test
A child is crossing: stop before the crosswalk and wait until they reach the other side
Watch the interactive demoHow to drive it
40 km/h neighbourhood street with a school on the north side, the view following your car: arriving at 37 km/h + brake lightly before the Start sign, 25–30 km/h when the front reaches it + a child at the school gate walks toward the crosswalk + stop smoothly before the crosswalk + watch them walk to the other side and step onto the sidewalk + look left and right, then move off + speed up once the rear has passed the End sign
In the correct demo, you yield to:
- Pedestrian on the crosswalk ahead — Your path crosses a crosswalk: yield to anyone using it. Not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk is a critical error, an automatic fail on the road test.
Common mistakes
Failed to yield to the pedestrian at the crosswalk
Road test: automatic fail — L2 Right of way violation - vehicle/pedestrian
Nothing was hit this time (just 2.3 m apart at closest approach), but it's still an automatic fail. Not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk is a critical error, an automatic fail on the road test.
Watch this mistake →Braked hard only on seeing the pedestrian, stopped on the crosswalk
Road test: 10 points — D1 Blocks Xwalk/intersection/stopline
You braked hard only when the pedestrian stepped onto the crosswalk; the front of the car stopped 0.6 m onto it, and they walked past right in front of you. In the zone, when you see a pedestrian standing by the crosswalk or walking toward it, ease off the gas, get ready to stop, and stop smoothly before the crosswalk; wait until they step onto it before braking and you can no longer stop short of the line, so the front of the car ends up on the crosswalk they're about to walk, and braking hard may get you rear-ended.
Watch this mistake →Related scenarios
- Through a playground zoneSlow down before the sign, maintain 25–30 km/h in the zone, speed up only once the rear has passed the End sign
- A playground zone across an intersectionEnter the zone on the side road; after turning left onto the main road, still maintain 25–30 km/h until the End sign
- A slow car in a playground zoneDon't pass the slow car ahead; follow it to the End sign