Right-of-way and intersections
You are on a road that ends at a T intersection with no STOP or YIELD signs. Who has the right-of-way?
- Traffic on the through road; you must yield before turning onto it. Correct answer
- You do, because you arrived at the intersection first.
- Whoever is turning right.
Why
At a T intersection the road you are on ends, and the handbook gives the right-of-way to the vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians on the through road, the one that continues straight. Arriving first does not change that; the first-come rule applies to ordinary intersections where both roads continue. Turning direction is not a tie-breaker either. Slow down, look both ways, and enter the through road only when there is a safe gap. If the T intersection has signs or signals, obey them instead.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, DL 600 ENGLISH (REV. 6/2025). The correct answer is Traffic on the through road; you must yield before turning onto it..