A vehicle will sometimes come into conflict with a pedestrian or another vehicle because their intended courses of travel will be in conflict with each other. This is where the rules of “right of way” come into play. The general principle of right of way is defined as the one who has the legal right to proceed first or who should be given priority. This will establish who may use the conflicting part of the road and who has to wait until the other one has done so.

Devices for determining who has the right of way will include signals, signs, markings and various other features or devices designed to illustrate explicit priority. A good example of this is the nearly universal use of stop signs. If there are no signs or indications present that will determine the right of way, there are default traffic rules that must be observed. These rules will vary from location to location. There are efforts geared towards uniformity at an international level, which can be seen in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. This convention prescribes standardization in traffic devices (signals, signs and markings) that are used to establish the right of way.

Pedestrian crosswalks are found in all populated areas and these are used to indicate that a pedestrian has the right of way over passing vehicular traffic. Traffic signals are found in most developed areas in order to designate right of way on the more congested roadways. The purpose of these is to expedite the flow of traffic in a safe and orderly manner by allotting timed intervals for vehicles to proceed from each direction. The intervals are programmed with certain factors in mind such as traffic volume, the location of other traffic signals and pedestrian crossings. Vehicles that are emerging from a private access must yield to motorists travelling on a public road with the exception of drawbridges, rail crossings and emergency vehicles.

Intersections that have no signals and particular roads at busy intersections may have temporary dominance whereby a break in traffic must be achieved which, in turn, gives temporary dominance to the other road.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

You can find further detailed information regarding truck accidents in Boca Raton by visiting the Weinstein Law Offices.

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