Right of way — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Right of way on the Pennsylvania permit test — 12 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
The law does not give anyone the right of way at an intersection; it only says who must yield. Even when another driver should yield and does not, you must still stop or yield to avoid a crash.
Being right does not stop the other car, and insisting on it is how a crash happens.
The law does not give anyone the right-of-way at intersections; it only says who must yield.
Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight ahead.
The oncoming driver is going where the road goes; you are the one crossing their path.
Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight ahead.
When two vehicles reach an intersection from different roads at about the same time, the driver coming from the left must yield to the vehicle coming from the right.
Somebody has to go first, and a rule both drivers know beats two people waving each other on.
drivers coming from the left must yield to vehicles coming from the right
A vehicle entering a public highway from an alley, private road or driveway must wait until the main road is clear.
You are joining a road where nobody expects a car to appear.
A vehicle entering a public highway from an alley, private road or driveway must wait until the main road is clear.
At a four-way stop all vehicles must stop, and the first to reach the intersection moves forward first.
Arrival order is the one thing every driver at the intersection can agree on.
At a four-way stop, all vehicles must stop. The first vehicle to reach the intersection should move forward first.
To cross a 30 mile an hour street at a two-way stop you need about a six-second gap in both directions, or about a block of clear space each way.
The gap has to cover the time it takes you to get moving and clear the far lane.
You need about a 6-second gap in both directions to cross a 30 mph street or about a block of clear space to the right and left.
Turning right at an intersection, allow a gap of about eight seconds between you and any vehicle approaching from the left.
You have to get from a standstill up to the speed of the traffic you are joining.
Allow a gap of about eight (8) seconds between you and any vehicle approaching from the left.
Turning left from a minor onto a major street, allow a nine-second gap between you and any vehicle approaching from the right.
A left turn crosses more road than a right, so it needs a longer gap.
allow a 9-second gap between you and any vehicle approaching from the right
Do not pull out in front of an approaching vehicle just because its turn signal is on: the driver may turn later than you think, or may have forgotten to switch it off. Wait until the vehicle actually starts to turn.
A motorcycle signal often does not switch itself off, so a blinking light proves nothing.
Do not pull out in front of an approaching vehicle with its turn signal on to enter or to cross a street.
Even with a green signal, do not enter an intersection if vehicles are blocking your way; wait until you are sure you can clear it.
Stopping in the middle leaves you across the path of the traffic that gets the signal next.
Even if you have a green light, do not enter an intersection if there are vehicles blocking your way. Wait until you are sure you can clear the intersection before starting to cross it.
Yield to vehicles in a funeral procession; once the lead vehicle has cleared an intersection the rest may go through, and you must not cut in and out of the procession.
The line moves as one, and a car cutting in leaves both halves guessing.
If you see a funeral procession on the road, yield to vehicles in the procession.
Vehicles in a funeral procession may go through a red signal or stop sign if the lead vehicle started through while the signal was go, and at a stop sign the lead vehicle must stop completely first.
The exception exists so the line does not get broken up at every intersection.
In the case of a stop sign, the lead vehicle must first come to a complete stop before proceeding through the intersection.
On the test
What does the law actually say about right of way at intersections?
Only who must yield, not who has priority. Being right does not stop the other car, and insisting on it is how a crash happens. PA Driver's Manual, p.48: “The law does not give anyone the right-of-way at intersections; it only says who must yield.”
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.
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.