Two drivers claim the right-of-way at an intersection. Under Pennsylvania law, what is true?
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A.
The law gives the right-of-way to whichever driver has already entered the intersection.
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B.
The law does not grant a right-of-way; it only says who must yield. Correct
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C.
The law grants the right-of-way to whichever driver arrived first.
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D.
The law gives the right-of-way to any driver going straight through.
The answer is "The law does not grant a right-of-way; it only says who must yield."
Pennsylvania's intersection framework is written as yielding duties: the manual lists who must yield in specific conflicts rather than awarding a general right-of-way to one claimant, and even when another driver fails to yield, you must still stop or yield to avoid a crash. Choice C is the trap: 'the first vehicle to reach the intersection should move forward first' is only the four-way-stop tiebreaker, and test-takers apply that etiquette to every intersection type.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. The law gives the right-of-way to whichever driver has already entered the intersection.
Pennsylvania does not treat 'already in the intersection' as a general priority; the manual's yield list assigns duties by the specific conflict type, not by who entered first. This answer generalizes the roundabout rule that circulating traffic already in the circle has right-of-way into a broader 'anyone already in the intersection wins' principle for every kind of crossing.
C. The law grants the right-of-way to whichever driver arrived first.
Order of arrival is only the four-way-stop tiebreaker in the yield list; Pennsylvania's general intersection framework does not award right-of-way by who arrived first at every type of crossing. This answer extends the four-way-stop 'first come, first served' etiquette drivers already rely on into a blanket priority rule for every intersection type.
D. The law gives the right-of-way to any driver going straight through.
Going straight is not an automatic right-of-way in every intersection situation; the relevant Pennsylvania rule is that left-turning drivers must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight ahead. This answer flips the narrower left-turn yield rule into a 'straight-through always wins' shorthand drivers reach for when they cannot recall which vehicle actually yields.
This question tests your knowledge of Right of Way in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Negotiating Intersections," p.48..
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