WI · jury_instructions

Wis JI-Civil 1157

Right of Way: At Intersection of Highways: Ultimate Verdict Question

activein force · 2023-07-01 – presentas-observed

The Wisconsin statutes define “right of way” as the privilege of the immediate use of

the roadway.1

The statutes further provide that when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection

at approximately the same time, the operator 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.2

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.

If you find that the vehicles in question approached or entered the intersection at

approximately the same time, then it became the duty of the operator of the vehicle on the

left to yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right. This duty compelled the operator

either to stop the operator’s vehicle, if necessary or to control and manage it so that the

operator could yield the right of way to the vehicle within the zone of danger on the

operator’s right and avoid colliding with it.

The safety statute provides that the operator of any vehicle operating at an unlawful

speed on a highway is negligent and forfeits any right of way that he or she would otherwise

have. Thus, before you can find negligence for failure to yield the right of way, you must

first find that the vehicle on the right was being operated at a lawful speed.

History

Wis JI-Civil 1157 (7/2023). Release No. 55. Wisconsin Court System, 7/2023. Prepared by the Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.

Provenance

Source: wilawlibrary.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-24
Edition: 2026-09-24
Content hash: 065d76ede139d2e8eae40c9d72518f5c60ce34e11fce25dc4872ca1143da183f

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