You reach an open intersection (no signs or signals) and plan to turn left. A car is coming toward you from the opposite direction. What must you do?
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A.
Proceed with your turn because you reached the intersection first.
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B.
Yield to the oncoming car before turning. Correct
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C.
Turn quickly before the oncoming car reaches you.
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D.
Proceed since left-turning traffic has priority.
The answer is "Yield to the oncoming car before turning."
At an open intersection with no signs or signals, a left-turning driver must yield to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction before completing the turn. Drivers who pick D are carrying the protected-green-arrow logic over from intersections with traffic lights, where a green arrow briefly gives left turns their own right-of-way and holds oncoming traffic for them.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Proceed with your turn because you reached the intersection first.
Arrival order does not override the left-turn yield at an open intersection; the manual's yield condition turns on the direction of travel, not on who got there first. This answer carries over the first-to-arrive tiebreaker from four-way stops, where order of arrival decides, when an open intersection instead assigns the yield to the left-turning driver regardless of who arrived first.
C. Turn quickly before the oncoming car reaches you.
Racing the turn to beat the oncoming car is not lawful yielding; you may complete the left only when it can be done safely without cutting off the approaching vehicle. This answer applies the highway-merge habit of picking any gap in traffic, when the manual makes the left-turning driver yield to the oncoming vehicle rather than race it.
D. Proceed since left-turning traffic has priority.
Left-turning traffic is the party required to yield at an open intersection, not the party with priority. This answer reverses the rule by assuming the harder maneuver earns priority, when Florida assigns priority to the through movement at an unsigned open intersection.
This question tests your knowledge of Turning in Florida. Source: The Official Florida Driver License Handbook, "Driving Safety: Open Intersections," p.62..
Related Florida questions
- You are preparing to turn at an upcoming intersection. Under Florida law, how far before the turn must you activate your turn signal? →
- You plan to give a hand signal for your turn. From which side of the vehicle must a driver's hand signal be given? →
- You are completing a right turn onto a multi-lane roadway. Which lane does Florida law require you to finish the turn in? →
- You are on a three-lane highway with a center lane marked for turning. Under Florida law, what is that center lane used for? →
- You are entering a lane marked with a Begin Right Turn Lane sign. What does Florida law require of you at that point? →
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