Who has the Right of Way at Intersection Accident

Who has the right of way at intersection accident in Wisconsin depends on whether it’s a through highway or an intersection of highways.

Wisconsin law states that the driver of a vehicle shall stop before entering a through highway and shall yield the right of way to other cars which have entered or are approaching the intersection upon the through highway.

A through highway is generally a road where at the entrances to which traffic from intersecting highways is required by traffic control signals or stop signs to stop.

An automobile on a through highway is approaching an intersection when it is so close to the intersection that, considering its rate of speed, it would be reasonable to assume that a collision would occur if the automobile required to stop, moves onto the highway and into the path of the oncoming vehicle.

If the oncoming automobile on the through highway had entered the intersection, or was approaching it, it then became the duty of the driver entering the through highway to yield the right of way to the automobile on the through highway.

When two cars approach or enter an uncontrolled intersection at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right.  The statute does not make the right of way on the part of the vehicle on the right depend on whether it reaches or begins to enter the intersection first.

The phrase “approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time” means the approach or entry of two vehicles toward or into the intersection so nearly at the same time that there is imminent danger of a collision if both vehicles continue their same courses at their same speeds.

This duty compels the driver on the left either to stop the automobile, if necessary, or to control and manage it so that he could yield the right of way to the vehicle within the zone of danger on the right and avoid colliding with it.

The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left across the path of any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction shall yield the right of way to that vehicle.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin McCormick Law Office attorneys get the best results when honest and trustworthy evidence including witnesses, vehicle damage, and surveillance video supports our client having the right of way at the time of the automobile collision.  Intersection accidents cause lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering which form the basis of successful settlements for injured passengers and drivers.  Believe in better.