Right-of-Way and Intersection Rules
Right-of-way and intersection rules
Right-of-way is something you give, never something you take. The exam tests whether you can identify who goes first at uncontrolled intersections, four-way stops, merges and roundabouts-and whether you remember that yielding includes pedestrians and cyclists, not just cars.
Who goes first
- Uncontrolled intersection (no signs or signals): yield to the vehicle on your right. If you arrive together, the driver on the left yields.
- Four-way stop: first to stop is first to go. If two stop together, the one on the right goes; a driver going straight beats a driver turning left.
- Left turns: yield to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians in the crosswalk you are entering.
- Right on red: stop fully, then yield. Idaho also allows a left on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street after stopping, unless a sign forbids it.
- Entering from a driveway, alley or private lot: yield to everyone already on the road.
- Roundabouts: yield to traffic already circulating, enter to the right, and don't stop once inside.
- Emergency vehicles with lights and siren: pull right and stop; clear the intersection first if you're in it.
Worked example
You reach a four-way stop at the same moment as a car on your right, and a pedestrian is crossing in front of you. Reasoning: the car on your right goes first, but only after the pedestrian clears your path-pedestrian right-of-way is independent of vehicle order.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing first to arrive with first to stop; assuming a green light gives an absolute right to turn left; forgetting that a merging vehicle yields; stopping for a school bus across a divided highway when a median separates you, or failing to stop when it doesn't.