Common courtesy or right of way?

[frozenrice]

Let's say you are backing out of your driveway. You are almost all the way out on the street (front wheels are just off the curb) when another car approaches. This, obviously, is assuming you've checked to see if any cars were coming and deemed it safe to back out. The approaching car was far away but approaches much faster than expected (perhaps speeding).

What is the rule of thumb here :

a - The approaching car has right of way. Stop and let them drive around you?
b- First come, first serve. You should be allowed to drive off because you're pretty much already on the road blocking traffic?

[johnboy27]

If you are backing then you stop and wait for them to pass. The vehicle already in traffic ( and not backing up) has the right of way.

[hampstor]

I believe if you are exiting private property, you have to yield to traffic on the street - regardless if he was speeding or not.

That said, the other drive won't intentionally hit you if he's got enough time to stop. He might get annoyed though :D

[TYMSMNY]

A. The approaching car has right of way. Stop and let them drive around you. Final Answer.

[Kloubek]

Yeah, the car on the road has the right of way for sure. It would be NICE if they stopped and let the guy out of his driveway, but it is not mandatory, and the guy leaving the driveway should have not cut it so close. Unless the person coming down the road is SCREAMING, then there should have been enough time.

[4AGE]

What about the other way around? I was pulling into my driveway when some fucktard in his yaris sped through a blind corner (my house is a corner house) almost hitting me :banghead:

[Mibz]

If you're already far enough out that the other guy has to move across the center line then you'd be silly to stop there and force the guy to go around.

That said,
A) You shouldn't be in that position in the first place
B) Most roads are wide enough that you can at least pull forward so you're "parked" beside the curb, giving the other car enough room to pass safely.

[frozenrice]

Interesting. I'll lay it out for you all. In case no one's figured it out, the situation applies to yours truly.
Here's a shot of my house (circled in blue).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/frozenrice/backout.jpg

When I back out, I can't see cars coming from around the corner to the north. Often I'll back out and a car will come around by the time I'm on the street.
To the south where the road bends before the T-intersection, the road drops downhill. If a car is moving at a quick enough clip, I'll often not see it coming over the crest of the hill until I'm almost all the way out. If they're going slow enough, it's not a problem and I'll wait.
I've encountered on numerous occassions, that awkward moment where I'm already out on the road and there's a car barrelling down on me. I've gotten annoyed enough at these seemingly impatient people to wonder who is in the right/wrong. Obviously, my thinking is flawed in this situation.

[Masked Bandit]

You must yield to ANY TRAFFIC already on the road. End.......of......story.

[frozenrice]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
You must yield to ANY TRAFFIC already on the road. End.......of......story.

What's with the "End.......of......story"? I'm not arguing with anyone here. :dunno:

[2fast4me]

They have the right of way. Just imagine you have a YIELD sign on your driveway.

That's what happens when you live on a main road. Wait until you have kids. Then you are constantly busy keeping an eye on them.

[frozenrice]

lol. We have two (4 & 8 years old). Trust me, we keep them on a pretty short leash so-to-speak.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

get good at backing into your garage? I guess its not much of an option because of your young ones

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by johnboy27
If you are backing then you stop and wait for them to pass. The vehicle already in traffic ( and not backing up) has the right of way.


Originally posted by hampstor
I believe if you are exiting private property, you have to yield to traffic on the street - regardless if he was speeding or not.

That said, the other drive won't intentionally hit you if he's got enough time to stop. He might get annoyed though :D


Originally posted by TYMSMNY
A. The approaching car has right of way. Stop and let them drive around you. Final Answer.


Originally posted by Mibz
If you're already far enough out that the other guy has to move across the center line then you'd be silly to stop there and force the guy to go around.

That said,
A) You shouldn't be in that position in the first place
B) Most roads are wide enough that you can at least pull forward so you're "parked" beside the curb, giving the other car enough room to pass safely.


Originally posted by Kloubek
Yeah, the car on the road has the right of way for sure. It would be NICE if they stopped and let the guy out of his driveway, but it is not mandatory, and the guy leaving the driveway should have not cut it so close. Unless the person coming down the road is SCREAMING, then there should have been enough time.





Originally posted by frozenrice
Interesting. I'll lay it out for you all. In case no one's figured it out, the situation applies to yours truly.




Originally posted by frozenrice


What's with the "End.......of......story"? I'm not arguing with anyone here. :dunno:

You aren't necessarily "arguing" but we understood what you meant by your first post, we didn't need to see the wonderful map of your house to give you the answer.

As you can see a bunch of other members already gave you the correct answer, so why keep asking it?

[frozenrice]

When did I keep asking it? Did you read the part where I said my thinking was flawed? If you were smart enough to figure out my first post, surely you would have interpreted my flawed thinking comment as an acknowledgement of being wrong.
The pretty picture was to shed a bit more light to what I was trying to get at. Easier to post a picture to clarify the scenario bit better.
I asked a question, I got answers and I accepted them. End......of.......story.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by frozenrice


What's with the "End.......of......story"? I'm not arguing with anyone here. :dunno:


lol...I know YOU'RE not arguing but who knows what all the people reading this are thinking. I just don't want some kid to get it in his head that there might be some weird or unique exception to the rule. I was stating that for the benefit of the lurkers.

[FiveFreshFish]

When you intend to go northbound, you'd normally back your car onto the road as close as you can to the curbside on your side of the street. Then you pull out and drive forward when it's clear.

If southbound is where you want to go, back your car onto the road with your driver's side wheels close to your curb. Technically, you're on the wrong side of the road but that's temporary and you'd be in the same place as the parked car in the photo. To oncoming northbound traffic, you're just a parked car facing the wrong way. You now have better positioning to see cars coming and you can pull out onto the correct side of the road when it's safe to do so.

Alternate solution: back in to your driveway and/or garage.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/frozenrice/backout.jpg

[Senseiz]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
get good at backing into your garage? I guess its not much of an option because of your young ones



Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


Alternate solution: back in to your driveway and/or garage.




* Zing *

Solution right there.

[texasnick]

agreed. First move coming out of a parking spot should always be forward. Just ask UPS

[hampstor]

I definately understand your situation - I deal with it quite frequently in my pickup truck. I need quite a bit more room if i'm backing out of a drive way / parking stall etc.

Backing into the spot is not always an option because there might be a car right on my tail when I initially approach the driveway/parking stall etc.

When I leave, i do my best to not obstruct traffic. However when I do obstruct traffic, I will just wave a thanks to whoever had to wait for me.

[scat19]

When parallel parking, the vehicle behind you must yield to you, however!

[Kennyredline]

Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
get good at backing into your garage? I guess its not much of an option because of your young ones

X2

[RY213]

I feel your dilemma. One of my pet peeves is when I am backing out of a parking spot at the mall and it is all clear. Then next thing ya know some dude is driving way too fast and goes behind me and doesnt have the patience to wait while I back out...

[Schwa]

Originally posted by Kennyredline


X2

It's obvious I'm not a parent - what is the connection between backing in and having kids?