Right-of-Way Rules and Intersections
What the exam tests
Right-of-way questions test who must wait at intersections, four-way stops, roundabouts, driveways, and emergency scenes. Georgia expects you to know that right of way is yielded, never taken.
Core rules
- Four-way stop: the first vehicle to stop goes first. If two arrive at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. If a left-turning car and a straight-going car arrive together, the left-turner yields.
- Uncontrolled intersections: slow down and yield to traffic on the right. If you are on a road that ends at a T-intersection, you yield to the through road. At an intersection where only the terminating road has a stop sign, the through road goes first.
- Left turns: on a steady green ball, yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. A green arrow protects you, but still check for red-light runners.
- Roundabouts: yield to traffic already in the circle, enter to the right, and do not change lanes inside.
- Driveways and parking lots: entering traffic yields to vehicles already on the road.
- Emergency vehicles: pull to the right and stop; if you are in an intersection, clear it before stopping. Do not follow closely behind.
Worked example
You and another car stop at a four-way stop at the same moment. You want to turn left; the other car is going straight. Reasoning: simultaneous arrivals are resolved by the right-hand rule only when paths conflict in the same way. Here the straight-through car has priority over the left-turning car, so you wait. If you both wanted to go straight, the car on the right would go first.
Traps that cost marks
- Waving another driver through when you have the right of way, which creates confusion.
- Assuming a green light means you can turn left without yielding.
- Stopping in the middle of an intersection for an emergency vehicle instead of clearing it.
- Entering a roundabout without looking left for circulating traffic.