Pedestrians and crosswalks — West Virginia Permit Test
Pedestrians and crosswalks on the West Virginia permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Pedestrians have the right-of-way when they are in a crosswalk.
Nearly a fifth of traffic deaths are people on foot, and the crosswalk is where they are entitled to be.
A pedestrian has the right-of-way when crossing a sidewalk that runs across an alley entrance or driveway.
A driver leaving a driveway is watching the road for a gap and not the sidewalk they are crossing.
A blind pedestrian using a guide dog or carrying a white or metal cane has the right-of-way whether or not they are in a crosswalk.
A pedestrian who cannot see the traffic cannot judge the gap, so the duty moves entirely to the driver.
A walking figure or the word WALK means pedestrians may cross inside the crosswalk lines; a raised hand or DON’T WALK means they must not start.
Drivers who read the pedestrian signal know when somebody is about to step off the curb.
Where there is no sidewalk, a pedestrian should walk on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic.
Facing traffic means a walker can see a car that has drifted toward them and step clear.
Drivers must take extra care for people on foot in school zones, at bus stops, and near playgrounds and parks.
These are the places where somebody small steps into the road without checking, and they are marked in advance.
On the test
Who has the right-of-way in a marked crosswalk?
The person crossing on foot. Nearly a fifth of traffic deaths are people on foot, and the crosswalk is where they are entitled to be.
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.
All West Virginia permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against West Virginia Driver’s Licensing Handbook, published by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-01.
- https://dmv.wv.gov/driver-services/drivers/drivers-licensing-handbooks
- https://webapps.transportation.wv.gov/TWS/DMV/Drivers_Licensing_Handbook.pdf
- https://dmv.wv.gov/graduated-drivers-licensing-gdl
- https://dmv.wv.gov/driver-services/drivers/sample-drivers-test
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-5-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-6-1/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-8-8/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-12-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-12-7/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-13-3/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-13-4/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-14-9a/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-14-15/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-2/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-46/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-15-49/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17B-2-3a/
- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/17C-4-6/