California driving lesson · Signals, Signs & Right-of-Way
Right-of-way at intersections
A 3-minute lesson from the California course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Right-of-way rules decide who goes first when vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists meet. The law never gives you the right-of-way; it says who must yield. Give it up whenever doing so prevents a collision.
Right-of-way
Rules that help determine who is allowed to go first when vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists meet on the road.
Before entering an intersection, look left, right, and ahead for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and be ready to slow or stop. Pedestrians always have the right-of-way.
You and another car reach an intersection with no signs at the same moment; the other car is on your right. Yield to it: when you arrive together, the vehicle on your right goes first.
Put it into practice
You're on a street that ends at a T intersection with no signs. Traffic on the through road has the right-of-way, so wait for a safe gap before you turn.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
At an intersection with no STOP or YIELD signs, who generally has the right-of-way?
The vehicle on the left
The first to arrive
The vehicle going straight
The vehicle turning right
Answer: The first to arrive
At an uncontrolled intersection, the vehicle that arrives first has the right-of-way.