Legal Question in Traffic Law in Ohio

Hi - I'm wondering if you can help me answer a seemingly basic traffic law question. The question is which car should go first (the proper terminology is probably "which car should yield") at an intersection with only two stop signs. Who is legally entitled to "go first"? Is it the left-turning car who got to their stop sign first, or the car across from them, who got to their stop sign later, but is going straight or turning right? After the cross-traffic clears, who should proceed first? People in on-line chat rooms seem to have strong opinions on both sides, so I decided to try to find a more definitive legal answer, but can't seem to find this specific case covered anywhere in the Ohio Revised Code. I've tried several local media outlets, and a few police departments, but no one seems able to come up with a definitive answer that is backed up by law. Can you help?

Thanks,

-Mike DeLooze


Asked on 9/02/14, 4:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeff Reynard Reynard & Rice, LLP

Hi Mike,

The answer to this can be found in ORC section 4511.43. My reading of the statute is that the first to the stop sign has the right of way.

ORC section 4511.41 covers 4 way stops and gives the right of way to the person to the left in case of simultaneous stopping, which is confusing as there is no person to the left if you approach from directly opposite directions. Which is probably why 4511.42 exists in part.

In any event, there is some room for disagreement as to what those statutes mean and it's ultimately the judge in any given case who will determine what they mean.

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Answered on 9/09/14, 9:10 am


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