# Right-of-Way Not Affected By the Size of Your Vehicle **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258 "2004-12-17T02:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/1 "2004-12-17T02:42:02Z")
_ **WARNING - ANTI-LARGE VEHICLE RANT FOLLOWS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE THE THREAD IF YOU ARE OVER YOUR LIMIT ON LARGE VEHICLE RANTS** _ The legal right-of-way while driving is not, contrary to popular belief, affected by the size of your vehicle. My car is small. It is smaller than A LOT of vehicles on the road (and more every day). That does not mean that you have the legal right to cut me off, to pull out in front of me, to change lanes right into me, or drive in front of me when I’m going straight through a green light. Don’t waste your mental energy trying to intimidate me into driving faster by tailgating either. It’s not working. You hit the back of my car, we both know who’s at fault. [This](http://www.divisiontwo.com/articles/parttimemom1.htm) is (probably) a parody, but it’s dangerously close to my reality. It also doesn’t mean that you’re allowed two parking spaces. If you can’t fit your Lincoln Behemoth between the lines, maybe that’s a sign that either your vehicle is too damned big, or you need some work on your parking skills. And another tip - it doesn’t magically give you the right to park in the fire lane, either. And yes, we all understand that you’re “just running in.” Does that sense of entitlement come standard with the Lincoln Behemoth, or is it extra? Just thought I’d post, cause people don’t seem to know this. _ **Disclaimer: I understand that really large vehicles like trailer trucks need extra room and stopping distances. These aren’t the vehicles I’m talking about here.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/2 "2004-12-17T02:55:55Z")
We can’t see you down there… ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/3 "2004-12-17T03:06:27Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > And another tip - it doesn’t magically give you the right to park in the fire lane, either. And yes, we all understand that you’re “just running in.” Does that sense of entitlement come standard with the Lincoln Behemoth, or is it extra? Did they have their emergency blinkers on? Because, you know, you can park wherever you want if you put your emergency blinkers on. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/4 "2004-12-17T03:08:25Z")
Having a SUV is also not an excuse to not look before you back out either. Or to back out, stop in the middle of both lanes, do up your seatbelt, then finally pull into the right lane, without looking behind you at any time. Engine. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/5 "2004-12-17T04:44:02Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > We can’t see you down there… Ain’t that the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/6 "2004-12-17T04:58:54Z")
How about this as a related rant, more and more a problem on my commute to and from work, which recognizes no size, gender, race, nationality, or class boundaries: Hang up the fucking phone and drive, or die! Can you do any less?! Thank you for the loan of your thread. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/7 "2004-12-17T06:19:20Z")
The Maryland State Police are really getting fed up with overly large vehicles, too. Because nothing short of a SWAT truck can get the driver’s attention (and since SWAT trucks are too expensive to use like that!) the regular highway troopers have recently been using [more aggressive](http://192.5.30.113/pwrr/images/3pwrr/RPG7.jpeg) speed traps in the medians of I-95 between DC and Baltimore. It’s amazing what kind of [results](http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200310159837/%24file/RPG-impact-crop.jpg) those guys get, too – check out the [before](http://www.cartunes.com/installs/cadillac/2002_escalade/2002_Escalade.jpg) and [after](http://members.libcom.com/peebles/SUV1.jpg) shots! ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/8 "2004-12-17T14:16:01Z")
Ah, Calgary drivers. Horrible and getting worse every day. Can’t wait til it snows and everyone forgets how to drive. I’m so with you **featherlou**. It’s amazing how many mornings someone tries to run me off Bow Trail on the way to work. I know Nissan Sentras aren’t biggest cars on the road, but I didn’t think they were invisible! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/9 "2004-12-17T14:24:56Z")
{Wipes away a tiny tear} **Jurph** , that was beautiful. If I had a rocket launcher… **Lady** , that’s exactly what we feel like driving our small, fuel-efficient, non-polluting little cars - invisible. Not only can I not see anything coming up, but apparently, no one can see me, either. I’ve started driving with my headlights on all the time; I’m thinking of installing rig lights to outline my car. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/10 "2004-12-17T14:32:12Z")
I don’t think it’s the size of the vehicle that causes the behavior - I think it’s rather a general belief that nobody else matters that causes someone to buy a gas-wasting vehicle, or cut someone off, or back out without looking… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/11 "2004-12-17T15:34:45Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I don’t think it’s the size of the vehicle that causes the behavior - I think it’s rather a general belief that nobody else matters that causes someone to buy a gas-wasting vehicle, or cut someone off, or back out without looking… Straight up. I’m no huge fan of SUVs, but saying that only SUV drivers can be inconsiderate assholes does a disservice to inconsiderate assholes everywhere. There are enough dipshits out there to account for more than the SUV-buying population. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/12 "2004-12-17T16:05:16Z")
