Indiana’s right of way laws work scenario by scenario: the traffic code names who has to yield at intersections, in turns, at crosswalks, around emergency vehicles, near school buses, and in a handful of other situations, and getting it wrong can mean anything from points on your record to a $10,000 judgment or a felony charge.
Who Yields at Intersections
At an uncontrolled intersection where two vehicles arrive at roughly the same time, the driver on the left must yield to the vehicle on the right.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-29 – Intersections Vehicles Approaching From Different Highways Yield of Right-of-Way If one vehicle has clearly entered the intersection first, that vehicle keeps the right of way.
Left turns carry their own duty. A driver turning left at an intersection has to let oncoming vehicles pass if they are already in the intersection or close enough to be an immediate hazard.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-30 – Intersections Vehicles Approaching From Opposite Direction Left Turn The safest practice is to wait for a genuinely clear gap.
At a stop sign or yield sign, a driver entering a through highway must come to a full stop and then yield to all vehicles already on that highway or approaching close enough to be dangerous.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-31 – Entrance to Through Highways Stopping
Pulling Out of a Driveway or Alley
Anyone leaving a driveway, private road, or parking lot for a public highway must yield to every vehicle already on that highway, no matter which direction they are coming from.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-34 – Entrance to Highway From Private Road or Driveway
In business and residential areas, there is a second stop before the one for traffic. When you emerge from an alley, driveway, or building, you must stop immediately before crossing the sidewalk to protect pedestrians who cannot see you coming. Only then can you edge forward to check for cars.
Yielding to Pedestrians
Drivers must yield to pedestrians lawfully crossing in a marked crosswalk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Vehicles turning right or left on a green light also have to yield to pedestrians using the crosswalk they are turning across.
The obligation runs both ways. Pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to all vehicles on the road,5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-17-7 – Crossing Roadway at Point Not Marked as a Crosswalk Yield of Right-of-Way to Traffic and no pedestrian may step off a curb into the path of a car that is too close to stop safely.
One rule closes a common blind-spot scenario: if a vehicle has stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross, drivers coming up behind cannot pass it.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-17-6 – Overtaking and Passing a Vehicle Stopped at a Crosswalk Prohibition
Bicycles Count as Vehicles
A person riding a bicycle on the roadway has the same rights and duties as a person driving a motor vehicle under Indiana Code 9-21-11-2. Cyclists must obey stop signs and signals, and drivers apply the same right-of-way rules to a cyclist that they would to another car. A driver turning right has to yield to a cyclist going straight in the right lane. A cyclist at a four-way stop yields to the right just like anyone else. A driver who fails to yield and hits a cyclist faces the same liability as if the collision had been with another vehicle.
Emergency Vehicles and the Move Over Law
When an emergency vehicle approaches with its siren on or its red, red-and-white, or red-and-blue lights flashing, every other driver must yield, pull as far to the right as possible, and stop until it passes.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-35 – Emergency Vehicles and Move Over Law Clear any intersection first before stopping.
Indiana’s Move Over law adds a second obligation for stationary emergency vehicles showing flashing lights. On a road with at least four lanes and two running your direction, you have to move into a lane that is not next to the stopped emergency vehicle. If a lane change is not safe, you must slow to at least 10 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-35 – Emergency Vehicles and Move Over Law
The same move-over-or-slow-down duty applies to stationary recovery vehicles, utility trucks, solid waste haulers, road maintenance vehicles, and survey or construction vehicles displaying flashing amber lights.
Penalties are steep. Violating the Move Over law around a stationary emergency vehicle is a Class A infraction with a judgment up to $10,000.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-28-5-4 – Class A Infraction Judgment If the violation causes serious bodily injury or death to anyone affiliated with the emergency vehicle, it becomes a Level 6 felony. Failing to move over or slow down for the flashing-amber vehicles is a Class B infraction, a lower penalty but still a real fine. The Indiana State Police also warns that a driver’s license can be suspended for up to two years if a Move Over violation causes damage to emergency equipment, injury, or death.9IN.gov. Move Over Slow Down
Stopped School Buses
When a school bus extends its stop arm, every vehicle approaching from any direction must stop before reaching the bus and stay stopped until the arm retracts.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-12-1 – School Bus Stopping Requirements Passing a stopped school bus with its arm out is a Class A infraction with a judgment up to $10,000.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-28-5-4 – Class A Infraction Judgment
Divided highways create one narrow exception. If the road is split by a physical barrier, an unimproved median not meant for vehicle travel, or a dividing section designed to block traffic, drivers on the opposite side of that barrier from the bus do not have to stop. They still must proceed cautiously for the children boarding or leaving.
Recklessly passing a stopped school bus is a Class A misdemeanor. On a first offense, the court can suspend the driver’s license for 90 days; a repeat pushes that to a year.11Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-8-52 – Reckless Driving Passing a School Bus If someone is injured, the charge is a Level 6 felony. If someone dies, it becomes a Level 5 felony.
Funeral Processions
Funeral processions have the right of way at intersections when the procession is set up correctly. Every vehicle in it must have its headlights on, and the procession has to be led by a vehicle displaying flashing red-and-white, red, or amber lights.12Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-13-1 – Right-of-Way at Intersections Conditions Once the lead vehicle lawfully enters an intersection, the rest of the procession can follow even if the light changes. The only exceptions are an emergency vehicle running a siren or a police officer directing the procession to stop.
Lead and escort vehicles may use flashing red lights, but only while actually leading a procession and only to claim the right of way at intersections.13Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-13-4 – Lead and Escort Vehicles Flashing Lights Individual cars in the procession can identify themselves with funeral pennants, flags, windshield stickers, or amber lights.14Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-21-13-5 – Vehicle in Procession Pennants Flags or Windshield Stickers Other motorists cannot drive between vehicles in the procession or otherwise interfere with it. Drivers in the procession still have to exercise due caution for crossing traffic; the right of way is conditional, not absolute.
Roundabouts
The rule in a roundabout is simple: traffic already circulating inside has the right of way. A driver approaching the dashed yield line at the entry has to look left and wait for a gap. In a multi-lane roundabout, that means yielding to vehicles in both circulating lanes, not just the one closest to you.
What a Violation Costs You
Right-of-way violations are moving violations. Indiana assigns point values to moving-violation convictions based on the seriousness of the offense, running from zero up to ten, and points stay active on your driving record for two years from the conviction date.15Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Driver Record Points Enough points inside that two-year window can trigger a BMV license suspension separate from anything the court orders. Contesting a ticket or, where available, completing a deferral program can sometimes keep the points off your record entirely.