Priority

traffic sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...

s indicate the order in which vehicles shall pass intersection points. Vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each other's routes. The general principle that establishes who has the right to pass first is called "

right of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

" or "priority". It establishes who has the right to use the conflicting part of the road and who has to wait until the other does so. The vehicle that does not need to wait is said to "have the right of way" or to "have priority."

Types of sign

A give way sign, also known as a yield sign in some countries, informs the driver that they must give way to vehicles on the major road. Under the Vienna Convention, the standard sign shall be a white or yellow inverted triangle with a red border. This originates in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, with the red and white coming from the Danish flag.Bekendtgørelse om Hovedfærdselsaarer, 27. marts 1937,

In some countries, the words ''Give Way'' or equivalent may be included with the sign. These signs are usually accompanied by a give way marking, normally one or multiple dashed lines or shark teeth across the carriageway.

Alternative priority systems

File:Zusatzzeichen 1002-21 - Verlauf der Vorfahrtsstraße an Kreuzungen (von oben nach rechts), StVO 1992.svg, Sign indicating the route of priority road (thick line) at an intersection and defining the priority File:Zeichen 301 - Vorfahrt, StVO 1970.svg, Dangerous intersection with priority indication (for the next intersection only). Different variants of the sign can be used on both priority- and non-priority roads. ''Each sign has the thicker line indicating the road or direction that has priority with the viewer's own direction being from the bottom of the sign.'' File:CH-Hinweissignal-Bergpoststrasse.svg,

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

mountain postal road sign: priority given to public transport, such as postal bus (pay special attention to the specific three-tone-horn of the postal bus approaching hairpin bends and wait before the bend; traffic users must follow instructions given by public transport drivers) File:CH-Hinweissignal-Ende der Bergpoststrasse.svg, Swiss end of mountain postal road File:Filter in Turn Sign (Used in Jersey and Guernsey).svg, A Filter in turn in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, which indicates that traffic from different approaches has alternating priority at the junction. SADC road sign R2.2.svg, Yield at roundabout sign, left-hand traffic version SADC road sign R2.2-RHT.svg, Yield at roundabout sign, right-hand traffic version SIECA road sign R-1-4.svg, Turn left, yield on green arrow SIECA road sign R-1-3.svg, Turn right on red arrow P05 CZ.svg, Yield to trams SADC road sign R1.2.svg, Stop for all directions, then they yield to left SADC road sign R1.2-RHT.svg, Stop for all directions, then they yield to right NZ road sign W11-4-L.svg, Side road on the left with priority (diamond) NZ road sign W11-4-R.svg, Side road on the right with priority (diamond) NZ road sign W11-4.1-L.svg, Side road on the left (diamond) NZ road sign W11-4.1-R.svg, Side road on the right (diamond) IE road sign W-002-L.svg, Side road on the left with priority with a thick line (diamond) IE road sign W-002-R.svg, Side road on the right with priority with a thick line (diamond) AU-SA road sign TES18903.svg, Crossroads under general priority (diamond) NZ road sign W11-2.svg, Crossroads with priority (diamond) IE road sign W-001.svg, Crossroads with priority with a thick line (diamond) IE road sign W-015.svg, Crossroads with a major road IE road sign W-016.svg, T-intersection with a major road NZ road sign W11-3.1.svg, T-intersection sign Australia road sign W9-3-L.svg, Crossroad priority sign on the left Australia road sign W9-3-R.svg, Crossroad priority sign on the right NZ road sign W11-5.1.svg, Y-intersection sign NZ road sign W11-5-L.svg, Y-junction on the left NZ road sign W11-5-R.svg, Y-junction on the right RU road sign 2.3.1.svg, Crossroads with priority (triangle) RU road sign 2.3.3.svg, Side road on the left with priority (triangle) RU road sign 2.3.2.svg, Side road on the right with priority (triangle) MUTCD R9-6.svg, Bikes yield to pedestrians SADC road sign R2.1.svg, Yield to pedestrians SADC road sign R2.1-RHT.svg, Yield to pedestrians

References

Traffic signs {{Road-stub

Types of sign

Alternative priority systems

See also

References