Alberta's rules of the road are written in terms of who must yield. Never in terms of who gets to go. It isn't pedantry. It's the whole logic of the system, and it's why "I had right of way" is a weak thing to say after a collision. Below, the intersection situations that appear on the Class 7 knowledge test and in real driving, each with its decision rule. No sign catalogue here; signs have their own road signs guide.
By Mark Goh · Last reviewed: · Fact-checked against alberta.ca · Not affiliated with the Government of Alberta.
| Uncontrolled intersection | Yield to any vehicle already in the intersection, then to the vehicle on your right |
|---|---|
| Four-way stop | First to stop goes first; if you stopped together, the vehicle on the right goes |
| Left turn across traffic | You yield to everything — oncoming traffic and pedestrians |
| Roundabout | Yield to traffic already circulating; signal your exit |
| Pedestrians | Yield at crosswalks marked and unmarked; never pass a vehicle stopped at one |
| Emergency vehicle, siren on | Pull to the right and stop; stay 150 m back once it has passed |
Right of way is given, not taken
Alberta's regulations describe duties to yield. No provision says a driver "has the right to proceed" no matter what else is going on. So you can be the one who has to yield even when the other driver is plainly in the wrong. If a car runs a stop sign in front of you, your duty to avoid the collision doesn't vanish because their duty to stop came first.
Knowledge-test questions are written from this angle. It's why the correct answer is so often the cautious one. When two options both look defensible, the one that yields is usually right.
Uncontrolled intersections
No signs, no signals, no markings governing priority. Common in residential grids and on rural range roads. Two rules, in order:
- Yield to any vehicle already in the intersection. Arrival order settles it before anything else does.
- Arriving at about the same time? The driver on the left yields to the vehicle on the right.
The failure here is speed, not ignorance. The right-hand rule only works if both drivers come in slowly enough to tell who arrived first, and to stop if the other one doesn't yield. Taking an uncontrolled intersection at the full residential limit throws that margin away.
Four-way stops
Everyone stops. Fully, behind the line or the crosswalk. Then:
- First to stop, first to go.
- Stopped together: the vehicle on the right proceeds.
- Turning left? You yield to a driver going straight from the opposite direction.
Two habits wreck this in real life. The rolling stop destroys the arrival-order information everyone else is relying on. And waving another driver through, kind as it is, swaps a rule all four drivers know for a gesture only one of them saw. If you're the one being waved through, make sure the other approaches have actually stopped.
Two-way stops and T-intersections
Where only your direction faces a stop sign, you yield to all traffic on the through road. You don't go until the gap is big enough that nobody has to brake and you won't be left stranded across a lane.
At a T, traffic on the road that ends yields to traffic on the road that continues. The through road has priority even when it looks like the minor one, and a driver who has never had to stop there isn't going to start because you're waiting.
Left turns: you yield to everything
A left turn across oncoming traffic is the least protected move in ordinary driving. On a green light with no left arrow you may enter the intersection and wait, but you yield to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians crossing the road you're turning into.
A green arrow is a protected turn; oncoming traffic is held. It doesn't excuse you from watching for pedestrians in your path. An advance flashing green also gives you the turn while oncoming traffic sits on red, but the flashing green ends before your turn necessarily does. Drivers who commit late get caught by it.
One positioning habit prevents the worst outcome. While you wait to turn left, keep the wheels straight. Get hit from behind with the wheels already turned and you're shoved into oncoming traffic instead of forward. Straight wheels, wait, then turn once the path is actually clear.
Roundabouts
One principle: traffic already circulating has priority. You yield on entry and never inside the circle.
- Approach in the lane for your exit. Usually right lane for the first exit or straight through, left lane for a later exit or a U-turn, unless the markings say otherwise.
- Yield to traffic on your left already in the roundabout, and to pedestrians and cyclists at the entry crossing.
- No lane changes inside the roundabout.
- Signal right before your exit so drivers waiting to enter behind you can judge their gap.
Big vehicles need the whole width. A truck that looks like it's straddling two lanes is usually doing what the geometry demands. Give it the room, not the lane you're technically owed.
