Editing Traffic (section)

===Passage priority (right of way)===
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{{see also|Priority signs}}
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Vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each other's routes. The general principle that establishes who has the right to go first is called "right of way" or "priority". It establishes who has the right to use the conflicting part of the road and who has to wait until the other does so.
[[File:Militärwegweiser Flugplatz Mollis.JPG|thumb|Yield sign in Switzerland. Mandatory direction to military traffic.]]

Signs, signals, markings and other features are often used to make priority explicit. Some signs, such as the [[stop sign]], are nearly universal. When there are no signs or markings, different rules are observed depending on the location. These default priority rules differ between countries, and may even vary within countries. Trends toward uniformity are exemplified at an international level by the [[Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals]], which prescribes standardised [[Road traffic control device|traffic control devices]] (signs, signals, and markings) for establishing the right of way where necessary.

Crosswalks (or pedestrian crossings) are common in populated areas, and may indicate that pedestrians have priority over vehicular traffic. In most modern cities, the [[traffic signal]] is used to establish the right of way on the busy roads. Its primary purpose is to give each road a duration of time in which its traffic may use the intersection in an organised way. The intervals of time assigned for each road may be adjusted to take into account factors such as difference in volume of traffic, the needs of pedestrians, or other traffic signals. Pedestrian crossings may be located near other traffic control devices; if they are not also regulated in some way, vehicles must give priority to them when in use. Traffic on a public road usually has priority over other traffic such as traffic emerging from private access; rail crossings and [[Drawbridge (American English)|drawbridge]]s are typical exceptions.

====Uncontrolled traffic====
Uncontrolled traffic comes in the absence of [[road marking|lane markings]] and [[traffic light|traffic control signals]]. On roads without marked lanes, drivers tend to keep to the appropriate side if the road is wide enough. Drivers frequently overtake others. Obstructions are
common.

Intersections have no signals or signage, and a particular road at a busy intersection may be dominant – that is, its traffic flows – until a break in traffic, at which time the dominance shifts to the other road where vehicles are queued. At the intersection of two perpendicular roads, a traffic jam may result if four vehicles face each other side-on.