Right-Of-Way... Ever hear of it???

[NotSoInnocent]

So I'm driving through the parkinglot of our local grocery store after a round of shopping....

When this @$$hat starts to BACK INTO MY (very obvious and large) VAN!

Now, I could understand if he and his wife couldn't see me... or even if he'd started backing out before I started coming down the lane...

But they were parked (illegally) in a handicap parking spot. that had nothing blocking his or his wife's view of me... and HE WAS LOOKING RIGHT AT ME as I was driving!

Correct me if I'm wrong... but doesn't the person already driving down the lane have the right-of-way??? In other words... If you're parked, and a car is driving down the lane that you are parked in, don't you have to, you know... WAIT UNTIL THEY DRIVE PAST before you start backing up into the lane???

I (briefly) honked my horn, to remind the guy that I was there... AND HE FLIPPED ME OFF WHILE HIS WIFE STARTED YELLING AT ME THROUGH THE WINDOW!!!




I hate people like that!

[BookstoreEscapee]

apparently they are handicapped...just not physically...

[Reyneth]

Yes, Notsoinnocent, you had the right of way. He would have gotten a nasty surprise from his insurance company when he made the claim if he had hit you. I also would have loved it if the police came and then nailed him for being in the handicapped space too!

Or more likely he doesn't have insurance. So someone like me could have suspended his license to get him to pay up.

I think just about the only way he would not be held at fault would be if two people were both backing out at the same time and paths collided. Otherwise, his responsibility to make sure the path is clear.


I really think they need to have different sections of parking lots for different sized cars. It's not discrimination since you can chose the size of car you buy. And I'm tired of coming out of the store or wherever to find I have big SUVs or vans or trucks on either side of my Saturn coupe. I have to be 1/2 out of my spot before I can see around them so I have no idea if someone else is coming - and I can't do anything to change that!

Of course the jerkwad driver you ran into would just park wherever he dang well wanted anyway.

[Becks]

What a couple of asshats.

Did you happen to see if their car was dented, from prior jerkassery?

[KamenRiderOsaka]

had an incident like this happen recently. Hubby and I went grocery shopping, and there is a Jack in the Box in the same area. We pulled to a stop sign, stopped, no cars. We started to go through when this idiot barrels through the parking lot, through a stop & a yield sign, and almost hits us. Came out of no where. Hubby honked at him, and he flipped us off.

I said hubby should have blocked his path at JitB and get out of the car. Hubby is not a small man, he's 6'4" and 250 lbs with a good amount of muscle on him. He intimidates easily just by sight. I would have loved to see a lil guy pee himself. But, alas, we just went shopping.

[Binky]

You had right of way, but sadly in this day and age that means bupkiss to a lot of people. I've recently been reading up on the road rules because I have to go for my full license test soon. All these rules, yet every day I see people ignoring them, in fact there are LOTS of people who either don't know the rules of the road OR don't know the NEW rules that have been put in place (i.e. people still think you must give way to your right on a roundabout which isn't true, new rule is you give way to whomever is already on the roundabout no matter WHAT direction the come from). I've been in many circumstances where by I had right of way but some jerk decided he/she didn't care. Some times regardless of who has right of way it's best to just give in so as to avoid an accident (if you can) YES it's letting them get their way, and YES it's irritating when they have the hide to flip YOU off, but better be safe than sorry.

I would rather some ass**pe flip me off and honk his horn at me because I was doing the RIGHT thing, and he/she didn't like it,then just keep going and cause damage to my car when it's avoidable. Mainly because accidents mean hassle.

In the case you described, you did the right thing by just letting him go, he's a dick, you know that and we know that. look on the bright side, at least you know some day he'll have an accident and he'll get whats coming to him, if you even luckier you'll be fortunate enough to be the witness

[myswtghst]

I would rather some ass**pe flip me off and honk his horn at me because I was doing the RIGHT thing, and he/she didn't like it,then just keep going and cause damage to my car when it's avoidable. Mainly because accidents mean hassle.

