Part 2 of 9 in Priority rules & Junctions

Equal junction

Equal junction: no signs, give-way markings, lights or traffic controller. Traffic from the right goes first, trams always. Rules, shapes and traps.

Written by Reviewed by Dirk van Zuijlen

Updated Reviewed on 7 min read

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An equal junction is a junction where priority is not regulated by signs, shark’s teeth (give-way markings), traffic lights or a traffic controller. There you give way to drivers from the right, and a tram always goes first.

What is an equal junction?

No priority signs: the blue car approaches from the learner car’s right. The learner car waits.
No priority signs: the blue car approaches from the learner car’s right. The learner car waits.

An equal junction (gelijkwaardig kruispunt) is a junction where nothing regulates priority: there are no priority signs, no give-way markings, no working traffic lights and no traffic controller. None of the roads is more important than the others, which is why it is called equal.

It is one of the three ways in which priority at a junction can be regulated:

  • With traffic lights (or a traffic controller). Green means go, red means stop, yellow means stop if you still can. See traffic lights.
  • With signs and markings on the road. This is called a priority junction: you follow the signs and the give-way markings.
  • With nothing. No lights, no signs and no markings? Then it is an equal junction and the standard priority rules apply.

What is the difference between an equal and an unequal junction? At an equal junction nothing is regulated. At an unequal junction, signs, shark’s teeth or traffic lights do decide who goes first. There you follow those signs.

If an unpaved road joins the junction, such as a sand track, it does not take part as an equal road. Drivers coming from it let all drivers on the paved road go first, including those from the left. More under unpaved roads.

The rules at an equal junction

"Traffic from the right goes first" is the best-known rule, but at an equal junction there are three. You go through them in this order.

  1. Give way to drivers from the right.
    Equal junction seen from above: the blue car comes from the learner car's right and goes first. The learner car waits.
    Rule 1: the blue car comes from the learner car's right. The blue car goes first, the learner car waits.
  2. Traffic going straight on along the same road goes before traffic turning off from that road. When you turn, the traffic continuing straight on along that same road goes first. An oncoming driver can therefore also be on the same road: if you turn left and the oncoming driver goes straight on, the oncoming driver goes first.
    Seen from above: the learner car and the oncoming blue car are on the same road (yellow). The learner car goes straight on and goes first; the blue car turns left and waits.
    Rule 2: both cars are on the same road (yellow). The learner car goes straight on and goes before the blue car turning left.
  3. The short turn goes before the long turn. If two oncoming drivers both turn, the one making the short turn (right) goes before the one making the long turn (left).
    Seen from above: the learner car and the oncoming blue car are on the same road (yellow) and turn into the same street. The learner car makes the short turn (right) and goes first.
    Rule 3: both cars come from the same road (yellow). The learner car turns right (short turn) and goes before the blue car turning left (long turn).

For rule 1, all drivers count: cars, motorcycles, cyclists, moped riders and horse riders from the right. Look from the driver's position, not from the picture: right is the driver's right-hand side. A road that looks wider or "straighter" therefore does not automatically have priority.

Pedestrians are not drivers: "traffic from the right goes first" does not apply to them. Whether you must let a pedestrian go first is checked separately, with the rules under pedestrians.

Exception for trams and emergency vehicles

At an equal junction a tram always goes first, whether it comes from the left or from the right. More about trams under the tram.

Equal junction with a tram that goes first; the pedestrian on the zebra crossing may also go first
A tram has special priority rules but lets the pedestrian go first at this zebra crossing.

You also let an emergency vehicle with a flashing blue light and a siren go first, from whichever direction it comes. How to make way is explained under emergency vehicles.

