Right-of-way and intersections
You have a green light and plan to go straight across. A car that entered the intersection before you is still completing its left turn across your path. What must you do?
- Wait until that car finishes its turn, then enter the intersection. Correct answer
- Go ahead, because a green light gives you the right-of-way.
- Sound your horn and enter, since the turning driver must yield to you.
Why
A green light does not settle every conflict, and the manual uses exactly this case to show why. The rule is that a driver approaching an intersection must yield to traffic that is already in it. The turning vehicle got there first, so you wait for it to finish before you enter. The idea that the turning driver must yield to you comes from a different moment: when two drivers reach the intersection from opposite directions at about the same time, the one turning left yields to traffic going straight or turning right. Once the turn is under way, that rule no longer helps you; the vehicle in the intersection goes first. The question to ask is not who has the green but who is already in the intersection.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is Wait until that car finishes its turn, then enter the intersection.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- You want to turn left into a parking lot. There are no signs or signals controlling the turn, and an oncoming car is close. What must you do?
- You and another driver stop at STOP signs on crossing roads at the same moment. The other driver is on your left, and you both want to go straight. Who goes first?
- You are leaving a parking lot and want to turn left onto the street. To whom must you yield?
- While you wait at a red light, a pedestrian starts across the crosswalk ahead of you. Before the person reaches the other side, your light turns green. What must you do?