Four way stops — Alabama Permit Test

Four way stops on the Alabama permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

At a 4-way stop, vehicles should leave the stop signs in the same order in which they arrived; the first vehicle to come to a complete stop is the first allowed to go.

Taking turns in order of arrival lets everyone know whose turn it is without guessing.

The first vehicle to arrive at a complete stop is the first vehicle allowed to leave the stop sign.
Alabama Driver Manual, p.42

When more than one vehicle arrives at a 4-way stop at the same time, the vehicle furthest to the right goes first.

A simple rule for a tie keeps two drivers from starting into the intersection together.

When more than one vehicle arrives at the same time at the 4-way stop, the vehicle furthest to the right is allowed to leave first.
Alabama Driver Manual, p.42

Even when it is your turn at a 4-way stop, allow at least a few seconds to make sure no one else begins to enter, because many people do not follow the rule.

Being right about whose turn it is will not stop a car that ignores the rule.

Always allow at least a few seconds to make sure no one else begins to enter the intersection -- even if it’s your turn -- because many people do not follow the rule.
Alabama Driver Manual, p.42

On the test

At a 4-way stop, who goes first?

The first vehicle to come to a full stop. Taking turns in order of arrival lets everyone know whose turn it is without guessing. Alabama Driver Manual, p.42: “The first vehicle to arrive at a complete stop is the first vehicle allowed to leave the stop sign.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

All Alabama permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Alabama Driver Manual, published by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.