Michigan · Handbook chapter 5 · 7 min read

Chapter 5: Right of way, passing, lanes and turns

Michigan right-of-way rules at intersections and for pedestrians and funerals, when passing on the left or right is allowed or banned, lane use, turning, changing lanes and roundabouts.

Why this chapter matters

Most crashes happen where vehicles' paths cross. Knowing who must yield, when you may pass, and how to turn and use a roundabout is the heart of the Operator portion of the knowledge test.

Yielding when you turn

You must yield to other traffic when you:

• Turn right, including on a red light.
• Turn left, from a driveway or alley or on a green light at an intersection.
• Turn left on red. The manual shows two such turns: from a one-way street onto another one-way street, and from a two-way street onto a one-way street. Either way, come to a complete stop and check for traffic from the right first. When turning from a two-way street, also yield to vehicles opposite you that are turning right.

Right of way at intersections

• Green light: yield to vehicles still in the intersection before you go.
• Left turn on green: wait until oncoming traffic clears. If the light turns red while you are in the intersection, finish the turn quickly and safely.
• Stop sign or flashing red: stop completely and check for traffic. Stop at the stop line; if there is none, at the crosswalk; if there is neither, where you can see all approaching traffic without pulling into the intersection.
• Four-way stop: the first to stop goes first. If two arrive together, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
• Signal not working: stop completely, yield to vehicles already there, and yield to the vehicle on your right if you arrive together.
• Flashing yellow arrow: yield before turning.
• T-intersection with no signs or signals: yield to traffic on the through road.

Be ready to yield

• At a YIELD sign: slow down, check traffic and be prepared to stop.
• At a MERGE sign: adjust your speed to merge with through traffic.
• To workers in construction areas, and when passing a stopped garbage, utility or road maintenance vehicle with lights flashing.
• At any flashing yellow light.

Pedestrians

You must yield to a pedestrian:

• In a marked crosswalk, at an intersection or mid-block.
• In the crosswalk even when your light is green.
• In an unmarked crosswalk on your side of the road where there are no signals.
• Who entered the crosswalk before the signal changed.
• Crossing from an alley, driveway, building or private road.
• Near or in a school zone crosswalk while school is in session.
• With a disability, including those using a white cane or guide dog.

Funeral processions

• Processions have the right of way over all vehicles except fire trucks, ambulances and police.
• Vehicles in the procession show a fluorescent orange flag with a religious symbol.
• Cutting through a procession is a civil infraction, but you are not required to pull over when you see one.

Passing on the left

• On a two-lane road you need a clear view of the left lane and enough distance from oncoming traffic.
• Do not cut back in until you can see the whole vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror.
• Be back in your lane before you are within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle.
• Pass only one vehicle at a time, and allow more room when towing.
• Be very careful using the center lane of a three-lane road to pass; it is banned if that lane is marked left turn only.
• When someone passes you, do not speed up.

Passing on the right

Passing on the right is allowed, but never on the shoulder or off the road, and only:

• On a two-lane road with room, when the vehicle ahead is turning left.
• On a one-way street with more than one lane.
• On roads with two or more lanes each way.
• Where the road is widened for passing.

When passing is banned

• A solid yellow line on your side of the center line.
• DO NOT PASS or NO PASSING ZONE signs.
• Approaching a hill or curve that blocks your view.
• Within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing.
• When your view is blocked within 100 feet of a bridge, viaduct or tunnel.
• When a vehicle has stopped at a crosswalk or intersection for a pedestrian.
• When a school bus has its red lights flashing.
• In a construction zone with no-passing signs, or when the three-lane center lane is for left turns only.

Lane use

You must drive in the right lane, except when passing, going around an obstacle (yield to oncoming traffic first), on roads with three or more lanes, on one-way streets with two or more lanes, when signs direct you left, when turning left into an alley or driveway, near a stopped emergency vehicle, or near road work.

On an interstate or controlled-access freeway, keep right except for congestion, bad weather, an obstacle, moving over for emergency or construction vehicles, or when no traffic is right behind or ahead of you in the left lane. Slow vehicles must keep right except to pass or turn left.

• Weaving from lane to lane is illegal.
• Only emergency vehicles with lights and sirens may drive against traffic.
• Never drive across a median or through barriers. A paved cut-through without signs banning it may be used to turn left.
• Enter and leave controlled-access roads only at marked entrances and exits.

Turning

Always signal. Hand signals (left, right and stop) are still used by bicyclists and motorcyclists.

Right turns: turn from the correct lane, yield to pedestrians and traffic, check left, follow the curve of the curb and stay in your lane. Trucks and buses need extra room. With multiple right-turn lanes, finish in the lane that matches yours.

Left turns: turn from the correct lane, yield to pedestrians, bicyclists and oncoming traffic, keep your wheels straight until you start turning, and with multiple left-turn lanes finish in the matching lane. Look carefully for vehicles hidden behind others, especially motorcycles and bicycles.

Changing lanes: check your mirrors, do a head check over your shoulder, signal, then move over carefully.

Roundabouts

Traffic moves counterclockwise around a central island, and entering vehicles yield to traffic from the left, including bicyclists and pedestrians. You leave by turning right.

• Choose your lane before entering using signs and markings, slow down and keep to the right of the island.
• Never turn left to enter.
• Vehicles in the roundabout have the right of way. Do not stop inside unless you must to avoid a crash.
• If an emergency vehicle approaches, do not stop in the roundabout: leave at the next exit, then pull over.
• Do not change lanes or pass inside, and do not drive beside large trucks, which may need two lanes.
• Signal your exit, and watch for pedestrians at the exit. If you miss your exit, go around again.