Traffic Laws: Right of Way, Yielding, Funerals and Pedestrians, Passing, Lane Usage, Turning, Changing Lanes, Roundabouts, Railroad Crossings, Parking and Disability Parking

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Michigan driver's license written knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: What Every Driver Must Know (SOS-133, revised October 2025), Michigan Department of State, chapter 4 "Traffic Laws": right of way, passing, lane usage, turning, roundabouts, railroad crossings and parking (pp. 29–39).

Right of way

When turning, yield to other vehicles on a right turn (including on red), on a left turn from a driveway, alley or a green light, and on a left turn on red. At intersections, yield when the light has just turned green and vehicles are still inside; turning left on green, go once oncoming traffic clears, and if the light turns red while you are in the intersection, finish the turn quickly and safely. A left on red is allowed from a one-way street onto another one-way street after a complete stop and a check for traffic from the right; turning left from a two-way street onto a one-way street on red, stop, scan right, and yield to opposite drivers turning right. At a stop sign or flashing red, stop completely at the stop line or crosswalk, or where you can see approaching traffic without entering. At a four-way stop, the driver who stopped first goes first; arriving together, the driver on the left yields to the right. At a malfunctioning signal, stop, yield to vehicles already there, and to the right when arriving together. At a flashing yellow arrow, yield before turning. At a T intersection without controls, yield to the through road.

Be prepared to yield at a yield sign; to workers in construction and maintenance areas and to stopped waste collection, utility and maintenance vehicles with flashing lights; when turning at any intersection; at stop signs and flashing red and yellow lights; to a pedestrian in an unmarked crosswalk on your side of the road where no device controls traffic; to a pedestrian who entered a crosswalk before the signal changed; to a pedestrian crossing from an alley, driveway, building or private road; and to through traffic at a Merge sign. Funeral processions have the right of way over everyone except fire trucks, ambulances and police; their vehicles display a fluorescent orange flag with a religious symbol; cutting through one is a civil infraction, though other drivers need not pull over. Yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks at intersections or mid-block, in a crosswalk even on green, to children near school-zone crosswalks when school is in session, and to pedestrians with disabilities.

Passing

On a two-lane highway you need a clear view of the left lane and enough distance and time. Once started, do not return until you see the entire vehicle in your rearview mirror, and return before you are within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle. Allow extra room with a trailer; pass only one vehicle at a time; do not follow closely behind another passer; and use the center lane of a three-lane road with extreme caution, never when it is marked for left turns only. When being passed, do not speed up. Passing on the right is allowed, never on the shoulder or off the road, only when a two-lane road has room and the vehicle ahead is turning left, on a multi-lane one-way street, on a road with two or more lanes each way, or at a spot widened for passing.

Never pass with a solid yellow line on your side, at Do Not Pass or No Passing Zone signs, approaching a hill or curve that hides oncoming traffic, within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing, where your view is blocked within 100 feet of a bridge, viaduct or tunnel, when oncoming traffic is too close, when you cannot see clearly, in a left-turn-only center lane, where a vehicle has stopped for a pedestrian, in a construction zone posted no passing, or at a school bus with red lights flashing.

Lane usage

Drive in the right lane except when passing, crossing the center line around stopped vehicles or obstacles (yield to oncoming traffic first), on a road with three or more marked lanes, on a multi-lane one-way street, when signs direct you left, when turning left into or from an alley, driveway or private road, around a stopped emergency vehicle, or when construction blocks the right lane or shoulder. On an interstate or freeway, use the right lane except when congestion, weather, a hazard in the right lane, or yielding to emergency or construction vehicles requires the left lane, or when no traffic is immediately ahead or behind in it. Weaving to speed through traffic is illegal; only emergency vehicles with lights and sirens may drive against traffic; crossing medians and barriers is illegal, though a paved cut-through without prohibiting signs may be used for a left turn; enter and leave controlled-access roads only at posted entrances and exits; slow vehicles use the right lane except to pass or turn left.

