Ohio Traffic Laws and Rules of the Road
Ohio's rules of the road are built around a few organizing ideas: keeping to the right, yielding in the correct order, and matching speed and position to conditions. Know that Ohio is a right-hand-traffic state, so you drive on the right half of the roadway except when passing, making a left turn, or when a one-way street requires otherwise.
Right-of-way and intersections
At an uncontrolled intersection, the first vehicle to arrive goes first; if two arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the left yields to the vehicle on the right. A vehicle turning left must yield to oncoming traffic going straight or turning right. When entering a roadway from a driveway, alley, or private road, you yield to all traffic already on the road. At a four-way stop, treat it as a series of uncontrolled arrivals.
Speed and following distance
Obey posted limits; in Ohio the statutory default in business and residential districts is 25 mph unless posted otherwise, and school zones drop to 20 mph during restricted hours. Use the three-second following rule in good conditions and add time for rain, ice, or darkness.
Signals and turns
Signal at least 100 feet before a turn (and well before a lane change). Complete turns into the proper lane: left turns generally go into the leftmost lane, right turns into the rightmost.
Traps to watch
Questions love the "same time arrival" rule, the yield-when-entering-from-a-driveway rule, and the distinction between a stop sign (full stop, then proceed when safe) and a yield sign (slow and give way only if needed). Another trap: a flashing yellow signal means proceed with caution, not stop.
Worked example
You and another car reach an uncontrolled intersection simultaneously, you from the south and the other from the east. The other driver is on your right, so you yield and let them go first.