Priority to the right: all the rules
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Priority to the right is THE basic intersection rule in France - and a frequent source of exam mistakes. Here is the rule, its exceptions and the common traps.
The essentials in three points
The general rule
At an intersection with no signs or markings, give way to the vehicle coming from your right.
The exceptions
Priority to the right does not apply when a sign or marking says so: priority road, give way, stop, lights, roundabouts.
Turning left
When turning left you must give way to oncoming vehicles: a situation that trips up many candidates.
The rule, and why it feels wrong to foreign drivers
At a junction with no signs and no traffic lights, you give way to any vehicle coming from your right. That is the whole rule, and France applies it more broadly than most countries do.
The part that surprises people who learned to drive elsewhere is that the apparent importance of the roads is irrelevant. A car emerging from a narrow street on your right has priority over you on a wide, busy one, provided no sign says otherwise. There is no notion of a "main road" by appearance - only by signage.
The three signs that cancel it
Priority to the right is the default, not an absolute. Signage overrides it, and recognising which sign is present is what the exam is really testing.
| Sign | Shape | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Give way | Inverted triangle | You give way; you need not stop if the road is clear |
| Stop | Red octagon | A full stop is compulsory, clear road or not |
| Priority road | Yellow diamond | You keep priority until the end-of-priority sign |
| End of priority road | Diamond struck through | Priority to the right applies again |
The reflex to build: on a junction image, look for the sign before you look at the vehicles. If there is one, it decides. If there is none, priority to the right applies - and only then.
The exceptions that catch people out
Beyond signage, three situations remove the right of way from a vehicle on your right, and each is a regular exam question.
- Emerging from a property, a car park or a track. A vehicle leaving a private entrance or an unpaved path has no priority, whichever side it comes from.
- Roundabouts. Traffic already on the roundabout keeps priority; you give way when entering, even though those vehicles arrive from your left.
- A vehicle that has stopped. A driver on your right who has come to a standstill - at a stop line, or simply halted - loses the benefit of the rule when they set off again.
The classic stop-sign trap
A junction with perfect visibility and no vehicle in sight: a large share of candidates answer that you may roll through. That is wrong. At a stop sign the halt is always compulsory, regardless of visibility, and it must be a complete stop, not a slow roll.
It is one of the most frequently missed exam questions, and rolling through a stop on the practical test is a straight fail - so it is worth turning into an automatic reflex now.
How to practise it so it becomes automatic
Reading the rule takes thirty seconds and does not work. What works is volume on junction images, one topic quiz at a time, until you identify the governing sign without deliberately looking for it.
Twenty seconds is enough to recognise a situation and not enough to reason it out from first principles. The goal of practice is to move priority from the second category into the first - and a single focused session on this chapter corrects more mistakes than a week of general revision.
Why this chapter matters
- 1/3 — of wrong answers involve a junction
- 35/40 — to pass the code
- 3 — signs that cancel the rule
- ~20 s — to decide, in the exam
Frequently asked questions
How does priority to the right work in France?
With no signage, you give way to any vehicle coming from your right. It is the default rule at intersections.
Does priority to the right apply at roundabouts?
No. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority, so you give way when entering even though those vehicles come from your left.
Does a car leaving a driveway have priority?
No. A vehicle emerging from a property, a car park or an unpaved track has no priority, whichever side it comes from.
Can I go through a stop sign if the road is clear?
No. A complete stop is always compulsory at a stop sign, whatever the visibility. It is one of the most frequent exam mistakes, and rolling a stop on the practical test is a straight fail.
Why does France use priority to the right so much?
It is the default rule for junctions that are not signposted, which keeps signage requirements down. Priority is then assigned explicitly by sign wherever a different arrangement is needed.