Yellow car: arrives on the right side of the pink car and also wants to turn left.
No traffic lights, no signs, no right of way: how do you decide?
The key rule: the main lane has the right of way.
At a T-intersection, unless a traffic sign indicates otherwise, the vehicle driving in the main lane has the right of way because it continues along the main traffic axis. In our example, the blue car stays in the main lane and does not change direction. That’s why it goes first.
This is the simplest rule to remember:
If you’re in a single lane, you pass the one joining the road first.
Step two: determining the order of vehicles turning left.
After the blue car has passed, the pink and yellow cars remain in place, both turning left. Their passing order is determined by a well-known rule: a vehicle turning left gives way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction or to a vehicle with a clear right of way.
The pink car coming from the end of the lane must check that the space is clear before turning. The yellow car approaching from the side must also make sure that the intersection is clear.
Normally, the pink car would give way to the yellow car if it had a more direct route.
However, in this particular case – according to standard driving tests – the pink car turns first and then the yellow car makes the turn, because it is performing a more complex maneuver and has no other right of way.
A clear and easy-to-remember summary
In this configuration:
