You and another driver stop at STOP signs on roads that meet at right angles, and you both arrive at the same instant. The other driver is on your right. Who has the right-of-way?
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A.
You do, since drivers going straight have priority.
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B.
Whoever signals turning intent first.
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C.
Neither: you must wait for a traffic officer.
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D.
The driver on your right does. Correct
The answer is "The driver on your right does."
New York's rule for simultaneous STOP-sign arrivals at right-angle roads gives the right-of-way to the driver on the right, so the driver on the left must yield. Drivers who lean on the unprotected-left-turn habit (where a driver going straight has priority over a driver turning left) carry that logic into the four-way STOP setting, where direction of travel does not decide the order at all.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. You do, since drivers going straight have priority.
Priority for a driver going straight applies to unprotected left turns against oncoming traffic, not to two drivers stopped at STOP signs on perpendicular roads. This answer borrows the unprotected-left-turn rule from a different section and drops it onto the four-way STOP, where direction of travel does not settle the order.
B. Whoever signals turning intent first.
A turn signal does not create right-of-way; the manual keys the decision to which side each driver is on. This answer treats a turn signal as a claim on the intersection, a courtesy habit borrowed from highway merging that the STOP-sign rule ignores.
C. Neither: you must wait for a traffic officer.
Officer direction overrides other rules but is not required to work an ordinary four-way STOP. This answer escalates every unclear intersection to an officer instead of applying the plain rule the manual writes for this case.
This question tests your knowledge of Regulatory Signs in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Right-of-Way," p.34..
Related New York questions
- The manual charges 'Disobeying a traffic control device' at how many license points, separate from the higher charge listed for disobeying a STOP sign, YIELD sign, or traffic light? →
- How many license points does New York add to your record for improper passing or an unsafe lane change? →
- The DMV point chart lists 'Improper turn' at how many points? →
- You approach a STOP sign at an intersection where both a white stop line and a marked crosswalk are painted across your lane. Where does the manual tell you to stop? →
- Aside from the STOP and YIELD signs, regulation signs in New York use one standard color scheme. Which one does the manual list? →
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