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South Carolina driving lesson · Signs, Signals & Markings

Yielding the right-of-way

A 2-minute lesson from the South Carolina 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
2 minutes
Course unit
Signs, Signals & Markings
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
60, 61

Right-of-way rules tell you who should yield and in what order drivers go through an intersection. They say who must give way, never who may take it.

Know the rule

No one should assume they automatically have the right-of-way. Always consider the situation and circumstances at each intersection.

Handbook p. 60 ↗

You should yield the right-of-way to:

  • Pedestrians, bicyclists and other drivers already in the intersection
  • The driver who is at, or arrives before you at, the intersection (First Car Rule)
  • Drivers in the opposing lane when you're turning left
  • The driver on your right at a four-way stop if you both arrive at the same time
  • Drivers on a public highway when you enter from a driveway or private road
  • Drivers already on a limited access or interstate highway when you're on the ramp
Handbook p. 60 ↗
Four-way stop same-time rule
First Car Rule: the car that arrives first goes first
Four-way stop same-time rule
Same Time Rule: yield to the driver on your right

Know the rule

At a four-way stop, whoever stops first goes first. If you arrive at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Know the rule

On an entrance or acceleration ramp, drivers already on the limited access or interstate highway have the right-of-way.

Handbook p. 61 ↗

Put it into practice

You and a pickup reach a four-way stop at the same moment, and the pickup is on your right. Yield and let it go first. If it had stopped before you, it would go first no matter which side it was on.

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, if you and another driver arrive at the same time, who has the right-of-way?
  1. The driver on the left
  2. Whoever arrives from the opposite direction
  3. Whoever is turning left
  4. The driver on the right

Answer: The driver on the right

At a four-way intersection controlled by stop signs, if both drivers arrive at the same time, you should yield to the driver on your right.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
When making a left turn, you must yield to:
  1. Oncoming traffic in the opposing lane
  2. Only pedestrians
  3. Only vehicles behind you
  4. No one; left turns always have priority

Answer: Oncoming traffic in the opposing lane

You should yield the right-of-way to drivers in the opposing traffic lane when making a left turn.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
If you are entering a public highway from a driveway or private road, you must yield to:
  1. No one, since you are entering first
  2. Drivers already on the public highway
  3. Only vehicles with a signal on
  4. Only vehicles going the same direction

Answer: Drivers already on the public highway

You should yield the right-of-way to drivers on a public highway if you are entering from a driveway or private road.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
When entering a limited access highway from an entrance or acceleration ramp, you must yield to:
  1. No one, since ramp traffic has priority
  2. Only trucks and buses
  3. Drivers already on the highway
  4. Only vehicles in the left lane

Answer: Drivers already on the highway

You should yield to drivers already on a limited access or interstate highway when entering from a ramp.

Handbook p. 61 ↗
According to the First Car Rule, who should yield the right-of-way at an intersection?
  1. The driver going straight
  2. The driver on the left
  3. The larger vehicle
  4. The one who arrives second

Answer: The one who arrives second

You should yield to the driver who is at or arrives before you at the intersection.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
You reach a four-way stop just after a driver on your left has already stopped. Who should go first?
  1. You, since you're on their right
  2. Whoever is going straight
  3. The driver on your left
  4. Whoever is turning right

Answer: The driver on your left

Yield to the driver who is at or arrives before you at the intersection (First Car Rule); the driver-on-the-right rule applies only when you arrive at the same time.

Handbook p. 60 ↗
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