Chapter 6: Navigating the Roads

Successfully navigating public roads requires a shared understanding of who has the right to proceed and how to perform common maneuvers like turning and passing. These rules of the road are designed to create a predictable traffic flow and prevent conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Mastering these procedures is fundamental to safe driving and is a major focus of the Arizona driver’s license examination.

Right-of-Way

The concept of “right-of-way” is often misunderstood. The law does not grant anyone the right-of-way; it only specifies which driver must yield in a given situation. Yielding means to slow down or stop to allow another vehicle or pedestrian to proceed safely. Failure to yield is a leading cause of traffic collisions.

• Uncontrolled Intersections: At an intersection with no signs or signals, the driver of the vehicle on the left must yield to the vehicle on the right. If a driver arrives at the intersection before another, the first driver to arrive has the right-of-way.
• All-Way Stops: At intersections where all directions have a stop sign (a 4-way stop), the first vehicle to come to a complete stop is the first to proceed. If two vehicles stop at the same time, the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right.
• Driveways and Alleys: A driver entering a public roadway from a private road, driveway, or alley must stop and yield to all approaching traffic and pedestrians.
• Merging: When merging onto a freeway, the driver entering the freeway must yield to the traffic already on it. The entering driver should use the acceleration lane to match the speed of traffic before merging into a safe gap.
• Pedestrians: Drivers must yield to pedestrians in any marked or unmarked crosswalk. A driver may not pass another vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk for a pedestrian.
• Emergency Vehicles: Upon the approach of an emergency vehicle with its lights and siren activated, all drivers must immediately pull over to the right-hand edge of the road, clear of any intersection, and stop. Drivers must remain stopped until the emergency vehicle has passed. Arizona’s “Move Over” law also requires drivers to move over one lane—or slow down if moving over is not possible—for any stationary vehicle with flashing lights, including tow trucks and maintenance vehicles.

Pro-Tip:
A simple way to remember the rule at a 4-way stop is: “First in, first out. If it’s a tie, right is right.” This covers the two most common scenarios.