Right-of-way and intersections
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 do, because the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right. Correct answer
- The other driver, because the driver on the right must yield to the driver on the left.
- Whichever driver is on the wider road.
Why
When two drivers stop at STOP signs at the same time and their roads meet at right angles, the manual settles it with a simple rule: the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. The same rule applies at intersections with no signs or signals at all. Here the other car is on your left, so you are the driver on the right and you go first. The second answer turns the rule around, and the manual gives no priority based on how wide a road is. The manual's own example puts you in the other seat: a driver stopped on your right and going straight means you are the one who waits. Either way the rule is the same one read from a different seat, and the driver on the right goes first.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is You do, because the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- 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?
- On a two-way road, an ambulance with flashing lights and a siren is coming toward you in the opposite lane. What must you do?
- You are in the middle of an intersection when a fire truck with lights and siren comes up behind you. What should you do?