Rules of the Road and Right-of-Way
This domain tests the operating rules you apply every minute of a drive: where you drive, how fast, who goes first, and when you must stop for others.
Core rules
- Drive on the right and keep to the right lane unless you are passing.
- Obey posted limits. In Manitoba, built-up areas default to 50 km/h unless posted, and school and playground zones drop to 30 km/h when children are present during the posted times.
- Signal every turn, lane change and stop, and cancel the signal afterwards.
- Every occupant must wear a seat belt; children under 6 years and under 36 kg need an approved child car seat.
Right-of-way
- Uncontrolled intersection - the vehicle on the right goes first.
- Four-way stop - first to arrive, first to go; if two arrive together, the one on the right goes first.
- Left turns - yield to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
- Right on red - stop first, then yield to pedestrians and cross traffic.
- Entering a road from a driveway, alley or parking lot - you yield to everyone already on the road.
- Roundabout - yield to traffic already circulating, enter to the right, signal when leaving.
Passing, stopping and crossings
Pass on the left, only where the line allows and you can see clear road. Stop for a school bus with flashing red lights in both directions on an undivided road. Stop and stay stopped at a railway crossing with lights or gates until the signals clear.
Worked example. You reach a four-way stop a moment after a car travelling in the opposite direction signals a left turn. You go straight, so you proceed first; the left-turning driver must yield to you. If you had both stopped at the same instant, the vehicle on the right would have gone first.
Traps. Thinking "first to arrive" applies at a two-way stop, passing a stopped school bus in the opposite direction, and rolling through a right-on-red without a full stop.