Pedestrians, marked and unmarked
Pedestrian priority doesn't depend on paint. A crosswalk exists at an intersection whether or not it's marked, and you yield to people in it.
The companion rule prevents the worst collisions: never pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. A stopped car blocks your view, and the reason it stopped is very often a pedestrian you can't see from behind it.
In school and playground zones, passing another vehicle going the same direction is banned outright while the zone is in effect. Our speed limits and zones guide has the hours, which differ between the two zone types more than most drivers realise.
Merging and lane changes
A driver coming onto a highway from an acceleration lane yields to traffic already on it. The duty runs one way, though cooperative highway drivers will usually make room where they safely can.
Use the acceleration lane for what it's for: get up to the speed of traffic before you merge. Joining a 100 km/h highway at 70 hands every following driver a problem you created. Signal, mirror, head-turn to the blind spot, merge into a gap that already exists.
When a lane ends, the vehicle in the ending lane yields. Alternating at the merge point moves more traffic than merging early, but the duty still sits with the lane that's disappearing.
Emergency vehicles and funeral processions
Emergency vehicle behind you, siren on. Alberta's instruction is specific: pull over immediately, as close to the curb as possible, staying parallel to the road, normally to the right. Stop and stay stopped until it has passed and it's clear no others are coming. Then signal and rejoin traffic.
At an intersection, clear the intersection first if you can and then pull right. If you can't clear it safely, move as far from the centre of the intersection as you can and leave the biggest path possible. Stopping in the middle of an intersection is the one thing that actually blocks an emergency vehicle.
Afterwards there's a distance rule almost nobody knows: you must not drive within 150 metres of an emergency vehicle with its siren or flashing lights operating. Following an ambulance through the gaps it opens up is an offence, not a shortcut.
Funeral processions are treated as a unit. You don't cut into one or break it up, and the vehicles in it are generally allowed to follow the lead vehicle through an intersection.
The questions people get wrong
- Arriving together at a four-way stop. The vehicle on the right goes. Not the bigger vehicle, not the one going straight.
- Left turn on a solid green. You may enter and wait, but you yield to oncoming traffic. A green light isn't a protected turn.
- Unmarked crosswalks. They exist, and pedestrians in them have priority.
- A car stopped ahead of you at a crosswalk. Don't pass it, whatever the lane markings allow.
- Roundabout priority. Yield on entry to traffic already circulating. Don't yield once you're inside.
Every one of those is in the Class 7 question pool. Working through them with the explanations is what the free practice test is for, and the study guide puts them in an order.
About This Guide
Written and edited by Mark Goh, editor of Alberta Class 7 Practice Test. It is written as decision rules, not as a list of signs, because the knowledge-test questions people get wrong are nearly always about priority, not sign recognition.
Fact-checked against the Government of Alberta pages listed below. Fines, demerit values and fees change. Some amounts (registry service charges, for one) aren't set by the province at all; each registry agent sets its own within a published cap. Where that's the case, the text says so instead of quoting one number as if it applied everywhere.
Sources for this guide:
- Alberta driver's guides — alberta.ca
- Use of Highway and Rules of the Road Regulation, Alta Reg 304/2002
- Reacting to emergency vehicles — alberta.ca
- School and playground zones — alberta.ca
Independence. It's a free study aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of the Government of Alberta. If this guide and an official Alberta page disagree, the official page is right. Tell us and we'll fix it.
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has right of way at an uncontrolled intersection in Alberta?
Yield to any vehicle already in the intersection. If two vehicles arrive at about the same time and neither faces a sign or signal, the driver on the left yields to the vehicle on the right.
Who goes first at a four-way stop?
The first vehicle to come to a complete stop. If two stop at about the same time, the vehicle on the right has priority. A driver turning left yields to a driver going straight from the opposite direction.
How far back must I stay from an emergency vehicle in Alberta?
Do not drive within 150 metres of an emergency vehicle with its siren or flashing lights on. When one approaches, pull over as close to the curb as you can, stay parallel to the road, stop, and wait until it has passed and no others are coming.