Priority questions become manageable when rules are applied in order. Keep left for normal travel, identify any sign or road layout, resolve turning movements, and use right-side priority only when nothing more specific has already decided the conflict.
Work from specific to general
Begin with position: New Zealand traffic keeps left. At an intersection, look first for control signs and for a T-intersection or driveway. Traffic on the terminating road gives way to every vehicle on the continuing road; arriving slightly earlier does not reverse that layout rule. A stop sign and a give-way sign also create different duties. Stop means a complete stop before giving way. At a give-way sign, slow down, be ready to stop and give way, but continue without a full stop when the way is safe. When those signs face one another and no other rule intervenes, the stop-sign driver yields to the give-way driver.
| Conflict | Rule to apply |
|---|---|
| T-intersection or driveway | Terminating-road traffic yields to continuing-road traffic. |
| Opposing turns | The driver turning right yields to the oncoming vehicle, including one turning left. |
| No specific rule remains | Give way to traffic from the right. |
| Stop sign against give-way sign | Complete the stop, then yield to the driver facing give way. |
Turning rules come after the road layout and signs. Turning traffic gives way to traffic that is not turning. When opposing vehicles are both turning, the driver turning right gives way to the oncoming vehicle, including one turning left. If no sign, layout or turning rule resolves the situation, use the general rule and give way to traffic approaching from the right. Roundabouts have their own application of right-side priority: wait for every vehicle from the right that will cross your path. For a straight route, use no entry signal, then signal left before exiting. The signal communicates your exit; it does not create priority.
The traps
- Switching to the right-hand side outside a city. Normal traffic keeps left in New Zealand; leaving an urban area does not reverse that orientation.
- Letting arrival order override a T-intersection. Traffic on the terminating road gives way to all traffic on the continuing road.
- Using slight first arrival at an uncontrolled intersection as the final test. When no specific rule applies, give way to traffic coming from the right.
- Treating stop and give-way signs as identical. Stop means a complete stop; give way means slow, prepare to stop and proceed only when safe.
Try it
At an intersection with no signs or signals, you are turning right and an oncoming car is turning left into the same road. No other national exception applies. What must you do?
- Turn first because your path crosses more lanes
- Both vehicles must reverse away from the intersection
- Proceed together because both vehicles are turning
- Wait and give way to the oncoming car
You plan to go straight through a roundabout, and a vehicle from your right will cross your path. What is the correct combination of priority and signalling?
- Enter first, signal right on entry, and leave without signalling
- Give way, use no entry signal, and signal left before exiting
- Give way, signal left on entry, and cancel it before exiting
- Enter first, use no signals, and stop inside the roundabout