first come, first served

The fundamental rule of the road. Operators of vehicles, including cyclists, are entitled to their place on the road, with reasonable clearance behind and to each side, and reasonable stopping distance in front of them. Drivers must yield before moving into space occupied by vehicles that are there first. This rule not only assigns priority at intersections, it means that a driver of a faster vehicle does not have any preemptive rights over the driver of a slower vehicle ahead.