I HATE SUVs! Especially because it seems like people who own them are more likely to read, talk on the phone, and try to drive at the same time. (That’s just my experience - I’m sure that’s not quite true.) I saw the most disgusting thing, though, yesterday. Matching Hummers. Yep. These colossal fucking SUVs were tooling down the street, their drivers hooting and waving to each other, fucking morons that they are. I hate those vehicles. They’re scary, and you don’t need a vehicle that fucking large in downtown St. Louis or Clayton! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/13 "2004-12-17T16:36:15Z")
I don’t like the term _right of way_ - really. OK, yes, the road is laid out in such a way that some people are supposed to stop and let others go, but it really would be better if, in the event of a potential accident, the first thing that popped into every driver’s head was something like “Hmmmm… now what’s the _safest_ course of action here? Brake, perhaps?”, rather than “Get out of the road! Fucking idiot pulled out in front of me! Its MY RIGHT OF WAY!”. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/14 "2004-12-17T16:39:46Z")
On that subject - there seems to be a large amount of confusion round these parts surrounding the differences between a “yield” sign and a “merge” sign. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/15 "2004-12-17T16:55:28Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > Having a SUV is also not an excuse to not look before you back out either. Or to back out, stop in the middle of both lanes, do up your seatbelt, then finally pull into the right lane, without looking behind you at any time. > Engine. Right, because only people with SUV’s do this. People who drive little cars are perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/16 "2004-12-17T17:01:22Z")
[Here](http://www.slate.com/id/2104755) is an article from Slate that points out that many cities in California ban vehicles over 6,000lb on residential streets, although the law apparently is widely ignored, as no one is fining these SUV owners. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/17 "2004-12-17T17:03:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t like the term _right of way_ - really. OK, yes, the road is laid out in such a way that some people are supposed to stop and let others go, but it really would be better if, in the event of a potential accident, the first thing that popped into every driver’s head was something like “Hmmmm… now what’s the _safest_ course of action here? Brake, perhaps?”, rather than “Get out of the road! Fucking idiot pulled out in front of me! Its MY RIGHT OF WAY!”. But that’s exactly why the protocol of right-of-way exists in the first place! It gives the driving public a set of expectations as to what the safest thing to do at any given intersection/merge point/off-ramp/etc is, given a generally wide-spread knowledge of those rules. Seeing the way people have been driving the last few years, though, I sometimes feel that they’ve stopped even teaching about r-o-w in drivers’ ed classes and apparently don’t ask about it on the written driver test. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/18 "2004-12-17T17:04:48Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Right, because only people with SUV’s do this. People who drive little cars are perfect. Well yes. Those that make mistakes get squashed. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/19 "2004-12-17T18:14:53Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > [Here](http://www.slate.com/id/2104755) is an article from Slate that points out that many cities in California ban vehicles over 6,000lb on residential streets, although the law apparently is widely ignored, as no one is fining these SUV owners. I’m not sure he’s right, though it’ll depend on the area, of course. This was brought up in an [article](http://www.abqjournal.com/traffic/131013traffic01-08-04.htm) in the _Albuquerque Journal_ at the start of the year. It should work, but here’s the highlight: > [@](#): > > City signs back up the ban on real, as opposed to yuppie poser, working vehicles. Coleman says "the signs on Tramway show a single-unit box-type truck with the circle and red slash indicating no or restricted along with “OVER 3 TONS ON TRAMWAY” wording and a couple of different-type separate signs below in some locations reading, “RESTRICTED TO THRU TRAFFIC ONLY” and in some others, “LOCAL DELIVERIES ONLY.” > Local deliveries include hauling sushi and paté to your child’s sleepover. > And so, Coleman “would say Hummers, Excursions, large vans, Suburbans and crew-cab dual-tired pickups would be allowable. Commercial, delivery-type trucks like perhaps Ethan Allen, American Home, Baillio’s and Sun Valley Fruit, etc. box trucks should not travel on Tramway farther than the next signal.” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258/20 "2004-12-17T18:20:22Z")
You know, when I saw the title, I thought that this was going to be about someone trying to drive one of those monster quarry excavators down a bridle path… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-of-way-not-affected-by-the-size-of-your-vehicle/280258.md?page=2)