These questions test which control applies before any manoeuvre begins. Read for a lawful human direction, a signal or sign, a protected crossing, a roundabout, and only then an uncontrolled-intersection rule.
Use a priority ladder
Start with the traffic orientation: South Korea uses right-hand traffic. On a two-way road, use that national orientation to identify the ordinary travel half before considering any special control. Then look for active control. Signals govern ordinary movement, but a lawful direction from a police officer or authorized assistant prevails when the two conflict. That hierarchy lets an officer manage an unusual scene without waiting for the signal cycle to change. Do not choose between the two instructions based on convenience or on which one would let you move sooner.
| Situation | Decision rule |
|---|---|
| Lawful direction conflicts with a signal | Follow the authorized person’s direction. |
| Pedestrian crossing or visibly about to cross | Bring the vehicle to a halt on the approach, leaving the crossing clear for the person. |
| Unsignalized crosswalk in a child-protection zone | Stop even when no pedestrian is currently visible. |
| Joining a roundabout | Identify the established circulating stream and wait for a safe gap before joining it. |
| Equal-width uncontrolled intersection | Yield to traffic already inside; for simultaneous arrivals, yield to the vehicle from the right. |
Crosswalk duties require careful premises. At a regular crosswalk, the protected situation begins when a pedestrian is crossing or is visibly about to cross, so waiting until the person reaches your lane is too late. The child-protection-zone rule is stricter at an unsignalized crosswalk: the stop is required even with nobody visible. At a roundabout, treat circulation as the established stream: movement runs counterclockwise, and joining traffic waits for a safe gap instead of forcing that stream to stop. Use the uncontrolled-intersection rule only when the question has removed signals, signs and competing special priorities. With roads equal in width and vehicles proceeding straight, position inside the intersection comes first; simultaneous arrivals are then resolved in favor of the vehicle from the right.
The traps
- Treating a green signal as absolute. A lawful direction from a police officer or authorized assistant prevails when it conflicts with the signal.
- Waiting until a pedestrian reaches the traffic lane. The crosswalk duty begins when the person is crossing or visibly about to cross.
- Treating an unsignalized child-zone crosswalk as permission to continue when nobody is visible. The special rule requires a stop even without a pedestrian present.
- Using vehicle size as an uncontrolled-intersection priority rule. Apply position and approach instead: traffic already inside goes first, then simultaneous arrivals yield to the vehicle from the right.
Try it
On an ordinary two-way road in South Korea, which side of the centre line should a car normally use?
- Either side if the road is clear
- The right side of the centre line
- The left side of the centre line whenever opposing traffic is not visible
- The centre of both lanes
A car is about to enter a roundabout while another vehicle is already circulating. No signal or officer changes the situation. What should the entering driver do?
- Enter first because all traffic already inside the roundabout must stop for arrivals
- Slow or stop and yield to circulating traffic
- Reverse until the roundabout is empty
- Enter clockwise to avoid the other vehicle