Right-of-way · intersections

Colorado right-of-way cheat sheet

The right-of-way hierarchy in order, what changes at a four-way stop, and why the courteous answer is often the wrong one on the test.

685 words · source: Colorado Driver Handbook — Right-of-way and traffic signals

Learn it as a hierarchy, not as a list

Right-of-way questions are much easier once you stop memorising individual cases and instead work down a fixed order. Pedestrians come first, in a crosswalk or not. Then emergency vehicles with lights and siren, and school buses with their signals out. Then the vehicle that arrives first. Then, when two arrive together, the vehicle on the right. Then the driver turning left, who yields to oncoming traffic going straight. Almost every wrong answer on this topic comes from stopping one level short of the bottom, usually because the driver assumed that arriving first settles everything.

Four-way stops

The rule has two steps and people only apply the first. The driver who reaches the stop line first goes first. When two drivers arrive at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. When three arrive together, the two rules combine: the driver who does not have anyone on their immediate right proceeds first. The exam writes these questions so that "I was there first" is not enough information, and the stem will deliberately say the vehicles stopped together, which is your cue to apply the right-of-way-to-the-right rule.

Intersections with no signs or signals

At an uncontrolled intersection the same hierarchy applies, with the added point that you must already be travelling at a speed that lets you yield. If you arrive at an uncontrolled crossing and cannot see whether a vehicle is coming, slow further rather than rolling through; the rule assigns right-of-way, but it does not excuse entering a conflict you could not see. Cyclists are vehicles here, so a cyclist approaching from the right at the same time has the same claim a car would have, and treating a bike as something other than traffic is a common source of wrong answers.

Left turns

A driver turning left yields to everyone approaching from the opposite direction who is close enough to be a hazard, whether they are going straight or turning right. A green light does not change this; a steady green permits the turn but does not grant the right of way. A green arrow changes everything, because a protected arrow means opposing traffic is held. The distinction the exam tests is between a steady green, where you yield, and a green arrow, where you do not, and questions will describe the signal carefully so you can tell which one applies.

Pedestrians, buses and emergency vehicles

Pedestrians have the right of way in a marked crosswalk and at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and you must yield to a pedestrian crossing even if the signal favours you when you are turning. School buses displaying flashing red lights and an extended stop arm require traffic in both directions to stop on an undivided road, which is the point most drivers miss on divided highways. For emergency vehicles you pull to the right edge and stop, or move out of the lane entirely where the law requires it, rather than simply slowing down in place.

When another driver waves you through

Another driver cannot give you right-of-way they do not have, and accepting a wave does not transfer liability. The exam tests this with a question where a driver gestures you ahead at a four-way stop and the correct answer is to proceed only when it is actually clear, on your own judgement. Politely declining is also correct. Any answer choice that says to follow the other driver's signal is wrong, because the rules assign right-of-way and a wave is not a rule.

Roundabouts and merge points

At a roundabout the traffic already inside the circle has the right of way, so you yield at the line and enter only when there is a gap, and you never stop inside the circle to let someone in. Signal right as you pass the exit before yours. At a merge, the driver entering traffic must match the speed of the traffic already there and find a gap rather than expecting others to move over, while traffic already in the lane should adjust where it is safe to do so but is not required to. Lane-ends and added-lane signs tell you which of the two you are in, and the distinction decides who has to yield.