Rules of the Road and Right-of-Way
Right-of-way is yielded, never taken
Michigan law does not give any driver the power to force others out of the way; it only says who must wait. At an uncontrolled intersection - no signs, no signals - yield to traffic approaching from your right. When you turn left, you cross oncoming traffic, so you yield to vehicles coming toward you and to pedestrians in the crosswalk. When entering a road from a driveway, alley, parking lot, or private road, you yield to everyone already on the road.
At a four-way stop, the first vehicle to stop is the first to go. If two arrive at the same moment, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. If the driver ahead of you is waiting to turn left and you are going straight, you go first.
Other right-of-way rules
- Pedestrians in a marked or unmarked crosswalk have the right-of-way, and a right turn on red must wait for them.
- Yield to emergency vehicles using lights and siren: pull to the right and stop.
- School buses with flashing red lights require a stop in both directions, except on a divided highway separated by a physical barrier or median, where opposing traffic may continue.
- In a roundabout, traffic already in the circle goes first; yield on entry and never stop inside the circle.
- A flashing red signal or a dead signal is treated as a stop sign.
Worked example: you and another car reach a four-way stop at the same instant, you going straight and the other turning left. You are on the right, so you go first - but confirm the other driver has actually stopped before you enter the intersection.
Trap to avoid: answer choices phrased as "you have the right-of-way" are almost always wrong, because right-of-way is something you yield or accept, never demand.