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Montana driving lesson · Driving Rules

Right-of-way: pedestrians and intersections

A 4-minute lesson from the Montana course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
4 minutes
Course unit
Driving Rules
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
49, 50

Right-of-way rules say who must wait where vehicles and pedestrians meet without signs or signals. They never give anyone the right-of-way — you must do everything you can to avoid a crash, even if the other person is wrong.

Know the rule

The law says who must yield the right-of-way; it doesn't give it to anyone. You must do everything you can to avoid striking a pedestrian or vehicle, regardless of the circumstances.

Handbook p. 49 ↗

Know the rule

It's the driver's basic responsibility to watch for pedestrians and yield, even if the pedestrian is wrong — especially in residential areas where children play.

Handbook p. 49 ↗

Pedestrian rules

  • A pedestrian with a guide dog or white cane has absolute right-of-way — don't honk
  • Drivers yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, but no pedestrian may step into a vehicle's path
  • At night, people walking along the highway should wear light colors or carry a light
  • Where sidewalks exist, pedestrians may not walk in the roadway
  • Walking on the roadway: stay on the left, facing oncoming traffic
  • Cross at intersections, using crosswalks where provided
Handbook p. 49 ↗

At intersections, yield

  • To pedestrians, when crossing a sidewalk or entering or leaving a driveway, alley or parking lot
  • To oncoming traffic going straight, when you're turning left
  • To drivers already in a traffic circle or rotary, when you're entering it
  • To vehicles on your right, at an intersection with no stop sign or signal
  • To traffic on the road, when entering from a driveway, alley or roadside (stop first)
  • To all vehicles, at a YIELD sign (slow to a reasonable speed)
Handbook p. 50 ↗

Know the rule

At a four-way stop, the driver who reaches the intersection first goes first, after a complete stop.

Handbook p. 50 ↗

Know the rule

At an uncontrolled intersection, be ready to yield: take your foot off the accelerator, cover the brake, and look left, right and left again.

Handbook p. 50 ↗

Know the rule

Don't enter an intersection unless you can get through it without stopping. Driving on a sidewalk is illegal except to cross it.

Handbook p. 50 ↗

Know the rule

At a red light you may turn right after stopping, from the proper lane, unless a sign prohibits it; Montana also allows left turns on red from a one-way into a one-way street. In the wrong lane, go to the next intersection.

Handbook p. 50 ↗

At crosswalks

  • You may turn right while a pedestrian is in the opposite half of the roadway and not in danger
  • If a car is stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian, drivers behind it may not pass it
Handbook p. 50 ↗

Know the rule

A driver overtaking a vehicle going the same direction must yield to it, even if it's slowing or stopping.

Handbook p. 50 ↗

Put it into practice

You reach an intersection with no signs or signals at the same time as a pickup coming from your right. Yield to the pickup. Ease off the gas, cover the brake, and look left, right and left again before going.

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 a four-way stop with no signals, who has the right-of-way?
  1. The driver on the wider road
  2. The driver turning right
  3. Whoever stops and arrives first
  4. The driver furthest to the left

Answer: Whoever stops and arrives first

At a four-way stop, the first driver to stop and reach the intersection goes first.

Handbook p. 50 ↗
At an intersection with no signs or signals, you and another vehicle arrive at about the same time. What should you do?
  1. Go first if you're going straight
  2. Let the larger vehicle go first
  3. Go first if you're on the left
  4. Yield to the vehicle on the right

Answer: Yield to the vehicle on the right

Without signs or signals, drivers should yield to vehicles approaching from the right.

Handbook p. 50 ↗
Drivers turning left at an intersection must yield to:
  1. Oncoming through traffic
  2. Only pedestrians, not vehicles
  3. Vehicles behind them
  4. No one, since they have priority

Answer: Oncoming through traffic

Left-turning drivers must yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic going straight.

Handbook p. 50 ↗
A driver is exiting a private driveway onto a main road. Who has the right-of-way?
  1. The driver exiting the driveway
  2. Vehicles already on the road
  3. Whoever signals first
  4. Whoever is moving faster

Answer: Vehicles already on the road

Drivers entering a road from a driveway, alley, or roadside must stop and yield to vehicles already on the main road.

Handbook p. 50 ↗
A pedestrian is using a guide dog or carrying a white cane. What is their right-of-way status?
  1. They must wait for a gap like anyone else
  2. They only have right-of-way at marked crosswalks
  3. They have absolute right-of-way
  4. They have right-of-way only with a WALK signal

Answer: They have absolute right-of-way

Pedestrians using a guide dog or carrying a white cane have absolute right-of-way; never honk, as it could confuse them.

Handbook p. 49 ↗
A driver is stopped at a marked crosswalk letting a pedestrian cross. What must drivers approaching from the rear do?
  1. Pass carefully on the left
  2. Not pass the stopped car
  3. Pass carefully on the right
  4. Pass if the pedestrian is clear of your lane

Answer: Not pass the stopped car

Drivers approaching from the rear may not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian.

Handbook p. 50 ↗
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