Please, for crying out loud, EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT OF WAY!

The BBQ Pit
1

(Foreword: I’ve given up swearing since my son was born, so dear reader, sprinkle with colorful language where you deem fit)

After reading several of the recent rants, I’m not even sure that this rates as “PIT-worthy”. But it’s got me doing this :rolleyes: and this :mad:, so I needed to share.

This morning on my way to work, I approached a four-way stop. No traffic lights, just two streets crossing and all four directions are required to stop before proceeding. It may be different where you are but, the first vehicle to the intersection has right-of-way. When two vehicles approach the intersection simultaneously, the vehicle on the RIGHT has right-of-way.

Fairly simple?

Well, so you’d think.

Invariably, a few times a week I’ll find that someone wants to “wave me through” the intersection when I do not possess the right-of-way.
Often, the other driver tries to wave me through with a small gesture of the head or hand or, when that doesn’t work, a more vehement gesture of the head or hand.

Driver, please allow me to explain something to you…
[SIZE=4]STOP IT YOU IDIOT![SIZE=1]
Yeesh, I’m probably 40-50 feet away from you, and yet you’re certain that I’ll interpret your little motion correctly. Let alone that you’re behind a slanted glass surface which reflects sunlight and streetlights at all angles. Let alone that I’m also behind a slanted glass surface and the fact that YOU CAN’T SEE ME EITHER give you a hint that other drivers can’t see your idiotic face?!:smack:

I don’t want your right-of-way; it’s unsafe of me to assume it. You were there first and it’s yours… so exercise it! Besides, other drivers don’t know that you’re trying to wave me on! I don’t want to get blind-sided by the driver behind you that pulls around you because he thinks you’ve stalled.

And then, when I remain motionless and have flashed my lights (can you see THAT?!?!), you barrel into the intersection and give ME the finger or some other equally rude gesture.:wally
“I think you’re “number-one” too… schmuck!”

No WONDER your front bumper is all dented and you’ve got the rear door caved in.

2

I hear you. What bugs me even more is when someone who doesn’t even have a stop sign stops and tries to motion me across.

3

Those people are idiots. If you have the right of way you have to go. You cannot give it up because that would be creating the opportunity for an accident. The car who has to yield has to yield and the car with the right of way has to go.

Some years ago a friend of mine stopped to allow a very elderly man to cross where the man had the right of way. they both waved each other on for a while without anyone moving. Finally they both decided to move and my friend hit the man and hurt him pretty badly. It was deemed his fault because the man had the right of way.

Now he says he would get out and make the man cross before he would move the car.

4

If the vehicle on the right always has the right of way, what happens if 4 cars hit a stop sign simultaneously? I always try to wave people through. Accidents happen when people assume.

5

Amen, GrizzRich. And may I add to the rant: I wish people would realize that when I am behind you, and you stop to wave someone through who does not have the right-of-way, that you are forcing ME to stop as well. You may think you are being polite to the person in front of you, but you are being RUDE to me. So guess what? It doesn’t make you a nice person.

6

Here, let me fucking curse for you then. I have an even worse problem and was planning on starting a thread about it, but we’re here now.

I’ve been finding a lot of god damn people have been giving me their right of when when I ride my motorcycle. Here’s what usually happens to me. I’m trying to make a left hand turn and so I’m either going real slow or totally stopped. Then the dumb ass person who has no stop sign and should just keep going fucking STOPS. Look your fucking moron there’s a number of reasons that you should not stop. First of all it’s your right of way, you need to keep moving. Second, if had even bothered to look you’ll see that I can not fucking go, you see those people that are walking on the side walk. Had you been actaully paying attention you would have seen that. Third you make it REAL damn dangerous for me. Since you have decided to stop I now have no idea what the people around me are planning on doing. Someone coming up from behind you might swerve around you, on either side and take me out, or the person behind me might decide that he’ll go and go through me.

So in closing, do not fucking give up your right of way. You’re not the one who will be hurting if some other moron takes me out. Of course if I can still move you might be hurting cause I’m gonna kick your ass.

