Giving way to other vehicles means

Explanation

Giving way means the driver must not continue or resume movement, or perform any manoeuvre, if it may force other drivers to change direction or speed suddenly.

The key word in this definition is "suddenly". Giving way does not mean reducing your effect on traffic to zero; it means avoiding provoking an emergency reaction in the driver who has priority. The reason is logical: in every traffic interaction drivers constantly make small adjustments to their speed and course. If the legal test were "any change in speed or direction", nobody could ever enter a main road from a side road, change lanes or pull out of a parking space, and traffic would effectively lock up. So the legislator set the boundary at the reaction that creates danger: hard braking, a sudden swerve, and with it a rear-end impact or a departure from the lane.

The practical test at the wheel: before entering or manoeuvring, ask yourself whether the vehicle with priority will be forced to brake hard or swerve; if the answer is yes, wait. At unsignalised intersections and at the entries to Yerevan's roundabouts, this judgement is the only real measure of observing priority.

• It drops the qualifier "suddenly" and turns giving way into a ban on having any effect on others; on that reading, entering any road would never be permitted. • A full stop is not always necessary; if you can proceed without forcing others into a sudden reaction, priority has been observed.

Sources and content coverage · Report a content error