Who goes first at an intersection — Massachusetts Permit Test
Who goes first at an intersection on the Massachusetts permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Where there is any doubt at an intersection, give the right-of-way to the driver on your right.
The vehicle on the right goes first. It is the rule that keeps two drivers who both think they are first from meeting.
If in doubt, give the right-of-way to the driver on your right.
Slow down at an uncontrolled intersection, look left and right for oncoming traffic, and proceed if the way is clear.
Nothing tells you to stop, which is exactly why you have to. Arriving at speed leaves no time to look.
Slow down at an uncontrolled intersection. Look left and right for oncoming traffic and proceed if the way is clear.
Even where you have the legal right-of-way, make sure the other driver is yielding before you proceed.
Being right is not the same as being safe. The manual says so about traffic coming from the left.
Even though you may have the legal right-of-way, make sure that the other driver is yielding before you proceed.
At a four-way stop you must yield to another vehicle that has already come to a full stop.
Vehicles go in the order they stopped. Arriving second means going second, whatever the size of the vehicle.
At a four-way stop, vehicles must go in the order they stopped. The first to stop is the next to go.
At a four-way stop you must yield to a vehicle directly to your right that stopped at the same time as you.
The tie is broken by the right. If there is any doubt at all, the manual says give it to the driver on your right.
At a four-way stop, vehicles must go in the order they stopped. The first to stop is the next to go. If in doubt, give the right-of-way to the driver on your right.
Try to make eye contact with other drivers at a four-way stop to judge their intentions.
Four-way stops cause confusion, and the only signal most drivers give is where they are looking.
Try to make eye contact with the drivers of other vehicles to judge their intentions and avoid crashes.
On the test
Who gets the right-of-way where there is doubt at an intersection?
The driver on your right. The vehicle on the right goes first. It is the rule that keeps two drivers who both think they are first from meeting. Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.100: “If in doubt, give the right-of-way to the driver on your right.”
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
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Massachusetts Driver's Manual, published by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MA.pdf (Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Revised April 2026, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-14 from mass.gov)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MA.pages.txt (pdftotext -layout over that PDF; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/SOURCES.json (sha256, folio offset 8, folioMarker, nonLawPages, signGalleryPages and the extraction flag, each with its measured basis)