Uncontrolled Intersection, a Left-Turning Sedan, and a Passenger Who Wants You to Go
It is 8:10 a.m. on a residential street in north-end Halifax. You are approaching a four-way intersection where no stop sign, yield sign or signal is visible in any direction - the intersection is uncontrolled. A delivery van parked within a few metres of the corner blocks your view to the right. You slow to about 15 km/h and reach the crosswalk line at roughly the same moment as a sedan approaching from your right; the sedan is signalling a left turn and its front wheels are angled left. On the left corner, a woman with a stroller is standing at the curb facing the intersection but has not stepped off the pavement. Behind you, a car is following closely enough that you can see its wipers in your mirror. Your passenger says, "You got here first - just go."
1. Who goes first, and what does "arrived at the same time" actually mean here?
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An uncontrolled intersection does not give anyone an absolute right of way; the rules only say who must yield. The usual rule is that when two vehicles arrive at approximately the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right - which points at the sedan. But a vehicle turning left must also yield to traffic approaching from the opposite direction, which points at you. Those two rules are pulling in opposite directions precisely because "approximately the same time" is ambiguous.
That ambiguity is the answer to the exam question: when you cannot tell who arrived first, you cannot rely on the rule to protect you, so you treat it as a yield. Slow to a crawl or a stop, try to make eye contact, and let the sedan commit if it does. The parked van makes this worse because you cannot verify that the sedan is the only vehicle coming from the right. Your passenger's opinion is not evidence of anything.
2. How does the pedestrian on the left corner change the decision?
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She is standing at the curb rather than in the crosswalk, but she is facing the intersection and may step off at any moment. Drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk, and in practice a pedestrian clearly intending to cross is enough to require you to stop. If she steps off the curb, every vehicle-to-vehicle rule becomes irrelevant - you stop and wait.
This is also why you should not wave her across. A friendly wave can send someone into the path of the sedan, which has its own obstructed view past the parked van and may not see her. Keep your hands on the wheel, keep your speed at a crawl, and let her make her own decision about a gap she can see. The combination of an ambiguous four-way and a pedestrian at the corner is exactly the situation where the correct speed is slower than the one that feels natural.
3. The car behind is tailgating. How does that change your approach, and what do you not do?
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The follower removes your ability to stop gently without risking a rear-end collision, so you adjust the plan rather than the speed limit. Brake earlier and more lightly so your intentions are obvious, signal early, and when you do stop, stop with extra margin behind the crosswalk so you can roll forward if the car behind cannot stop. That margin is your airbag.
What you must not do is let the tailgater rush your decision at the intersection, skip your shoulder check, or accelerate into a gap you have not verified. A rear-end collision at 20 km/h is expensive; a collision with a pedestrian or a left-turning car is not survivable at the same speed. If the follower stays glued to your bumper for several blocks, find a safe place to let them pass rather than managing their impatience for the rest of the trip.