Rules of the Road and Right-of-Way
This domain tests the decisions you make at intersections, when passing, and when yielding. Nova Scotia's knowledge test leans heavily on 'who goes first' scenarios, school buses, and emergency vehicles.
Core rules
- Drive on the right half of the roadway and keep right except when passing.
- At an uncontrolled intersection the vehicle on the right has the right of way, and a left-turning driver yields to oncoming traffic going straight or turning right.
- At a four-way stop, first to stop is first to go; if two arrive together, the driver on the right goes first.
- After a full stop you may turn right on a red light unless a sign prohibits it, yielding to pedestrians and cross traffic.
- When a school bus displays flashing red lights you must stop in both directions, unless the directions are separated by a median rather than a painted line.
- Move-over law: passing a stopped emergency, tow or maintenance vehicle with lights flashing, slow to 60 km/h (or the posted limit if lower) and change lanes when it is safe.
- Default limits are 50 km/h in towns and cities and 80 km/h elsewhere, with 30 km/h in school zones unless posted otherwise.
Worked example
You stop at a two-way stop sign. A car facing you has no stop sign and its left-turn signal is on. You also want to turn left. The other car goes first: at a two-way stop the through road keeps priority, and the opposing driver's signal does not hand you the turn. You wait until the through road is clear, then turn, yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
Traps
- Applying the right-hand rule at a four-way stop instead of first-stopped-first-go.
- Treating a painted centre line as a median and driving past a stopped school bus.
- Rolling through a right-on-red and ignoring the pedestrian countdown.
- Turning left after a green arrow has ended.