Rules of the road
Rules-of-the-road questions on the New Brunswick knowledge test are scenarios: two or three road users arrive at the same place, and you decide who proceeds, who yields, and at what speed. Answer with the default rule unless a sign says otherwise.
Limits and lanes
Unless posted otherwise: 50 km/h in cities, towns and built-up areas, 80 km/h on open rural highways, and 100 km/h - 110 on posted sections of the Trans-Canada - on divided highways. School zones drop to 30 km/h when the sign or flashing light is active. Keep right except to pass; the left lane is for passing and left turns.
Who goes first
- No signs or signals: yield to the vehicle on your right.
- Four-way stop: first to arrive, first to go. If you arrive together, the driver on the right goes first.
- A driver turning left yields to oncoming traffic going straight, turning right, or already in the intersection.
- Roundabouts: yield to traffic circulating from your left, enter counter-clockwise, signal right when you exit.
- Yield to pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks; never pass a vehicle stopped at one.
Special vehicles
A school bus with flashing red lights means stop in both directions until the lights stop - unless you are on the opposite side of a divided highway separated by a median. For an emergency vehicle using lights and siren, pull right and stop. New Brunswick's move-over law requires slowing to 60 km/h (or the posted limit if lower) and changing lanes if safe when passing a stopped emergency or tow vehicle with lights flashing.
Worked example
You and an oncoming car reach a four-way stop at the same moment; you want to go straight, the other driver signals a left turn. Reasoning: arrival times are equal, so the tie-break of yielding to the right does not settle it. The left-turning driver must yield to traffic going straight through, so you proceed - after confirming the other vehicle has actually stopped.
Traps that cost marks
- Right of way is given, not taken; where doubt exists, yield.
- Two seconds is a dry-pavement minimum, not a rain target.
- School-bus questions turn on whether a median separates the directions.
- A flashing amber light lets you proceed with caution but gives you no priority over pedestrians.