What is the difference between oncoming vehicle priority and yield to oncoming vehicle?
2 Answers
The difference between oncoming vehicle priority and yield to oncoming vehicle: If this is an oncoming vehicle priority sign, you can pass first when meeting an oncoming vehicle. If the other party forces its way and an accident occurs, the other party bears full responsibility; If it is a yield to oncoming vehicle sign, when an oncoming vehicle approaches, you must let the oncoming vehicle go first. If an accident occurs due to forcing your way, you need to bear full responsibility. The following are relevant information about oncoming vehicle priority and yield to oncoming vehicle: 1. Oncoming vehicle priority: When the road for meeting vehicles is relatively narrow, vehicles with the condition to yield must let vehicles without the condition to yield pass first; Yield to oncoming vehicle: When vehicles meet, you must stop and let the other vehicle go first. 2. The oncoming vehicle priority sign is square, with a white arrow on the right and a red arrow on the left, while the yield to oncoming vehicle sign is circular, with a red arrow on the right and a black arrow on the left.
Driving on mountain roads at night last time made me finally understand the difference between these two signs. Simply put, the blue square with a red arrow pointing at you means 'oncoming vehicle has priority' – indicating you have the right of way on this stretch, and opposing traffic should yield to you. The blue inverted triangle with red borders is 'yield to oncoming vehicles,' meaning you must stop and wait for the opposing traffic to pass first. These rules aren't arbitrarily set – for example, on steep slopes, uphill vehicles have difficulty starting and usually have priority, so downhill vehicles must stop at the yield sign. Last year on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, encountering oncoming traffic at a curve, the yield sign saved me; braking early helped avoid a motorcycle that suddenly emerged from a truck's blind spot. Remembering the color and shape differences can be lifesaving in critical moments.