Different types of equal junctions

When they think of an equal junction, many learners picture a perfect "+" junction of two straight roads. But by law a junction is any crossing or fork of roads. If nothing is regulated, a fork is equal too:

  • Crossroads (+): two roads cross each other. You can expect traffic from three directions.
  • T-junction: a side road ends on a road that continues left and right. Here too, whoever comes from the right goes first, even if that is the driver from the side road. In detail under the T-junction.
  • Y-junction: two roads meet at an angle, in the shape of the letter Y. Because the roads run at an angle, it is harder to see who comes from the right: so check carefully which road is on your right-hand side.
Equal junction shaped like a plus, with a blue pick-up from the left and the learner car that wants to go straight on
At a standard crossroads, routes and right-hand priority determine the order; the shape alone grants no priority.
Top view of an equal T-junction without signs or give-way markings: the blue car from the side road comes from the lilac car's right
A T-junction without signs or give-way markings is equal too (illustration).
Top view of an equal Y-junction without signs or give-way markings, with two cars each approaching the fork on their own right-hand side of the road
A Y-junction without signs or give-way markings: here too, traffic from the right goes first (illustration).

Traffic signs at an equal junction

There is no special sign for an equal junction. No sign regulates priority here. Other signs can be there, though:

  • Sign J8: dangerous junction Sign J8 (dangerous junction): warns that a junction is coming. It says nothing about who goes first. More under warning signs.
  • Sign J38: speed bump Sign J38 (speed bump): in residential areas there is sometimes a speed bump before an equal junction. That sign does not regulate priority either.
  • Sign B2: end of priority road Sign B2 (end of priority road): from here you no longer have priority over the side roads. If there is nothing else at the next junction, it is equal.

What if everyone has priority?

Four drivers, each with someone on their right: right-hand priority gives no unique first driver. Clearly make room and move only when safe.
Four drivers, each with someone on their right: right-hand priority gives no unique first driver. Clearly make room and move only when safe.

Sometimes drivers arrive from all sides at the same time, for example four cars at a "+" junction. Then everyone has someone on their right, so everyone has to give way. "Traffic from the right goes first" gives no answer then, and the RVV 1990 has no extra rule for such a situation.

In practice you solve it together. Make eye contact and agree with a clear hand signal who goes first. Only drive off when you are sure the other driver is waiting for you, and then drive off calmly. Priority you are not given, you do not take.

You will not get this situation in your CBR exam. In an exam question there is always one driver who may go first.

If one of the drivers has no one on their right, there is an answer: that driver starts, and the others follow. Examples with three or more drivers are under the priority rules.

Driveway exit or equal junction?

B has a continuous pavement and is a driveway exit: whoever drives out lets everyone go first. A is only a speed bump.
B has a continuous pavement and is a driveway exit: whoever drives out lets everyone go first. A is only a speed bump.

A side road that looks like a junction can also be a driveway exit. If you drive onto the road across a continuous pavement or cycle path, you are usually leaving a driveway exit. Then “traffic from the right goes first” does not apply: you let all traffic go first, including pedestrians and traffic from the left. How to tell the difference is explained under driveway exits.

Game

Who goes first at an equal junction?

Tap the road users in the order in which they may go. 8 situations without signs or shark teeth, from easy to hard: right goes first, straight on and short turns, and cyclists as drivers.

Situations from the Theorio app.

CBR traps at equal junctions

The learner car is on the wide road; the blue car from the narrow street comes from the right and goes first.

❌ Wrong: thinking the wider or busier road has priority. ✅ Right: without signs, shark’s teeth or lights no road is more important. Traffic from the right goes first.

Sign J8: dangerous junction. It only warns and does not decide priority.

❌ Wrong: reading sign J8 as a priority sign. ✅ Right: J8 only warns of a junction. If there is nothing else, the junction is equal.

The learner car comes from an unpaved road and lets the black car on the paved road go first.

❌ Wrong: giving way to a driver coming from the right off a sand track. ✅ Right: whoever comes from an unpaved road lets you go first.

The blue pick-up goes straight on, but the learner car comes from the right out of another road and goes first.

❌ Wrong: thinking you go first because you go straight on, while the other driver comes from the right out of another road. ✅ Right: straight on only goes first on the same road. If the other comes from the right, they go first.

