You want to turn left. An oncoming driver reaches the intersection at about the same time and is going straight. What does the manual say to do?
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A.
Turn first because you signaled first and were slightly ahead of the intersection.
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B.
Yield to the oncoming driver who is going straight. Correct
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C.
Continue with the turn because oncoming traffic must yield to a left-turning driver.
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D.
Proceed at the same time as the oncoming driver, keeping to opposite sides.
The answer is "Yield to the oncoming driver who is going straight."
When drivers approach from opposite directions at about the same time, the driver turning left yields to traffic going straight or turning right. Drivers who confuse an unprotected left with a green-arrow left, which does grant priority, pick C; the yield reverses only when the arrow is showing.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Turn first because you signaled first and were slightly ahead of the intersection.
Priority in this scenario turns on direction of travel, not on which driver signaled or crept forward first. This answer extends the four-way STOP first-arrival tiebreaker into a case the manual settles by direction, not by timing.
C. Continue with the turn because oncoming traffic must yield to a left-turning driver.
This answer reverses the yield; the driver turning left is the one who must wait for oncoming traffic to clear. It applies the priority a green arrow grants a protected left, at an intersection where no arrow is showing.
D. Proceed at the same time as the oncoming driver, keeping to opposite sides.
Turning through a straight-through path is a collision, not a coordinated pass; the left-turning driver must wait. This answer imagines a two-lane weave that works on paper and never in traffic, since the two paths cross at the turn point.
This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Right-of-Way," p.34..
Related New York questions
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- You reach an intersection with no signs or signals at the same time as another vehicle approaching from your right. Under the manual, who must yield? →
- You approach an intersection on a green light and see a vehicle already turning inside it. What does the manual tell you to do? →
- You have the right of way as you approach an intersection. What does the manual say to do? →
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