Who has the right-of-way at a two-way stop sign?

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What are the rules at a two-way stop sign? I see a lot of people treating them like an all-way stop – whoever gets there first, goes. But I’ve always understood that, once cross traffic is clear, cars turning left should yield to cars waiting at the other side who are going straight or turning right. – Cassy, Sherwood Park, Alta.

At a two-way stop sign in Alberta, the driver turning left is supposed to yield to drivers turning right or going straight, a driving expert says. But in practice, the rules aren’t always so straightforward.

“It is not the first one there who has the right-of-way. Vehicles taking a right turn or going straight have the right-of-way,” said Dennis Porter, senior instructor for novice drivers at the Alberta Motor Association (AMA). “The vehicle turning left has the last right-of-way. Even if that means that the left-turning driver will be there for a while.”

Let’s back up a bit. A two-way stop sign is what it sounds like: At a four-way intersection, two of the corners have stop signs and two don’t.

For example, traffic heading north and south will have stop signs, but traffic heading east and west won’t.

After cars approaching the stop sign come to a complete stop, they will have to yield to cross traffic – the drivers without a stop sign.

But then what? The law – in this case, Section 38 of Alberta’s Use of Highways and Rules of the Road Regulation – doesn’t say to take turns. It says that you can’t proceed until it is safe and you must yield the right-of-way to “all vehicles and pedestrians” approaching your vehicle.

So, if both cars approaching the stop sign are going straight or are turning right, they can both go because there’s no danger of hitting each other.

But if you’re turning left, and the other driver is turning right or going straight, you’d cross paths.

So that means you would have to give them the right-of-way, Porter said.

That differs from the rules at a three-way or four-way stop – also known as an all-way stop – where traffic in every direction has a stop sign.

At an all-way stop, it’s supposed to be like McDonald’s: first come, first served.

The car that comes to a complete stop first is supposed to get the right-of-way, whether they’re turning or going straight.

But having right-of-way doesn’t always make you right. On the road, having the right-of-way has to yield to safety and common sense, said Sergeant Kerry Bates, with the Edmonton Police Service’s traffic safety unit.

So, at that two-way stop, if the car turning left has already entered the intersection and is starting their turn, you should let them complete it, Bates said.

“Each vehicle has to make the movement in safety,” Bates said. “So if Vehicle A is the first in the roadway and is in the process of making a left turn, Vehicle B has to not leave the stop sign – or if he does, he has to let Vehicle A complete the turn.”

Having right-of-way doesn’t protect you from getting in a crash.

If there’s a collision in that scenario, the car going straight could face charges, but the car turning left could be found partly at fault by their insurance company, Bates said.

The rules vary by province. Most don’t say you should take turns at a two-way stop.

Left for last?

So, what if you are facing a long line of oncoming vehicles at that opposing stop sign?

If you’re waiting to turn left at a stop sign and you’re facing five vehicles at the opposite stop sign going straight, do you have to wait for all of them to go before you can turn?

“If you wait for the next car and the next car, the people behind you will honk their horns and get grumpy,” said Angelo DiCicco, general manager with the Ontario Safety League. “This is where everyone is responsible for safe passage and where courtesy comes in.”

After the first car, if you see an opening, take it, DiCicco said. If you do, you should make eye contact with the oncoming driver and then creep forward slowly, DiCicco said. Once you’re in the intersection, the other person is supposed to wait.

If the intersection is so busy that you can’t get in to make a turn, “you should not be turning left there at a busy time of day,” DiCicco said. “That’s usually where they end up putting in roundabouts and all-way stops.”

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