Traffic rules, right-of-way and intersections
What the exam tests
Right-of-way questions are the highest-risk area of the Cameroon light-vehicle paper, because a single wrong decision at a junction is a real crash. The exam tests the default rule, the exceptions created by signs and lights, and the order in which you yield to pedestrians, cyclists and priority vehicles. Cameroon drives on the right, so all overtaking and turning logic follows right-hand traffic.
The default rule
At an unmarked intersection with no sign, no light and no officer, priority belongs to the vehicle coming from your right (priorité à droite). This applies even if your road looks wider or busier - width is not priority. A priority-road sign (yellow diamond) or a STOP/give-way sign changes the rule and must be obeyed.
Junctions and roundabouts
- Turning left: give way to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians crossing the road you enter.
- Turning right: give way to pedestrians already on the crossing.
- Roundabout marked Cédez le passage: give way to traffic already circulating; enter only when a gap is safe.
- T-junction: traffic on the through road normally has priority, but check the signs.
- Priority vehicles (ambulance, fire, police) with sirens and flashing lights: ease off, indicate and stop clear of the junction.
Overtaking and following
Overtake on the left. Overtaking is forbidden on a continuous line, at pedestrian crossings, on blind bends and crests, and at junctions unless you are certain of the layout. Keep a two-second gap in dry weather and at least four seconds in rain, mud or at night. Never overtake a vehicle stopped at a zebra crossing.
Worked example
You reach an unmarked crossroads at the same moment as a car approaching from your right. You must yield, even if you arrived first and even if your road is tarred while the other is laterite. Reasoning: no sign, light or officer is present, so the default priority-to-the-right rule decides. If a yellow diamond were posted on your road, you would have priority instead.
Traps
The classic errors are assuming the main road always has priority, entering a roundabout without looking left, overtaking at a junction, and following an emergency vehicle too closely instead of giving way. Another trap is treating a give-way line as a stop line.