An uncontrolled intersection is a road intersection where no

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic lights ...

road marking Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information; they are commonly placed with road marking machines (also referred to as road marking equipment or pavement marking eq ...

s or

signs Signs may refer to: * ''Signs'' (2002 film), a 2002 film by M. Night Shyamalan * ''Signs'' (TV series) (Polish: ''Znaki'') is a 2018 Polish-language television series * ''Signs'' (journal), a journal of women's studies *Signs (band), an American ...

are used to indicate the

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. They are found in either residential neighborhoods or in rural areas. While the intersection itself is unmarked, warning signs or lights may be present to alert drivers to it.

Uncontrolled T-intersection

At an uncontrolled T-intersection (3-way intersection),

rules differ from country to country. In Australia, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and most of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, traffic on the terminating road must give way (yield) to traffic on the continuing road. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

,
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvo/__8.html - in German -

Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany) The Federal Ministry of Justice (german: Bundesministerium der Justiz, ), abbreviated BMJ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Under the German federal system, individual States are most responsible for the administr ...

- :de:Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung (Deutschland): Vorfahrt - (German) Road Traffic Order:

Right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

- Section 8 - Retrieved on September 20, 2012 traffic generally has to give way to traffic on the right at an uncontrolled intersection, whether it is a 3-way intersection or not.

Uncontrolled 4-way intersection

At uncontrolled 4-way intersections the common rules are * give way to traffic approaching from the passenger's side (i.e. from the right in countries that drive on the right-hand side, rule known as

priority to the right Priority to the right is a right-of-way system, in which the driver of a vehicle is required to give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4.a of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic fo ...

, and vice versa) **however, this may be the opposite depending on the local laws * turning traffic with crossing paths usually gives way to traffic driving straight through in the opposite direction * drivers opposite one another and both turning in their same direction, e.g. both drivers turning to their right (in countries that drive on the right-hand side), do not need to give way to one another as their paths will not cross. Common practice dictates that drivers will treat the intersection as if they have a give way (yield) sign and look both directions for cross-traffic to avoid any accidents with motorists who did not recognize or did not follow the uncontrolled intersection rule.

References

{{Reflist Road infrastructure Road junction types