7

Well, here’s a question for y’all…

On my way to work, there’s an intersection with a Yield sign. Now, usually it’s clear who is meant to yield. This intersection, however, seems to defy classification. Basically, it’s at a four-way intersection, but before the actual crossing. The way I go, there’s a right-hand sweeping turn, which merges with the traffic going perpendicular to the road off of which I turned. There’s a yield sign on the wedge of island between my lane and the merging lane - to my left, to their right. Now, I just assumed that because the sign is on my left, unusual for road signs in the US, the sign was directed at the merging traffic. However, no one yields. I have had several people nearly sideswipe me because they didn’t seem to notice the sign. Are they oblivious, or am I?

Oh, and as to the OP: Yeah, so-called “courteous” drivers suck. I actually dislike them more than the just plain stupid drivers, although they, too, fit this category. There’s a reason for assigning right-of-way, dumbfuck. It’s so I don’t have to lay a beating into you for driving stupidly. Yarg.

8

Amen GrizzRich!

I ride a bike, and it usually goes like this.

(me: riding along happily. I have no stop sign)

Driver in a hurry doesn’t stop at the stop sign. They merely slow down and come to a very sudden stop (well past the white line) when they see me.

(me: come to a slamming stop to avoid being liquified)

Driver tries to wave me to go along and continue through the intersection.

Having just avoided being the new ornament hood of the car, I refuse. Motion them to continue.

They then get VERY angry and continue to wave me to go. Traffic backs up down the street.

I don’t. Put both feet down on the ground and look up at the sky.

At this point they either go, yell at me, or both.

I exercise my right of way until I am almost killed. Then I want them in front of me. I imagine the front window with crosshairs (or whatever you call those) >end of hijack<

9

Oh, man.

You know what I think a lot of that dipshit behavior stems from? People trying to be “Good Samaritans”, trying to gain some “good karma”, trying to shudder “Practice random kindnesses and senseless acts of beauty” (or however that abomination goes).

I don’t recall any of the gods ever saying anything about how we can serve our fellow man by fucking up the flow of traffic.

10

My beef is with the rules of a 4-way stop. The person to the right goes first. Well, the way I’ve always seen it (and granted, my point-of-view has always been a bit skewed), there are 4 stops arranged in a general circle, of sorts. Everyone at the stop is at someone else’s right. I understand what they mean, but it still bugs me.

Oh, and quit freaking out if you’re behind me at a 4-way, and I come to a stop. Yes, a complete stop. I actually do that. I hate the term “complete stop.” Stop is not a relative term. Either you’re stopped, or you’re not. Basically, just because you slowed down before me, does not give you right-of-way.

(on preview)
Gee, don’t you love my incoherent, stream of consciousness posts?

11

Wow. I just started driving again and I’ve been anxious everytime this situation came up because I forgot the “right-of-way ruleS”. I didn’t know it was simply right has the right-of-way. Now I do. I guess that explains everything. Thanks.

12

I’ve had similar experiences as a pedestrian. I’m approaching an intersection where the crossing street has no stop sign. When I get to the curb I stop and check the street for traffic before stepping into the street. There is a car approaching, currently about ten feet from the other side of the intersection, so I do not move. I am standing motionless, with my head turned toward the approaching car. The driver proceeds partway into the intersection, then comes to a full stop and sits there watching me. After about ten seconds he starts making waving motions. I shrug and start walking across the street. When I am halfway across, he hits the gas and damn near clips my ass in his rush to proceed. This makes no sense to me on three levels:

  1. He had the right of way to begin with and was under no obligation to stop unless I was already in the crosswalk, which I clearly was not.
  2. I was obviously aware of his approach since I was standing there looking directly at him. Is there some reason to assume that I am suicidal and am merely gauging his approach in order to run in from of him at the last possible second?
  3. After stopping and indicating that he is willing to wait for me to cross the street, why the jackrabbit start? Did he suddenly remember he was late for something? Did he decide I wasn’t walking fast enough?
    [Yul Brynner]
    Is a puzzlement.
    [/Yul Brynner]
13

Actually, doesn’t right-of-way go:

Straight ahead, then
Right turn, then
Left turn.

If I and 3 other people get to a 4-way stop at the same time, and I and the person across from me are going to continue straight ahead, we go through first. Then the person to my right is turning right, so he goes. Then the woman on my left would turn left, and go last.

This is barring, of course, traffic signals for specific turns at an intersection.

jayjay

14

You realize we’re talking about an intersection with no lights, just stop signs, right?

