OttawaTownshipHigh School

Drivers Education

Chapter 7 – Negotiation Intersections

7.1 – Searching Intersections

The correct way to check an intersection:

  • Look Straight
  • Look Left
  • Look Right then repeat
  • Straight
  • Left
  • Right

**Remember you are not allowed to make lane changes within an intersection**

-Lane changes need to be made before or after

7.2 – Controlled Intersections- have a light, sign

Stop – come to a full stop (do not roll through)

Yield – slow and yield the right of way to vehicles on the through street

Joining Traffic turning Right or Left – make sure you stop, check front and rear zones for pedestrians before proceeding (p.135- look at 3 pics)

There are 3 colors of lights- yellow, red, green

There are 2 types of green lights..

Stale Green Light

  • A light that has been green a long time
  • Predict that it will turn yellow soon
  • Downtown the lights have pedestrian countdowns. When those get close to zero, you can expect the lights is going to turn red

Fresh Green Light

  • A light that has just turned green
  • Be sure that no driver on the cross street is running the red light- if you’re the 1st car at a light count thousand 1, thousand 2 before pulling into the intersection

Yellow Light

  • Try to make every effort to stop, unless you have reach the point of no return
  • Check rear zones and stop if it is safe to do so

Red Light

  • You must stop
  • Check rear zones as you begin to slow

Unprotected Left Turns – left turn at a signal-controlled intersection that does not have a special turn light- before turning left you must yield to oncoming traffic (pic on bottom of pg. 136)

Protected Left Turn – Special turn light at a controlled intersection (pic on top of pg. 136- green arrow means you can turn with caution in the direction of the arrow)

Right on Red

  • Make a full stop
  • Yield to traffic & pedestrians

Left on Red

  • Make a full stop
  • Yield to traffic and pedestrians
  • Must be traveling on a one-way street
  • Must be turning onto a one-way street

7.3 – Uncontrolled Intersections- look at pic on bottom of pg. 139- similar to 1st day btw on the east side

Uncontrolled Intersection – no signs or signals to regulate traffic – you must predict that the other traffic will not stop

3 things you should do at an uncontrolled intersection

  • Reduce speed- slow down
  • Search aggressively- really need to be looking 4 other cars
  • Always be prepared to stop

Approaching Uncontrolled Intersection- pic on board

  • If a vehicle is coming from the left or right, the driver on the left must yield to the driver on the right
  • Never assume that the other driver will yield
  • Treat as you would a yield sign – always being prepared to stop
  • Always let pedestrians go first – no matter where the pedestrian is crossing. As a driver, you must yield to pedestrians even if they are breaking a traffic law (pedestrians always have the right of way

Uncontrolled Railroad Crossings – see pg.141- sign only, see pg. 138 for controlled- lights & gate

  • Slow down
  • Radio is turned low or off (may have to open window)
  • Wait for the train to clear then carefully check the crossing. Be sure another train is not approaching on another set of tracks
  • Never shift while crossing tracks
  • Drive onto tracks only after you have enough space and speed to clear the tracks
  • Never stop on railroad tracks while waiting for traffic ahead to move
  • When you follow buses or trucks hauling flammable contents, be prepared to stop

**Treat all R.R. crossings like dangerous intersections!

**Don’t ever stop on the tracks! It takes trains a very LONG time to stop!

**Don’t go around gates if they are down, it’s illegal & very dangerous!

7.4 – Determining Right of Way and Judging Gaps

Judging the size of a gap (distance between vehicles) while waiting to make a turn

2 things affect if you have enough room to pull out

  • The speed of traffic
  • Following distance is adapted to judge gap sizes- use same process as judging following distance

**Go over right of way pics on pg. 142-143

The top 4 lights on a bus are:

  • Red- stopping
  • Yellow- slowing

**Lights are flashing and/or the STOP arm out, means you must stop!

**Bus driver puts them on to let you know students are getting on/off the bus