Right of way — Virginia Permit Test
Right of way on the Virginia permit test — 8 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Yield also means stop, if you cannot merge safely into the flow of traffic.
Merging into a gap that is not there is how a yield sign turns into a crash.
Yield also means to stop if you cannot merge safely into the flow of traffic.
When vehicles reach an intersection from different directions at different times, the one that arrived first goes first.
Arrival order is the one thing both drivers can agree on without speaking.
When vehicles from different directions arrive at an intersection at different times, the vehicle that arrives first goes first.
If the signals at an intersection are not working, every vehicle must stop and the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
With the signals dark, the rule for who goes has to come from somewhere both drivers know.
If the traffic lights at an intersection are not working, all vehicles coming to the intersection must stop. The driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right.
A driver entering an interstate from an entrance ramp must yield to traffic already on the highway.
The traffic on the highway has no room to move over for you and nowhere to slow down to.
Drivers entering an interstate from an entrance ramp must yield the right-of-way to traffic already on the highway.
When you enter a roadway from a private road or driveway, you must stop and yield to all traffic and to everyone walking.
You are joining a road where nobody is expecting a car to appear.
When entering a roadway from a private road or driveway, you must stop and yield to all traffic and pedestrians.
You must yield to people walking or cycling across a street in a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked intersection.
A crossing does not have to be painted to be a crossing, and somebody stepping off a curb has already committed.
You must yield to pedestrians or bicyclists who are crossing a street within a clearly marked crosswalk or at an unmarked intersection.
You must yield to a funeral procession and may not cut through, join or interfere with one.
The cars behind are following the one in front closely, and a car cutting in breaks the line.
You must yield to funeral processions. Do not cut through, join or interfere with a funeral procession.
You must yield to all military convoys and never cut through or join one.
A convoy travels as one unit, and a car inside it leaves both halves guessing.
You must yield to all military convoys. Never cut through or join a military convoy.
On the test
What does yield mean when there is no safe gap in traffic?
Stop until a safe gap appears. Merging into a gap that is not there is how a yield sign turns into a crash. Virginia Driver's Manual, p.16: “Yield also means to stop if you cannot merge safely into the flow of traffic.”
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 Virginia Driver's Manual, published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.