Driver A is pulling out of a stop sign. Driver B is approaching the intersection from the left. Ordinarily Driver B has the right of way. But in this case Driver B has a right turn signal on, signaling a turn into the street that Driver A is pulling out from. Is Driver A legally allowed to rely on this? Suppose the turn signal was actually left on by accident, and the Driver B’s car actually goes straight ahead, who is responsible for the ensuing crash?
Driver A has the right of way as he/she is already entering the intersection when Driver B arrives (I’m assuming a 4-way Stop sign here). Driver B only has the right of way when both cars make the intersection at the same time. If that is the case then Driver A needs to wait to see what Driver B is going to do regardless of Driver B’s turn signal.
Perhaps I should clarify. Driver B is traveling 35 MPH down a main avenue (no stop sign). If Driver A pulls out, even if he makes it into the intersection first, he will be hit by Driver B, who cannot stop in time. In such a circumstance I am quite certain that Driver B has the right of way. However if Driver B truly intends to turn then the right of way issue becomes moot. I have actually had one or two close calls when people who indicated that they were turning did not actually do so, and always wondered who was at fault in event of an actual accident.
Driver B has the right-of-way. Even with a bogus turn-signal to fool you. Driver A has the responsibility of making sure he/she can clear the intersection without interferring with oncoming traffic. Even with the turn-signal on Driver A needs to wait to see that Driver B is indeed committing to the turn.
Related question:
At a four way stop, if Driver A and Driver B arrive at the same time with Driver B arriving to the right of Driver A, doesn’t Driver B have the right of way? I got into an argument about this last week with my Mom. She, disagreed and said Driver A. Who’s right?
You are correct Winky. The driver to the right has the right-of-way. Looks like I had it reversed in my earlier post.
Thanks for backing me up Jeff.
Now, if I could just convince my Mom . . .
Source: http://golocalnet.net/drive/rofway.htm
I guess this makes IzzyR’s question a bit more difficult. The turn signal has nothing to do with it but the oncoming driver (Driver B) must yield to Driver A who is already in the intersection. I guess this basically means that people have to try an avoid an accident and not merely smash into the other driver because they ‘had the right of way’. That said I think Driver A has some responsibility as well. Driver A can’t simply dart into an intersection only to get smashed by a car that couldn’t avoid him/her and then claim it’s Driver B’s fault.
Guess it would have to be a judgement call on the police/insurance company’s part.
The truck with the most lugnuts has the right of way, of course. 
Gunslinger, considering your nick, I’m surprised you missed this one. The truck with the gun in the gunrack has the right of way.
This actually happened to my driver’s ed teacher (at least, he said it did). He was driver A, and he did wait. He saw driver B slow down, so he (A) pulled out and got hit. Turns out B was driving a stick and was changing gears which caused him to slow down, making A think he was actually turning. I think he said he did get a ticket.
Driver B has to have the right of way, because even if he is indicating a turn, he isn’t necessarily turning where Driver A thinks he is. Driver B continues to have the right of way until he has actually turned off the street.
My personal experience: I was driving through a residential area, signalled a right hand turn, and had a woman zip out in front of me. Fortunately, I was able to stop in time, but it was a close thing, as I was not turning into the (one way, as it happened) street she was on, but the street just 30 yds or so past her.
There are other possibilities, too. He could be turning into a driveway just past the street Driver A is pulling out of. I often annoy people behind me by refusing to assume that the car heading my way will actually turn just because it is signalling. We have too many older folks in town who drive around for days with their left turn signal on for anyone to assume anything.
The Mountie who spoke to us in driver training said never to rely solely on the oncoming car’s turn signal, since the driver may have forgotten it’s on. He said to watch the oncoming car’s front wheels, and not go out into the intersection unless you actually see the wheels start to turn.
I think Driver A’s responsibility is to enter the intersection only when it is safe to do so. I would suspect that most, if not all, the fault would be given to Driver A. It was not safe for Driver A to go through the intersection if he could not safely get by Driver B regardless of B’s signal. As stated above, B could have been signalling about turning into the driveway just beyond the intersection.
I took driver’s ed in high school a few years ago, and my instructors told us to abonadon the concept of “right of way” in our first week of class. The reason is because of questions like this. They told us that rather than relying on whether or not the law was on our side, we should worry about having a collision. If you are in car A and car B is cruising toward the intersection at 35mph, would you pull out? It’s just common sense. In situations like this one, sometimes self preservation makes the decision for you.
In this instance, you should not ask yourself if it is legal to pull out into the intersection. You should ask yourself if pulling out into the intersection could cause you bodily harm or damage to your vehicle. In driver’s ed they told us to abandon the concept of “right of way”, since it only makes situations like this more troublesome. Use common sense, if it doesn’t look like he is going to turn, better to wait and extra 10 seconds than to have a collision.
This is in the Deep South (NE Texas). They ALL have a gun in the gunrack.
My I use this thread to state something that’s been boiling in my soul for the last 8 years since I’ve moved to California?
PEDESTRIANS NEVER, EVER HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY AGAINST A CAR. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME, GO AHEAD AND TRY WALKING OUT IN FRONT OF ONE! Sure, the law is on your side, but lemme guarnatee you, that will do you NO good if you’re DEAD!!!
By this same token, Semitrucks have right of way over cars etc. Shouldn’t have to explain this to people, but oddly enough you do!
the 4 way stop sign is a tricky one, some people here go along the lines of “First come, first go” others do the “Person on the right” idea. When in doubt, let someone else make the mistake. 
What’s a turn signal? And what’s with this “right of way” stuff? You mean that people indicate which way they are going to turn? Sorry, I live in Boston, I’ve never heard of these concepts. And here, pedestrians always have the right of way. I’ve heard that there’s a law that says that you can be fined a dollar for jaywalking, but I don’t think it’s ever been done.