Right-of-Way Rules Explained: Who Goes First at Every Kind of Intersection

Unlike permit fees or GDL curfews, right-of-way logic doesn't really vary state to state. Most state traffic codes trace back to the Uniform Vehicle Code, a model code drafted so states wouldn't each invent their own version of "who goes first" — which is why the same three rules below show up, almost word for word, in driver manuals from Oregon to New York.

Uncontrolled intersection, no signs or signals: left yields to right

If two vehicles reach an intersection with no stop signs, yield signs, or traffic signals at approximately the same time, the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right. New York's manual states it directly: "the driver on the left must yield the right-of-way to the driver on the right." Oregon's manual frames the same rule slightly differently — yield to any vehicle already in the intersection or approaching from your right — but lands on the identical outcome.

Four-way stop: first to arrive goes first

At a four-way stop, the driver who arrives first and comes to a complete stop first gets to go first — everyone else waits their turn. If two or more vehicles stop at approximately the same time, the same left-yields-to-right rule applies: the driver on the left waits for the driver on the right. This "first-to-arrive" ordering is universal driver-ed guidance, though a few states treat it more as a customary courtesy than a hard statute — either way, don't assume you can nose ahead just because you technically stopped a half-second before someone to your right did.

T-intersection with no signs or signals: yield to the through road

If you're on a road that dead-ends into another road (a T-intersection) and there's no stop sign, yield sign, or signal, you must yield to traffic on the through road — the road that continues straight past the intersection. You're the one merging into ongoing traffic, not the other way around.

Why this matters beyond the test

Right-of-way is something to be given, not taken — even when you're legally entitled to go first, a driver who doesn't realize it (or doesn't care) is still a real hazard. If someone hesitates or starts to pull out ahead of you, let them go. Being technically correct doesn't help if it ends in a crash.

Sources

• New York State DMV, Driver's Manual, Chapter 5 — Intersections and Turns
• Oregon DMV, Driver Manual, Section 3 — Sharing the Road
• Federal Highway Administration, on states' broad adoption of Uniform Vehicle Code guidance

Always confirm current rules with your own state's official driver's manual.