Priority to the right
Encyclopedia
Priority to the right is a right-of-way system, in which a driver of a vehicle shall give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4.a of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
for countries where traffic keeps to the right and applies to all intersections where it is not overridden by priority signs (uncontrolled intersections), including side roads and roundabouts (but not paths or earth-tracks).
an countries.
What varies, however, is the extent to which uncontrolled intersections do exist at all. In some countries, virtually all roads are controlled with priority signs or traffic lights, while others, such as France
, even apply the system on intersections with heavy traffic such as the Place de l'Étoile
around the Arc de Triomphe
and Paris Ring Road.
The United States
still has a number of uncontrolled intersections, where motorists must yield to the right. Increasingly, municipalities across the US have introduced all way stops
as a means of controlling the intersections to decrease the likelihood of a collision and to make it easier to determine liability in the event of an accident. At T-Intersections, traffic on the terminating road must yield to all traffic at the termination point.
However, if an intersection is not easily visible, a warning sign (usually a white or yellow triangle with red border and a cross symbol) may be erected. This sign does not regulate priority but just warns of an intersection. White, yellow and black diamond signs on the main road show that users have priority over entering traffic.
Under the priority to right system, priority is always given to traffic entering the right, unless priority signage overrules this.
In Switzerland, road markings may also be used to indicate that the junction is a priority to right junction.
, which drives on the left, uses an opposite rule (also termed "priority to the right") on four-way intersections where the roads all have equal priority but not for T-intersections. Most intersections are marked and signed however, so this rule is mostly applied at intersections with failed traffic lights. New Zealand uses priority to the right on all intersections, at least for turning traffic. Singapore also adopts Priority-to-the-right, as well as priority to vehicles going straight and turning vehicles to give way to vehicles going straight, even though Singapore drives on the left hand side as well.
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by standardising the uniform traffic rules among the contracting parties...
for countries where traffic keeps to the right and applies to all intersections where it is not overridden by priority signs (uncontrolled intersections), including side roads and roundabouts (but not paths or earth-tracks).
Usage
The system is widely used in countries with right-hand traffic, including most EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries.
What varies, however, is the extent to which uncontrolled intersections do exist at all. In some countries, virtually all roads are controlled with priority signs or traffic lights, while others, such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, even apply the system on intersections with heavy traffic such as the Place de l'Étoile
Place de l'Étoile
The Place Charles de Gaulle, , historically known as the Place de l'Étoile , is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues including the Champs-Élysées which continues to the east. It was renamed in 1970 following the death of General and President Charles...
around the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
and Paris Ring Road.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
still has a number of uncontrolled intersections, where motorists must yield to the right. Increasingly, municipalities across the US have introduced all way stops
All-way stop
An all-way stop is an intersection system used predominantly in the United States of America, Canada and South Africa where traffic approaching it from all directions is required to stop before proceeding through the intersection...
as a means of controlling the intersections to decrease the likelihood of a collision and to make it easier to determine liability in the event of an accident. At T-Intersections, traffic on the terminating road must yield to all traffic at the termination point.
Signage
Intersections to which priority to the right applies are usually not equipped with signage or road markings. Priority signs override the priority to the right rule and are often used on roads with heavier traffic.However, if an intersection is not easily visible, a warning sign (usually a white or yellow triangle with red border and a cross symbol) may be erected. This sign does not regulate priority but just warns of an intersection. White, yellow and black diamond signs on the main road show that users have priority over entering traffic.
Under the priority to right system, priority is always given to traffic entering the right, unless priority signage overrules this.
In Switzerland, road markings may also be used to indicate that the junction is a priority to right junction.
Priority to the Driver's side
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, which drives on the left, uses an opposite rule (also termed "priority to the right") on four-way intersections where the roads all have equal priority but not for T-intersections. Most intersections are marked and signed however, so this rule is mostly applied at intersections with failed traffic lights. New Zealand uses priority to the right on all intersections, at least for turning traffic. Singapore also adopts Priority-to-the-right, as well as priority to vehicles going straight and turning vehicles to give way to vehicles going straight, even though Singapore drives on the left hand side as well.