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Question

Difficulty: HardPedestrians

You are carefully reversing out of a private driveway where tall boundary walls restrict your view of the pavement. Through your side window, you spot a pedestrian approaching along the footway carrying a white cane with two red reflective bands. What should you do?

  1. A
    Flash your headlights and sound your horn to alert them that you are emerging onto the pavement
  2. Stop immediately, remain completely stationary, and allow the pedestrian to pass clear of your vehicleAnswer
  3. C
    Continue reversing slowly while keeping your vision focused solely on your interior rear-view mirror
  4. D
    Accelerate across the pavement into the road quickly to clear the footway before they reach your vehicle

Answer

Stop immediately, remain completely stationary, and allow the pedestrian to pass clear of your vehicle.
Under the UK Highway Code (Rules 205 and 207), a pedestrian carrying a white stick with red reflective bands (or accompanied by a guide dog wearing a red and white checked harness) is deafblind. Because they cannot hear engine sounds or see visual signals, the driver must come to a complete stop and remain stationary until the pedestrian has safely cleared the vehicle's path.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the vulnerable road user's specific impairment from their walking aid
Recognise that a white stick or cane with red reflective bands signifies that the pedestrian is deafblind (has both hearing and visual impairments).
Understanding the nature of their disability is essential for choosing the appropriate safety response.
2
Assess the effectiveness of vehicle warning devices in this scenario
Determine that sounding the horn, revving the engine, or flashing headlights will not alert a deafblind individual.
Auditory and visual warnings cannot be perceived reliably by someone with combined hearing and sight loss.
3
Execute the safest driving action when reversing across a restricted-visibility footway
Bring the vehicle to a full stop and remain completely stationary until the pedestrian has safely passed the driveway threshold.
Stopping eliminates the dynamic risk of collision and allows the pedestrian to navigate around or past the stationary vehicle without unexpected movement.

Key Concept

Identifying deafblind pedestrians by their red-banded white cane and applying safe, patient stationary observation when reversing across pavements.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Pedestrians

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