Road Rules and Traffic Laws: Right-of-Way, Lanes, and Special Vehicles
Road Rules and Traffic Laws
This domain tests the operating rules behind the signs: who goes first, how to turn and pass, how fast, and which vehicles get special treatment.
Right-of-way and intersections
- At a four-way stop, first to stop is first to go. If two arrive at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. A driver turning left yields to oncoming traffic going straight or turning right.
- At an uncontrolled intersection, yield to the vehicle on your right. At a T-intersection, the vehicle on the terminating road yields.
- In a roundabout, yield to traffic already circulating; enter to the right and do not stop inside.
- Pedestrians in a marked crosswalk, or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, have the right of way. Do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.
Signals, lanes, and passing
- Signal at least 100 feet before a turn or lane change. Cancel after.
- Right on red is allowed after a full stop unless a sign prohibits it; left on red is allowed only from a one-way street onto another one-way street.
- Pass on the left; a solid yellow line on your side or a no-passing pennant means do not pass. Return only when you can see the passed vehicle in your mirror.
- A center two-way left-turn lane is for turning, not for travel.
Special rules
- School bus: stop when red lights flash and the stop arm extends on an undivided road, both directions. On a divided highway with a median, opposite-direction traffic does not stop.
- Railroad: stop 15–50 feet from the nearest rail when a signal, gate, or approaching train requires it; a crossbuck means yield.
- Move Over: when approaching a stationary emergency, tow, sanitation, or utility vehicle with flashing lights, move over one lane or slow below the posted limit and be ready to stop.
- Work zones: obey flaggers and posted reductions; penalties increase when workers are present. Super Speeder adds a $200 state fee for 75+ mph on a two-lane road or 85+ anywhere.
Worked example
You are on a two-lane road and a school bus on the opposite side stops with red lights flashing and the stop arm out. Do you stop?
Reasoning: the road is undivided, so the bus's stop arm controls both directions. You must stop and remain stopped until the lights stop and the arm retracts. If the road had a raised median or a physical divider separating directions, opposite-direction traffic would not be required to stop. The presence of a turn lane or painted line alone does not create that exception.
Traps that cost marks
- Rolling through a right-on-red; the stop must be complete before the turn.
- Stopping for a school bus on the opposite side of a divided highway when no stop is required, or failing to stop on an undivided one.
- Treating the Move Over law as optional when traffic is heavy; slow down if you cannot change lanes.
- Missing that left-on-red is allowed only one-way to one-way.