Your method wouldn’t work. First, what if you and the person on your right are both going straight? Who goes first?

Second, the method would only work if people signalled their turns. You would have to assume that no signal indicates that they will travel straight.

15

jayjay’s method of right-of-way sounds incredibly confusing… I can see miles of backups forming while drivers try and determine who’s meant to be moving…

Here in the UK, the person to your immediate right has r-o-w… if there’s no-one there, you can go!

What I find even more disconcerting is when someone on the roundabout stops to let me on (what? I’m glad I’m not behind him - I wouldn’t be expecting someeon to stop on the roundabout) Also, when a car stops to let a pedestrian cross - not at a crossing, or a junction, but just halfway along a fairly busy road…

16

Ugh. People who stop on roundabouts should be shot. Seriously. It’s not like roundabouts are easy to begin with; doubly so when you’re a first-time roundabouter and first-time left-side-of-the-road driver. I like to consider myself a good driver, and I only get noticeably disturbed if something really bad has happened (drive through a tree as it’s falling over, etc.), but damn if I wasn’t flummoxed all to hell when that utter wanker slammed on his brakes in front of me :frowning:

Put it up there with having buses running - and stopping! - along a 6-lane highway. Grr.

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Thank you, GrizzRich. I thought I was the only driver on earth to think it was confusing/rude/hazardous to “wave off” the right of way.

I never wave at anyone, and never move when someone’s waving at me, even if there’s a wait, when the traffic rules say who’s to go and who’s to stop. Only if it’s an uncontrolled situation (like a parking lot) or unusual condition (like a flooded road) will I consider waving at anybody.

The wildest variation on this is when someone in the back seat or passenger side actually tries to wave at you. What, do you think I’m crazy? The driver is looking off into outer space, but you are telling me that I should pull out in front of you?

Another good one is where a farmer on a slow moving tractor stands up and waves at you to pass, even though it’s a hill and you can’t see 50 yards down the road. Yeah, Old McDonald, I’m going to risk a head-on collision and flaming death because you think there’s enough room to pass.

Sheesh, Jd, what happens when four people all look to their left and wave at the other guy to go through? OMYGOD, I think time would come to an end!

18

I confess, there are three situations where I will violate the right-of-way, and respond to someone “waving me through”. Like you all, for many years I was incensed whenever somebody waved me through a right-of-way.

I further irritated my large number of close female relatives by quoting a figure that men are most often cited for speed violations (which is intentional), and women for breaking the right-of-way (which I figured, in my ignornace, was ignorance).

Now, however <sigh>, I realize that there are situations where one has to be flexible. These are:

  1. For whatever reason, the people/cars at the intersection can’t figure out who has the right-of-way, and it becomes obvious to all concerned. This happens: at unusual intersections, or where there’s a lot of traffic doing complicated things. Also when it’s obvious that a pedestrian doesn’t understand the rules about losing the right-of-way when crossing a divided road with a “safe” island for them to stop in the middle. In any of those situations you must make a judgment call about what the safest way out the situation is. And if it’s immediately smiling and waving in return to an offer to break a right-of-way, then slowly pulling into the intersection, so be it. My goal is NOT to have an accident.

  2. There’s no question that some people will just wave you through a right-of-way because they’re in a good mood. I’ve even done it a couple times (particularly with people who look like they’re in a big hurry, and preoccupied with kids/cell phone etc). It’s a hot Saturday, you’re both at a dead stop behind stop signs, there’s no one else around–somebody waves me through? Smile, wave back, drive slowly into the intersection. Two strangers who’ve had an opportunity to share a pleasant moment. No harm done.

  3. A person who’s incapacitatingly old or showing the handicapped tag. Ok, so if they’re driving at 20 in a 40 mile zone they probably shouldn’t be on the road. But we’re both coming to an intersection, and asking them to give up their driver’s license isn’t one of my options. They wave me across because they’re clearly uncomfortable with getting into a difficult crossing sitation which they don’t have the reflexes to get themselves out of. I have no problem in breaking the right-of-way. If they wave me through, I’ll surely go.

19

Jesus, that’s one hell of a fender bender! :eek: :smiley:
(I knew I’d blow #1600 on domething stupid . . . )

20

domething REALLY dtupid . . . :smack: