6.3 Right-of-Way Rules
Key Takeaways
- Always yield the right of way to pedestrians. Do not make a turn that forces a pedestrian to stop, slow, or make a special effort to avoid a collision. Take extra care with children, who may cross at unexpected places, and always yield to a visually impaired pedestrian using a white cane or guide dog.
- A law enforcement officer's command overrides a traffic signal or sign. Official processions, such as a funeral procession, have the right of way regardless of a traffic signal that indicates otherwise.
- Before entering a street from an alley or driveway, stop and yield the right of way to other vehicles.
- At a dark or non-operating signal, stop, then yield to cross-traffic already in the intersection, any vehicle that stopped before you, any vehicle that arrived at the same time and is to your right, and any pedestrian. Do not invent extra uncontrolled T-intersection formulas the Indiana Driver's Manual does not state.
- Failure to yield the right of way is the most common factor among all collisions in Indiana. School-bus stop-arm and emergency-vehicle / Move Over duties are covered in a later chapter.
6.3 Right-of-Way Rules
Quick Answer: Always yield the right of way to pedestrians. Do not make a turn that forces a pedestrian to stop, slow, or make a special effort to avoid a collision. Take extra care with children, who may cross at unexpected places. Always yield to a person who is visually impaired (often a white cane or guide dog). A law enforcement officer's command overrides a signal or sign. Official processions, such as a funeral procession, have the right of way regardless of a traffic signal that indicates otherwise. Before entering a street from an alley or driveway, stop and yield. At a dark (non-operating) signal, stop, then yield to traffic already in the intersection, vehicles that stopped before you, vehicles that arrived at the same time on your right, and pedestrians. Failure to yield is the most common factor among all collisions in Indiana.
Right-of-way is not a trophy you have. It is a duty to let someone else use the space first so you do not hit them. Chapter 8 of the Indiana Driver's Manual opens with that safety fact: among all collisions in Indiana, failure to yield the right of way is the most common factor. Accidents are often caused by lack of attention, failure to observe the rules of the road, or both. This section is those rules.
School-bus stop arms and emergency-vehicle / Move Over duties have their own later chapter. One sentence is enough here: those users also receive the right of way, and you will memorize the stop-arm and Move Over details there.
Pedestrians, including children and white-cane users
Crosswalks or a pedestrian signal indicate that pedestrians are nearby. Indiana's rules:
- Always yield the right of way to pedestrians.
- Do not make a turn that causes a pedestrian to stop, slow down, or make some other special effort to avoid a collision. If your left or right turn would make a person in the crosswalk hesitate, freeze, or dart, you have already failed the yield.
- If children are nearby, take special care. Children are not fully aware of the dangers of traffic and, with other pedestrians, may cross at unexpected places.
- Be respectful of people who have difficulty crossing, such as elderly persons or someone with a visual disability.
- Everyone is a pedestrian — including you, once you park and walk.
Traveling aids for a person who is visually impaired are often a white cane or a trained guide dog. Independent travel involves some risk that shrinks when drivers understand those aids. Drivers must always yield the right of way to persons who are visually impaired. Do not honk them through, and do not pass closely. Stop and wait.
Left turns through a green light without an arrow already require you to yield to all oncoming traffic. Combine that with the pedestrian rule: oncoming cars and people in the crosswalk both beat your left. Only one vehicle at a time may occupy the intersection for that left, which is how you avoid blocking the crosswalk while you wait.
Officers and official processions
Because of special events, congestion, or other reasons, a law enforcement officer may direct traffic at an intersection. The officer's command may be different from a traffic signal or sign. In that case, the law enforcement officer's command is the one that must be obeyed. A green light does not authorize you to drive past an officer's stop signal. A red light does not require you to sit if the officer waves you through.
Official processions, such as a funeral procession, have the right of way regardless of a traffic signal that indicates otherwise. If the procession is occupying the intersection, your green is not permission to cut the line. Let the procession clear.
