Junctions feel stressful for one reason: it isn't always obvious whose turn it is. But there's a calm idea underneath all of it. Priority isn't a prize you grab — it's something the road gives to one driver and asks the other to wait for.
Most of the time the road tells you exactly who waits, using lines painted on the tarmac. A broken line across your lane means "give way": slow down, look, and go only when it's safe. A solid line means "stop" — every time, even if the road looks empty.
Here's the part that makes you a calmer driver: even when you have priority, you don't have to take it. If someone pulls out when they shouldn't, letting them go is never wrong. The goal is a safe road, not a fair one.
The bits that matter
- Priority is given by the road, not taken by the driver.
- Broken line = give way (go when clear). Solid line = stop (every time).
- Even when it's your right of way, you can always choose to wait.
Memory anchor
Dashed = dash, solid = stop
A broken line is dashed, so you can dash through once it's genuinely clear. A solid line is solid, so you stop solid — no rolling, no exceptions. The look of the line tells you what to do before you've read a single sign.
Out on the road
Pulling out of your road
You're waiting to turn out of a side street with a broken give-way line. A gap appears, but a cyclist is coming faster than you thought. You wait. Ten seconds later you're out, calm, and nobody had to brake for you. That's give-way done right — patience costs you almost nothing.
The mistake everyone makes
Treating priority as a right to push in
Some new drivers think having right of way means going no matter what. But priority only works if both drivers respect it — and not everyone does. Assume someone might get it wrong, and you'll never be caught out. Being right is no comfort after a crash.