Right of way refers to the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage, to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. It is a type of easement, which is an agreed-upon use of land by someone other than the landowner. Right of way can be granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as for a highway, public footpath, railway, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines.
In traffic law, right of way is the right to proceed, and many state statutes lay out various circumstances when drivers must yield the right of way, and most states grant pedestrians the right of way. For example, in Texas, drivers must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in the law.
In summary, right of way is a legal concept that grants the right to pass through a specific route through property belonging to another, and it can also refer to the right to proceed in traffic law.