I feel exactly the same way. I'm always tempted to slam on my breaks and let a tailgater hit me, then get them nailed for it, but then I remember what a pain in the ass it's been the *3* times in the last few years someone else has hit my poor Jetta. I don't want to be stuck without her while some shop makes a mess again, so I just suck it up and act mature.

[Shabo]

What irritates me is that I drive a manual tranny sedan, and people like to stop way too close to my bumper. It's really nervewracking knowing that I am stopped uphill from them and need to get my car moving forward before I hit them. (They always look way closer than they really are.) Granted, it's usually safe to assume that the sedan in front of you is an automatic tranny, but you never know. You are supposed to stop 8 feet behind them so that if you get rear-ended, you might not go slamming into the car in front of you. This means you are supposed to be able to see their rear tires from your car.

I once was driving my dad's ginormous truck, stick shift complete with trailer hitch, and had to stop on a steep hill because construction was going on. I look in my rearview, and this jerk got really close to my bumper. I purposely allowed myself to roll backwards a little to give this guy a clue that I was driving a manual. So what does this asshat do? He gets even closer the next time we stop! Was he not paying attention or something? What an idiot!

[Emrld]

I am waiting to hear back from a friend . . . I was taught that when in a Parking Lot . . the car in reverse has the right of way. This is due to limited view of the driver in reverse over the car in forward looking out their windshield.

The only other situation I know that it also includes is when a car is backing out of their driveway. - again the car in reverse with limited visability over the driver looking ahead.

(and it is the driveway one that bothers me . . .I can be pulling out of my driveway, in front of my house - and a car coming up the street will speed up - which blocks me because I am at the corner with a two way stop - or a car on the cross street ready to turn onto the stree will go ahead and do so. I almost backed into a car the other day I was half in the street half in my drive and a car turned onto the street without slowing down or looking first)

[Auto]

I really think they need to have different sections of parking lots for different sized cars.

It's standard for NY and Chicago parking garages to have spaces reserved for different sized vehicles. No vans/SUVs in spaces for compact cars. No compact cars in spaces for SUVs. It works pretty well.

[Auto]

I was taught that when in a Parking Lot . . the car in reverse has the right of way. This is due to limited view of the driver in reverse over the car in forward looking out their windshield.

The only other situation I know that it also includes is when a car is backing out of their driveway. - again the car in reverse with limited visability over the driver looking ahead.

When I took driver's ed in Texas, I think I learned this too.

But if I recall, the driver backing out can't assert a unilateral right-of-way if he can see that there's a car coming. It applies only for those tight parking spaces -- like when the vehicles on either side are both huge SUVs -- where the driver simply can't see if anyone's coming.

Would love to find out who really has the right of way in these situations.

[Emrld]

We have spaces like that . . .and yet SUVs will take two compact spaces just cause they are tired of looking for a larger space . . .or the larger are taken . . or the large seem to be further away and it is descrimination in their mind.
Basically the larger vehicle seems to give them a larger sense of entitlement.

[justZu]

I honestly think driving in a parking lot can be more dangerous than driving on the road. Idiots seem to think that the parking lot is some magical kind of rule-free zone. Drive where you feel like driving and to hell with safety and common sense.

I'm glad he didn't hit you, that's really the very last thing you need to be dealing with right about now. I'll send some happy baby-on-time-not-early thoughts your way.

[Kilamon]

Tailgaters are thye only reason I wish I had a sack of rocks I could let go from my motorcycle. People don't realize that their SUV will take up to 8 times as much distance to stop as my bike.

[protege]

We have spaces like that . . .and yet SUVs will take two compact spaces just cause they are tired of looking for a larger space . . .or the larger are taken . . or the large seem to be further away and it is descrimination in their mind.

Some SUV owners here do that, and then can't understand why their car gets keyed or otherwise messed with. Folks, those spaces read "compact car only" for a reason!