You are approaching a crossroads where the priority situation is not clear to you straightaway. What do you do?

If the priority situation at an intersection is unclear, you must not “just assume” a rule and drive on. The safe and correct approach is to slow down early, be ready to stop, and carefully observe what the other road users are doing. If needed, you wait and communicate clearly (for example by eye contact and cautious positioning) to avoid misunderstandings.

This matters because “right before left” only applies when you can clearly tell it’s an equal-priority intersection with no priority signs, no traffic lights, and no road markings that change priority. If you can’t confidently determine that, applying “right before left” could be wrong (for example, the other road might actually be a priority road, there may be signs you missed, or markings might be faded).

Also, driving straight ahead never automatically gives you priority. You may still have to yield, for example to traffic from the right at an equal-priority junction, to a priority road, to turning vehicles depending on the situation, or to pedestrians/cyclists where applicable.

Rule of thumb for similar questions: If you are not 100% sure who has priority, treat it like a hazard situation: reduce speed, be prepared to stop, and only proceed when it’s clearly safe and you’ve effectively “agreed” with others through their actions and clear communication.