Which driver has first priority movement?

Explanation

The car driver.

At this junction there is no priority sign, no traffic light and no police officer, and both roads are of the same kind; that is, it is a junction of equal-status roads without control. At such a junction only one rule decides: the right-hand rule. Every driver must give priority to a vehicle coming from his right.

In the picture, the motorcycle approaches the junction from the road on the red car's left, and the car's right is empty. So the car has nobody on its right and passes first; it is the motorcyclist who must slow down and give way.

The safety reason for this rule is the elimination of negotiation and hesitation. If the decision were left to "who arrived first" or "who is bigger", both drivers would hesitate simultaneously or move simultaneously and a side impact would follow; the right-hand rule always gives one definite answer. The common exam trap takes two forms: first, thinking that because a motorcycle is smaller and more vulnerable it always has priority, and second, taking the centre line marking as a sign of a priority road. A centre line creates no priority; only a sign or a light does that. In practice too, even when priority is yours, do not enter the junction until you are sure the motorcyclist has genuinely slowed.

• The motorcycle is tempting because it looks nearer and faster, and many also think one must always give way to two-wheelers; but the motorcycle comes from the car's left and under the right-hand rule it is the one obliged to give way.

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