What has preference, the Stop or the give way? Sure?

We put ourselves in a situation: we are driving and we arrive at an intersection where there are two signs, one is a stop and the other is a give way. What should we do? Stop or just slow down? This doubt, generated by two contradictory signals, can assail even more than an experienced motorist.

Thousands of users on Tiktok have discussed what has priority at an intersection where we see a stop sign painted on the asphalt but at the same time there is a vertical yield sign. The key to the solution lies in which of the two has the highest hierarchy on the road.

The video, published by the Autoescuela Almagro de Cádiz (@almagro_autoescuela), accumulates thousands of visits and likes due to the clear explanation of his teacher, who recalls that a stop “means that I have to stop whether cars come or not”, while the give way says that “if no one comes, come”.

The question in the example is clear: Do I stop or not stop? And the answer is even more forceful: a resounding no. In this case, the give way takes precedence over the stop sign because a vertical sign is hierarchically higher than a road marking on the ground. “Here the mistake is that people think that you have to pay attention to the stop because it is more restrictive, but they are not the same type of signal”, clarifies the professor, who recalls that you only have to pay attention to the most restrictive when they are of the same category.

This is confirmed by the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT). “There is a ‘hierarchy’ when several signals coincide and their messages are contradictory” and he recalls that “if two signals from the same group contradict each other, two different speed limits” contradict each other “the most restrictive one must always be obeyed”.

The stop shown in the video falls within the category of road markings of the DGT. They are signs on the pavement that regulate traffic and warn and guide all users, drivers and pedestrians. “Transversal, horizontal, continuous and discontinuous, they can go alone or accompany other types of signals (such as stop lines). They are usually white, although they can also appear in other colors. In sections of works they are painted yellow” , explains Traffic.