Equal T-junction without signs or shark's teeth: the blue car from the side road comes from the right and goes first.

❌ Wrong: only thinking of a “+” junction. ✅ Right: a T-junction or Y-junction without signs and shark’s teeth is equal too.

A pedestrian stands on the right-hand corner. Traffic from the right goes first does not apply to pedestrians.

❌ Wrong: letting a pedestrian from the right go first because “the right goes first”. ✅ Right: that rule only applies between drivers. Separate rules apply to pedestrians.

Practise like the exam

Example questions like in the CBR exam

Real questions from the Theorio app. You can expect similar questions in your CBR exam.

Question 1 of 6

What is the correct order of priority at this intersection?

For drivers, there are 3 rules: - Equal intersection?  ->  traffic from the right has priority - Yield signs/stop signs? ->   stop for crossing driver - On the same road/same direction? ->  Straight ahead has priority over turning & Short turn has priority over long turn’

Answers and explanations for the example questions

  1. Question 1: What is the correct order of priority at this intersection?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2

    At an equal intersection, the rule applies: traffic from the right has priority. 🚗➡️ In this situation, the blue car must give way to the driving school car from the right. Note: the rule ‘straight ahead has priority over turning traffic’ does NOT apply here, because the drivers do not drive on the same road.

  2. Question 2: What is the correct order of priority in this situation?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2

    The white driving school car is coming from the right and therefore has priority over the blue car. At an equivalent intersection, you must yield to drivers from the right 🚗➡️. Therefore, the blue car must wait. The driving school car has priority here.

  3. Question 3: What is the correct order of priority at this intersection?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2

    We are driving at a Y-junction. This counts as an uncontrolled intersection (equal priority). The rule applies here: drivers from the right go first. The red car is coming from the right, so the learner car must yield. The red car goes first 🚗

  4. Question 4: What is the correct order of priority at this intersection?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2

    The driving school car is going straight on the same road/direction as its oncoming counterpart, while the blue car is turning. According to the traffic rule 'going straight on the same road goes before turning traffic', the blue car must wait. 🚗➡️ Going straight has priority.

  5. Question 5: What is the correct order of yielding?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2

    Since both vehicles are coming from the same direction, the turning rule applies. The driving school car makes a short turn, the blue car makes a long turn. 🚗➡️ Therefore, the driving school car goes first and then the blue car may turn.

  6. Question 6: What is the correct order of priority at this intersection?

    Correct answer: Order on the image: 1 → 2 → 3

    ✅ Equal intersection? Yes, the car on the right has priority, so the white learner car goes first (the white car is to the right of the green car) Then the green car (the green car is to the right of the blue car) Then the blue car ✅ Give way triangles/stop signs? No longer applicable ⤵️ On the same road/same direction? No longer applicable

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to questions that often come up on this subject.

Who goes first if you turn left and the oncoming driver goes straight on?

The oncoming driver. They are on the same road and going straight on, and straight on along the same road goes before turning traffic.

Does a wider road have priority at an equal-priority junction?

No. At an equal-priority junction the driver from the right goes first, seen from the driver's own position. A road that looks wider does not automatically have priority.

What is an equal junction?

A junction without priority signs, give-way markings, operating lights or a controller, whose approaches are not unequal because of a driveway or unpaved versus paved roads. Give way to drivers from the right. The special tram rule still matters between drivers but does not exempt trams from applicable signs or instructions.

Who goes first if drivers arrive from all sides at the same time?

If four drivers at an equal junction block one another under the right-hand rule, there is no automatic winner. Slow or stop, make eye contact and clearly allow one driver to start. Move only when everyone concerned is safely leaving space; one hand signal does not grant general priority. Non-conflicting routes can create a different situation.

Is a Y-junction an equal junction?

It can be, but the Y shape alone decides nothing. Assess signs, markings, lights and any instructions. Also check whether an arm is a driveway or an unpaved road meeting a paved one. If the approaches are genuinely equal, ordinary junction rules apply, including priority to drivers from the right and the tram exception.

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