Question

Difficulty: MediumRight-of-Way Rules at Intersections

You are stopped at a stop sign on a side street, preparing to turn left onto a multi-lane main road that has no stop signs or traffic signals. Directly opposite you across the main road, another driver is stopped at a stop sign, intending to proceed straight across the intersection. If both of you arrived and stopped at your respective stop signs at the exact same moment, which driver must yield the right-of-way?

  1. You must yield the right-of-way to traffic on the main road and to the facing driver who is proceeding straight.Answer
  2. B
    The driver proceeding straight must yield to you because drivers executing left turns always have priority at two-way stop signs.
  3. C
    You have the right-of-way over the driver proceeding straight because you are approaching from that driver's left side.
  4. D
    The driver proceeding straight must yield because a stop sign requires a complete stop, whereas left turns only require yielding.

Answer

The driver preparing to make a left turn must yield the right-of-way to traffic on the main road as well as to the facing vehicle proceeding straight across the intersection.
At a two-way stop intersection, both stopped drivers must first yield to through-traffic on the uncontrolled main highway. When two drivers facing each other across the main highway arrive at their stop signs simultaneously, right-of-way rules require the driver executing a left turn to yield to the driver proceeding straight through the intersection.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate traffic controls on the main thoroughfare versus side streets.
Traffic on the main road has no stop signs, so both side-street drivers must yield to all main-road vehicles before entering.
Through-traffic on an uncontrolled main street has absolute precedence over vehicles entering from stop-controlled side streets.
2
Determine priority between the two facing side-street vehicles arriving simultaneously.
The driver traveling straight has priority over the driver turning left across their path.
Standard DMV traffic laws dictate that any driver making a left turn across oncoming lanes must yield to vehicles moving straight through the intersection.

Key Concept

Right-of-Way Priority at Two-Way Stop-Controlled Intersections
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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