Give way to oncoming trafficCanada
Traffic rules
Canada
1. Give way to oncoming traffic
Give way to oncoming traffic means that drivers must allow vehicles approaching from the opposite direction to pass first through a narrow section of road. The rule is normally indicated by a sign facing the direction that must yield and a corresponding priority sign facing oncoming traffic.
Drivers must reduce speed and stop when necessary before entering the narrow passage. They may continue only when they can do so safely and without obstructing oncoming traffic that has priority.
When must I give way to oncoming traffic in Canada?
Where priority signs, temporary signals or an authorised controller in Canada require your direction to yield at a narrow road or bridge, allow opposing traffic through first. Do not assume every narrowing has the same priority arrangement.
Road narrowing, give way to oncoming drivers.
English • Québec P-30 • Give way to oncoming traffic. The available space does not permit traffic in both directions at once. Give way to traffic coming towards you before entering the narrow section.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Cdn-contenu.quebec.ca • Québec MTMD · Regulatory signs poster, April 2026, p. 1
🔗 Legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca • Québec · Road signs regulation C-24.2, r. 41, section 9 (official consolidation, 1 May 2026) (FR)
SVG source: Transports Québec • Public domain • Original revision 2013-07-29. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Does a road-narrows warning automatically give oncoming traffic priority in Canada?
Not necessarily. A warning of a narrow carriageway is not itself the same as an instruction to give way. Check whether there is a separate priority sign, signal or temporary traffic control, and take account of any rules for an obstruction on your side.
What if an oncoming vehicle is already entering a narrow passage in Canada?
Reduce speed and wait where you can do so safely rather than forcing two vehicles into insufficient space. Even if a sign gives your approach priority, that does not justify a collision or endangering another road user.