Alleys, driveways, and dark signals
Before entering a street from an alley or driveway, you should stop and yield the right of way to other vehicles. The street user is not required to stop for you. Pedestrians on the sidewalk in front of that alley or driveway are still pedestrians: yield to them as well.
The manual's heading for an intersection with no sign or signal is where that alley/driveway stop lives. Do not invent extra Indiana numbers the handbook does not publish (for example a special T-intersection always yields distance or a ranked list of uncontrolled street types). When control is missing or the signal is dark, use the non-operating-signal procedure the manual actually writes.
If you approach an intersection with a non-operating signal, stop before entering. After stopping, you may proceed with caution only after you have yielded the right of way to:
- Cross-traffic that has already entered the intersection
- Any vehicle that stopped before you and is entering the intersection
- Any vehicle that arrived at the same time as you and is to your right
- Any pedestrian traffic
That list is the entire official order. First already-in, then first-stopped, then same-time right, then people on foot. It matches the all-way tie-breaker (the vehicle on the left yields) without turning the dark signal into a rolling yield.
A dark signal is not a flashing yellow. Flashing yellow, taught with signals, means slow and use caution; left turns still yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. A dead signal is a stop first situation.
| Situation | Indiana Driver's Manual rule |
|---|---|
| Pedestrian in or near your path | Always yield; do not turn if it forces the person to stop, slow, or make a special effort |
| Child nearby | Special care — children may cross at unexpected places |
| White cane or guide dog | Always yield to a visually impaired pedestrian |
| Officer directing traffic | Officer's command overrides a signal or sign |
| Official procession (funeral) | Has ROW regardless of a traffic signal that indicates otherwise |
| Alley or driveway onto a street | Stop and yield before entering |
| Dark / non-operating signal | Stop, then yield to already-in traffic, first-stopped vehicles, same-time traffic on your right, and pedestrians |
| Left on green without an arrow | Yield to all oncoming traffic and to pedestrians; one vehicle at a time in the intersection |
Indiana scenarios
Left on green, pedestrian in the far crosswalk. Oncoming cars have a gap, but a pedestrian is still in the crosswalk you would drive through. You do not turn. A legal gap in car traffic is not a legal gap in people traffic.
White cane at a mid-block crossing. You always yield. The cane or guide dog is the cue that the person is visually impaired.
Officer versus green. The light is green; the officer's palm is toward you. You stop.
Funeral on the cross street. Your signal turns green while hearses and headlights-on cars are still in the intersection. You wait. The procession has the right of way regardless of the signal.
Alley onto a collector. You stop at the sidewalk/street line and yield to cars on the street. You do not nose out until the way is clear.
Signal dark after a storm. You stop. A car already in the intersection clears. A car that stopped before you on the cross street goes. A car that arrived with you on your right goes before you. Anyone walking goes before you.
Exam traps
- Thinking I had the green excuses hitting a pedestrian or cutting a funeral procession.
- Turning while a pedestrian is forced to stop, slow, or dodge.
- Missing white cane / guide dog as an always-yield cue.
- Obeying the signal instead of the officer.
- Rolling out of an alley or driveway without stopping.
- Treating a dark signal as flashing yellow or as no control, no stop.
- Inventing extra uncontrolled-intersection formulas the Indiana Driver's Manual does not state.
- Forgetting that failure to yield is Indiana's most common collision factor.
Yield to people first, then to the officer, then to a procession, then to whoever is already in the intersection or who stopped or arrived with the official right-of-way order. That is the Chapter 6–8 right-of-way exam.
A law enforcement officer is directing traffic at an Indianapolis intersection. The signal facing you is green, but the officer's hand tells you to stop. What must you do?
You approach an Indiana intersection where the traffic signal is dark (non-operating). After you stop, another vehicle arrives at the same time on your right. What does the Driver's Manual require?
An official funeral procession is crossing an intersection on the street in front of you. Your signal is green. What right-of-way rule applies in Indiana?