Right of Way at Intersections, Roundabouts and Crosswalks in China
China drives on the right. Here is who gives way in the most common situations.
Intersections with traffic lights
- Enter the guide lane that matches your direction.
- When turning left, pass to the left of the center point of the intersection, with your turn signal on (and low beams at night).
- Stop behind the stop line on a stop signal. If there is no stop line, stop before the intersection.
- If the vehicle ahead in your lane is waiting for a signal while you want to turn right, wait in line behind it.
- At junctions with no direction arrow lights: turning vehicles give way to vehicles going straight and to pedestrians. An oncoming right-turning vehicle gives way to a left-turning vehicle.
- If the intersection is jammed, wait outside it. Do not enter and block the crosswalk.
Intersections without lights or police
First follow any signs or markings: the road with priority goes first. If nothing controls the junction:
- Stop and look before entering.
- Give way to traffic coming from the right.
- Turning vehicles give way to vehicles going straight.
- An oncoming right-turning vehicle gives way to a left-turning vehicle.
The Law adds that at junctions without signals, drivers must slow down and let pedestrians and vehicles with priority pass first.
Roundabouts
A vehicle about to enter a roundabout gives way to vehicles already inside it.
Crosswalks and pedestrians
When approaching a crosswalk, slow down. When pedestrians are crossing, stop and give way. Where pedestrians are crossing a road with no signals, drivers must give way too. Do not stop on a crosswalk or on a grid-marked area while waiting.
Meeting oncoming vehicles on narrow roads
On roads with no center barrier or line:
- Slow down, keep right and leave a safe gap.
- Where one side has an obstacle, the side without an obstacle goes first, unless the obstructed side has already entered the narrow part and the other has not.
- On a narrow slope, the vehicle going uphill goes first, unless the downhill vehicle is already halfway down and the uphill vehicle has not yet started up.
- On a narrow mountain road, the vehicle on the side away from the mountain goes first.
- At night, switch to low beam at least 150 m before meeting an oncoming vehicle.
Queues and lane reductions
Do not squeeze past queued vehicles on either side. Where lanes reduce and traffic is queued or slow, vehicles take turns, one vehicle from each lane in alternation.
Overtaking
Signal early (left turn signal, change between high and low beam, or sound the horn). The vehicle being overtaken, if conditions allow, should slow down and keep right. The overtaking driver should be sure of a safe gap, pass on the left, and return only after leaving a safe distance, signaling right.
You must not overtake when:
- The vehicle ahead is turning left, making a U-turn or overtaking.
- An oncoming vehicle may appear.
- The vehicle ahead is an emergency vehicle on a mission.
- At a railway crossing, intersection, narrow bridge, curve, steep slope, tunnel or crosswalk, and on busy urban sections where conditions for overtaking do not exist.
Emergency vehicles
Police cars, fire engines, ambulances and engineering rescue vehicles on emergency missions may use sirens and signal lights. Other vehicles and pedestrians must give way.
Practice
Do the “Right of way” topic in the mock exam.
Lane changes and fast lanes
On a road with two or more motor vehicle lanes in your direction, the left lane is the fast lane and the right lane is the slow lane. A vehicle in the fast lane must keep the speed set for that lane, and a vehicle that cannot should use the slow lane. Motorcycles keep to the right-most lane. A vehicle in the slow lane that overtakes a car ahead may borrow the fast lane to pass. When you change lanes you must not interfere with vehicles in the lane you enter.
Turning and reversing
- Signal early. The rule is to turn on the left signal early when turning left, changing to the left lane, preparing to overtake, leaving a parking place, or making a U-turn. Use the right signal when turning right, changing to the right lane, returning to your lane after overtaking, or pulling over to the curb.
- U-turns are banned where there is a no-U-turn or no-left-turn sign or marking, at railway crossings, crosswalks, bridges, sharp bends, steep slopes, tunnels and other dangerous places. Where nothing prohibits them, you may turn around if you do not obstruct other vehicles or pedestrians.
- Reversing is banned at railway crossings, intersections, one-way streets, bridges, sharp bends, steep slopes and tunnels. Check behind you before reversing.
At night and in bad weather
- When it is dark and the road has no street lights, or when visibility is low, switch on your headlights, clearance lights and position lights. In fog also turn on fog lights and hazard lights. When following another vehicle closely, do not use high beam.
- At night, when passing a sharp bend, slope, arched bridge, crosswalk or an intersection with no signal, alternate high and low beams to signal your presence.
- When approaching a sharp bend, the top of a slope or any place that limits your view, or when overtaking or in an emergency, slow down and sound your horn.
Pedestrians and cyclists
- Pedestrians must use crosswalks and pedestrian crossings. Where none exist, they must watch for vehicles and cross straight when safe. They may not suddenly speed up in front of a vehicle or turn back.
- Cyclists and riders of electric bicycles must dismount and push their vehicles when crossing a motor vehicle lane away from a crosswalk. Where a bicycle lane is blocked, a cyclist may use the next motor vehicle lane for the blocked stretch and then return, and motor vehicles must slow down and give way.
- Blind pedestrians have priority. The law says vehicles must make way for them.
Level crossings
At a railway crossing, follow the signal or the staff’s direction. Where there is neither, slow down or stop and cross only when you are certain it is safe. Do not overtake at a railway crossing. A vehicle carrying an oversized load must cross at the place and time set by the railway authority.
Practice
Do the “Right of way” topic in the mock exam and read parking rules for the stopping rules at crosswalks and junctions.