Intersections
Right-of-way, LEFT vehicle priority at equal intersections
A flashing red signal at an intersection means slow down and proceed with caution.
🔀 Intersections Cheat Sheet
Key facts from this topic. Print this page for quick offline reference.
TRUE: At an intersection of equal roads with no signs or signals, the vehicle approaching from the LEFT has priority.
In Japan, at an intersection of equal roads (no signs, signals, or priority markings), the vehicle approaching from your LEFT has priority.
TRUE: A vehicle on a wider road has priority over a vehicle on a narrower road at an intersection.
Vehicles traveling on a wider road have priority over vehicles coming from a narrower road at an intersection.
TRUE: A vehicle turning left has priority over a vehicle turning right at an intersection when they arrive at the same time.
In Japan (left-hand traffic), a vehicle turning left has priority over a vehicle turning right when they meet at an intersection.
TRUE: When approaching an intersection, you should always slow down even if you have the right of way.
Even when you have the right of way, you should slow down and check for other vehicles when approaching an intersection.
TRUE: A vehicle traveling straight through an intersection always has priority over a vehicle turning.
Vehicles going straight have priority over vehicles turning at an intersection.
TRUE: At a T-intersection, the vehicle on the through road always has priority.
At a T-intersection, vehicles on the through road (the top of the T) have priority over vehicles entering from the stem road.
TRUE: At a roundabout, vehicles already in the roundabout have priority over entering vehicles.
At roundabouts in Japan, vehicles already circulating in the roundabout have priority.
TRUE: In a roundabout in Japan, traffic flows clockwise.
Because Japan drives on the left, roundabout traffic flows clockwise (you enter from the left side).
TRUE: If you are on a road with a center line and the intersecting road has no center line, you have priority.
A road with a center line is considered a priority road over a road without a center line.
TRUE: When making a right turn at an intersection, you should wait in the center of the intersection until there is a gap in oncoming traffic.
When turning right at an intersection, you should move to the center of the intersection and wait for a safe gap in oncoming traffic before completing the turn.
FALSE: At an intersection of equal roads with no signs, the vehicle approaching from the RIGHT has priority.
In Japan, the vehicle approaching from the LEFT has priority at equal intersections, not the right.
FALSE: You may enter an intersection even if traffic ahead is congested and you might block the intersection.
You must not enter an intersection if traffic ahead is congested and you might get stuck in the intersection, blocking cross traffic.
FALSE: A "priority road" sign (diamond shape) means you have right of way at the next intersection only.
A priority road sign means you are on a priority road and have right of way at ALL intersections along that road until a sign indicates otherwise, not just the next intersection.
FALSE: At an intersection with a yield sign, you must always come to a complete stop.
A yield sign means you must slow down and be prepared to stop, yielding to traffic on the priority road.
FALSE: At an intersection with a stop sign, you must stop and then may proceed immediately after checking left and right once.
At a stop sign, you must come to a complete stop and carefully confirm safety by checking left, right, and left again.