Two vehicles on crossing approaches arrive at an Oregon four-way stop at the same moment. Who has the right of way?
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A.
The driver on the right. Correct
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B.
The driver on the left.
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C.
The driver who came to a complete stop first.
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D.
Whichever driver is going straight rather than turning.
The answer is "The driver on the right."
At a four-way stop, common courtesy is to let the driver who stops first go first, but that courtesy applies only when arrivals are staggered. For a true tie, the Oregon manual is explicit: "When in doubt, yield to the driver on your right." Direction of travel does not change who goes first. The trap is the first-to-stop courtesy; drivers stretch it past staggered arrivals when two vehicles feel close enough that each thinks they got there a hair sooner.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. The driver on the left.
The manual's tiebreaker runs the other way: yield to the driver on your right, not the left. This answer mirrors the rule's direction, the slip drivers make when they remember the tiebreaker is directional but guess the wrong side, often because a left-turn habit trains them to watch oncoming traffic on the left front.
C. The driver who came to a complete stop first.
First-to-stop is the courtesy used when arrivals are staggered. When two drivers arrive at the same moment, the manual resolves the tie by yielding to the driver on the right. This answer stretches the first-to-stop courtesy past its scope, the reflex a driver falls back on when a tie feels close enough that each side is sure they got there first.
D. Whichever driver is going straight rather than turning.
Between two vehicles on crossing approaches, direction of travel does not break the tie; the driver on the right goes first. This answer carries over the two-way stop rule that a left-turning driver yields to oncoming traffic going straight, and applies it to a four-way stop where direction is not the tiebreaker.
This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Turns & Intersections," p.42..
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