In his The Wise Drive column, Target Zero Manager Doug Dahl addresses a question concerning the right of way for opposing drivers

Doug Dahl
The Wise Drive

Q: I have never found the answer to this – even in the DMV book. If two cars coming from opposite directions on the same street (without stop signs or traffic signals) want to turn onto the same side street, who has the right-of-way to make that turn first?

A: It’s not easy to find a one-sentence answer in a 142-page document, so I’ll help you out. The information you’re looking for is on page 3-25 of the Washington Driver Guide. And so you don’t have to go look it up, here’s what it says: “Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.”

Maybe you couldn’t find the answer because it wasn’t worded quite like you were expecting. When you’re condensing around 500 pages of traffic law into a readable handbook, you’re going to have to shorten, simplify, and omit some things. The driver guide begins with a disclaimer that you shouldn’t use the guide as a basis for legal claims or actions, and then says that if you want the actual traffic laws you’ll find them in RCW 46. The disclaimer ends with, and I like this, “Please read it [the law] carefully.” That comes across to me as a subtle recognition that the law can be difficult to read and understand.

In this instance though, I think the full law, rather than the summary in the driver guide, makes your answer more apparent. Here’s what you’ll find in the Revised Code of Washington: “The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard.”

The law doesn’t mention whether the vehicle coming from the opposite direction is turning or going straight, but it doesn’t matter. Either way, the driver making a left turn is required to yield. And that makes sense; making a left turn requires crossing another lane of traffic – a maneuver with increased risk. Enough that a few years ago UPS got a lot of attention for planning their delivery routes to avoid left turns. The company found it reduced crashes (by avoiding crossing in front of oncoming traffic) and saved fuel (by eliminating idling time while waiting for an opening in oncoming traffic).

I’ll also note that the law I referenced above, while correct, isn’t the whole story. There are the rules, and then there are the rules about what to do when someone else doesn’t follow the rules. Yes, the vehicle turning left is required to yield to the vehicle turning right onto the same street, but that doesn’t relieve the right-turning driver from the responsibility to drive safely. The law doesn’t give a driver the right-of-way; it states who is required to yield the right-of-way. Said another way, there’s no “stand your ground” law in driving. For a few examples, drivers are expected to “further exercise of due care and caution” as circumstances require, “exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian,” and not move out of their lane unless “such movement can be made with safety.”

There’s a theme running through traffic law; in addition to the specific rules, to the extent that you can, do the thing that avoids a crash. Drivers are expected to assess their surroundings and respond to the actions of other drivers, even when those other drivers make a mistake. The road isn’t the place to prove who’s right; instead it’s where we most should watch out for each other.

The Wise Drive is hosted by Doug Dahl, a Target Zero manager for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.