Talk:Traffic/Rules of the Road merge archive

Rules of the road are the general practices and procedures that road users follow, especially motorists and cyclists. They govern interactions with other vehicles and pedestrians. The basic traffic rules are defined by an international treaty under the authority of the United Nations, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Not all countries are signatory to the convention and, even among signatories, local variations in practice may be found. Driving safely is usually easier if a driver can adapt to both written and unwritten local rules of the road.
These rules should be distinguished from the mechanical procedures required to operate one's vehicle. See driving.

Highway code

In many countries, the rules of the road are codified, setting out the legal requirements and punishments for breaking them.
In the
Highway Code
, including some obligations, but also a lot of other advice on how to drive sensibly and safely. For this second set of advice, it states: Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under Traffic Acts to establish liability. Many of its ex-colonies still retain this notice.
In the
km/h), but Oregon has a maximum speed limit of 65 mph (104 km/h) and Hawaii
has a maximum of 55 mph. (88 km/h).

Priority

As well as the side of the road, priority rules also differ between countries. In the
Place de l'Étoile around the Arc de Triomphe. Traffic on this particular roundabout is so chaotic that French insurance companies deem any accident on the roundabout to be equal liability. The default give-way-to-the-right rule used in Continental Europe causes problems for many British and Irish
drivers who are accustomed to having right of way by default unless they are specifically told to give way.

4-way stop intersections

In the United States and Canada, there are many 4-way intersections with a stop sign at every entrance. In this case, the default rule is:

Whichever vehicle stops first has priority.

If two vehicles stop at the same time, priority is given to the vehicle on the right.

If three vehicles stop at the same time, priority is given to the two vehicles going in the same direction.

If four vehicles stop, drivers usually use gestures and other communication to establish right-of-way. In some areas, the custom is for the north-south or the more-trafficked road to have priority, although this is rare.

Overtaking

Overtaking refers to a manoeuvre that is in effect passing slower vehicles travelling in the same direction. On two-lane roads, when there is a split line or a dashed line on the side of the overtaker, drivers may overtake when it is safe. In some areas on multi-lane roads in certain jurisdictions, overtaking is permitted in the 'slower' lanes.

Lanes

The usual designation for lanes on divided highways is the fastest lane is the one closest to the center of the road, and the slowest to the edge of the road.
In the United States, the inside lane refers to the fastest (left-most lane), but in the United Kingdom, it refers to the slowest lane. Because the UK drives on the left, the inside lane is the left lane.
Usually, drivers are expected to keep in the slowest lane unless overtaking, though with more traffic, often all lanes are used. Many areas in North America do not have any laws about staying to the slowest lanes unless overtaking. In those areas, unlike many parts of Europe, traffic is allowed to overtake on any side, even in a slower lane. This practice is known as overtaking on the inside and sometimes 'undertaking', in the United Kingdom; in United States it is called passing on the right.

U.S. state-specific practices

Furthermore, in some U.S. states such as Massachusetts, although there are laws requiring all traffic on a public way to use the right-most lane unless overtaking, this rule is often ignored and seldom enforced on multi-lane roadways.
In other states like
freeways
in California that pre-dated this rule often have ramps on the left, making signs like "TRUCKS OK ON LEFT LANE" or "TRUCKS MAY USE ALL LANES" necessary to override the default rule.