Turning and changing lanes

Always signal; hand signals (left arm out for left, up for right, down for stop) are used mainly by motorcyclists, moped riders and bicyclists. Right turn: from the correct lane, obey signs, yield to pedestrians, emergency vehicles and other traffic, check left, follow the curve of the curb without straying into other lanes, remember trucks and buses need more room, and with multiple turn lanes finish in the corresponding lane. Left turn: from the correct lane with a signal, yield to pedestrians, bicyclists, emergency vehicles and traffic, keep the front wheels straight until you begin turning, and finish in the corresponding lane. Look hard for vehicles hidden behind or beside others, especially motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. To change lanes, make a head check for traffic behind and beside you, signal, and move carefully.

Roundabouts

Entering traffic yields to vehicles circulating counterclockwise around the central island, including bicyclists and pedestrians, looking left at the yield line, and never entering by a left turn. Pick your lane from the signs and markings before entering, slow down, stay right of the island, do not stop inside unless it is the only way to avoid a collision, do not change lanes, do not pass other vehicles, bicycles or mopeds, and avoid driving next to trucks and trailers, which may need more than one lane. If an emergency vehicle approaches, leave at the nearest exit and then pull over. Exit by a right turn, signaling, at a slow speed, and accelerate only after the exit crosswalk; if you miss your exit, go around again.

Railroad crossings

Slow down and look both ways; trains need a mile or more to stop and are closer and faster than they look. Cross only at designated crossings and never walk or stop on the tracks. When a train is coming, stop no more than 50 feet and no less than 15 feet from the tracks; trains overhang the rails at least three feet on each side. Stop at a crossing stop sign whether or not a train is in sight; never drive through, around or under an activated crossing system; expect school buses, passenger-for-hire vehicles, gasoline trucks and hazardous materials haulers to stop at every crossing; and after a train passes, wait until gates rise, lights stop and bells quit, with all tracks clear. Passive crossings have only advance signs, pavement markings and crossbucks with yield or stop signs: slow or stop and check both directions. Active crossings have gates, flashing lights, message signs or bells: stop when the bells ring, lights flash or the gate is down or moving. Never stop on the tracks, always expect a train, avoid shifting gears on the tracks, keep enough speed in snow so you do not get stuck, and when traffic backs up near a crossing, cross only if you can clear the far rail by at least six feet. Once the lights and gates activate or you hear the horn, you have about 20 seconds. If stuck with gates activated or a train coming, get everyone out and far from the tracks at once and call 911; if nothing is activated, get everyone out, call the railroad's number on the blue Emergency Notification System sign with the crossing number (six digits and one letter) so officials can slow or stop the train, then call 911.

Parking

On a hill, turn the wheels toward the curb facing downhill, away from the curb facing uphill, and with no curb so the vehicle cannot roll into traffic. Always set the parking brake (the transmission is not a brake), turn off the engine, take the keys and lock up. Parallel parking: choose a space on the passenger side, signal and check mirrors, pull alongside the car ahead of the space 2 to 5 feet away, shift to reverse, back slowly while turning right, then turn the other way to straighten in an S, and end no more than 6 to 12 inches from the curb. When leaving, watch for bicycles and motorcycles, open the door with your right hand so you look over your left shoulder, and approach the driver's side facing traffic when you return.

Disability parking is for vehicles with a disability plate or placard carrying someone with a qualifying disability (blindness or a condition that significantly limits walking or requires a wheelchair, walker, crutch or similar aid, temporary or permanent), and only when that person goes into the store with you; free parking requires a placard with a yellow free-parking sticker; never park on the blue-striped area beside a van-accessible space or block ramps and curb cuts.

Never park: at no stopping, standing or parking signs; within 500 feet of a fire or crash; within 15 feet of a fire hydrant; within 20 feet of a fire station driveway on the same side or 75 feet across the street when marked; within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a crossing; in front of a driveway, alley, theater, emergency exit or fire escape; where you block the view of turning drivers; more than 12 inches from the curb; against traffic; within 30 feet of a stop sign, signal or flashing beacon; in a highway lane outside a city or village where there is a shoulder; on or under a bridge, on an overpass or in a tunnel; on a sidewalk or in front of a driveway; beside a parked vehicle (double parking); in an intersection, crosswalk or bike lane; blocking a rural mailbox; within 20 feet of a marked crosswalk or 15 feet of an intersection without one; or at a transit stop. The vehicle's owner, or lessee, pays the ticket, and local ordinances may be stricter.

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