Four-Way Stop, Then a Right on Red That Is Not Allowed
At 4:12 p.m. you come to a full stop at a four-way stop on a two-lane city street in Lansing. A blue SUV going the opposite direction arrives at its stop line about two seconds later with its left turn signal on. A white sedan approaching from your right stops roughly a second after that. You intend to continue straight through the intersection. The crosswalk markings on the far side are faded but visible, and a person pushing a stroller is walking along the sidewalk toward the corner. Roughly 300 feet past the intersection you plan to turn right onto a one-way street where the light is red and a 'NO TURN ON RED' sign is mounted beside the signal head.
1. Who goes first out of the three stopped vehicles, and what is the reasoning?
Read the worked answer
You do, because you were first to arrive and first to come to a complete stop.
- At a four-way stop the controlling rule is arrival order, not vehicle size, not who is turning, and not who edges forward.
- The white sedan on your right is only entitled to go ahead of you if you arrived at the same time; it did not, so the 'yield to the right' tiebreaker does not apply.
- The blue SUV's left turn signal does not give it priority. A vehicle turning left must yield to oncoming traffic that is going straight or turning right, so even a simultaneous arrival would leave you with the right of way over the SUV.
Before you move, confirm the sedan has actually stopped and is not rolling through, and check that the person with the stroller is not stepping into the crosswalk on your far side.
2. Suppose you and the blue SUV had reached your stop lines at exactly the same moment. How would that change the outcome?
Read the worked answer
Between you and the SUV, nothing changes - you still go first.
- Simultaneous arrival at a four-way stop is resolved by yielding to the vehicle on the right, but that tiebreaker only settles conflicts where the paths actually compete in the same way.
- A left-turning vehicle must yield to oncoming traffic going straight or turning right. So the SUV waits for you even in a dead tie.
- If the white sedan on your right had arrived simultaneously with you, the sedan would go before you, because it is on your right.
The practical rule: sort by arrival order first, then by right-of-way rules (left-turner yields to oncoming through traffic; ties yield right). Never sort by who is biggest or most impatient.
3. You reach your right turn 300 feet later. The light is red, the sign says NO TURN ON RED, and the driver behind you honks twice. What do you do, and what is the general rule being overridden here?
Read the worked answer
Stop and wait for a green arrow or green light. The sign controls.
- Michigan generally permits a right turn on red after a complete stop unless a sign prohibits it. The 'NO TURN ON RED' sign is exactly that prohibition, and it exists because sight lines, pedestrian volumes, or cross traffic make the turn unsafe.
- A honking driver behind you is not a legal authority. Turning would be a violation and, if a pedestrian or cross-street vehicle were struck, would put the fault squarely on you.
- Do not creep into or over the crosswalk while waiting; stop at the limit line.
Related rule worth knowing: Michigan also permits a left turn on red from a one-way street onto another one-way street after a full stop, again unless a sign prohibits it. Neither permission applies when a sign says otherwise.