Pedestrian hidden areas — South Dakota Permit Test

Pedestrian hidden areas on the South Dakota permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

When driving next to parked or stopped vehicles, slow down and do not pass until you are sure no pedestrians are crossing in front of them.

A stopped car can hide a person walking out in front of it, and you would reach them with no time to stop.

When driving next to parked or stopped vehicles, pedestrians can walk out between these vehicles.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61

Check for pedestrians in your path before backing, especially in parking lots or places with many pedestrians.

Small children walking behind a car are below the back window, and a driver who backs without looking runs them over.

Check for pedestrians in your path before backing, especially in parking lots or places where there are many pedestrians.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61

In playground and residential areas, where children could run out from between parked vehicles, it is a good idea to drive slower than the speed limit and be prepared to stop quickly.

A child chasing a ball darts out from behind a parked car faster than a driver at full speed can stop.

Be careful in playground and residential areas where children could run out from between parked vehicles.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61

In a school zone when lights are flashing or children are present, obey a slower speed limit.

Children near a school move without warning, and a few extra mph decides whether a car stops in time.

In a school zone when lights are flashing or children are present, obey a slower speed limit.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61

At a school crossing where there is traffic patrol, stop and yield if signaled to do so.

A patrol member stopping traffic is about to send children across, and a driver who keeps going drives into them.

At a school crossing where there is traffic patrol, stop and yield if signaled to do so.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61

On the test

You are next to a stopped vehicle, and you cannot see past it. What should you do?

Slow down and wait until no one is crossing in front. A stopped car can hide a person walking out in front of it, and you would reach them with no time to stop. South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.61: “When driving next to parked or stopped vehicles, pedestrians can walk out between these vehicles.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against South Dakota Driver License Manual, published by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.