PROFESSIONAL DRIVING TIPS

INTERSECTION RIGHT-OF-WAY
WHAT IS RIGHT-OF-WAY? The California Vehicle Code section, 525, defines it as the "privilege" of the immediate use of the highway (roadway, street, etc.). HOW DO WE GET RIGHT OF WAY? a. The law gives it to us... b. Other drivers give it to us... c. The law and other drivers give it to us Correct answer-b. The law doesn't give the Right-of-Way. Instead; it tells drivers when they must yield the Right-of-Way, and to whom. The easiest way for the law to catch a non-yielder is after they have an accident. So with that in mind, lets take a closer look. WITH AND WITHOUT STOPS: THE GENERAL BELIEF IS...the Right-of-Way belongs to the first vehicle to arrive at the intersection; and if it's a tie between vehicles approaching from different roadways, then the vehicle on the right has the Right-of-Way. This is a myth that the DMV continues to perpetuate through their handbooks, as well as with website tutorials. As a direct consequence, Driver Education and Traffic School classes have also misled millions of drivers.

For more years then I care to remember, they, the DMV, have been confused about this law. On page 12 of the 2008 edition of the California Driver Handbook, under the heading of Intersections, they continue to misstate the law, and I quote: yield to the car which arrives first or to the car on your right if it reaches the intersection at the same time as you do. Somehow, someway, the DMV has misinterpreted enter or entered to mean arrives or reaches? Because this continuing misunderstanding has been with us for so long, it has become the customary rule for most drivers. THE LAW RATHER THAN THE CUSTOM: Right-of-Way shall be given to the first vehicle to ENTER the intersection. This is not the same thing as who gets there first, because when there is a need to stop, you are required to do so BEFORE entering the intersection. As for yielding to the vehicle on the right, that applies when two vehicles approaching from different highways ENTER the intersection at the same time. To "enter" the intersection, the front of your vehicle has to be in the "box" created by the prolongations of the curb lines. Crosswalks therefore, are not normally part of the intersection. TWO-WAY STOPS: If you are facing a stop sign, yield to all approaching cross traffic that would be otherwise forced to slow or stop to avoid hitting you. To be completely safe, make sure you can see all approaching traffic for 150 to 200 hundred feet before entering the intersection. UNCONTROLLED BLIND INTERSECTIONS: During the last 100 feet of your approach to the intersection, slow to a maximum of 15 MPH until you can see at least 100 feet to the left and right sides. Then, apply the law rather than the custom.

LEFT TURN RIGHT-OF-WAY

GREEN ARROWS give you priority to turn in front of on-coming traffic because they have a red light. Do not confuse this with the regular GREEN LIGHT... because the on-coming vehicles have one too! You must yield therefore, until you can turn without slowing or stopping the approaching vehicle(s). Failure to do so can get you a ticket...or worse.

PEDESTRIAN RIGHT-OF-WAY
Always yield the Right-of-Way to pedestrians. This means that if the two of you are going to arrive at the same spot at the same time, always give the walker the opportunity to cross safely in front of you. Does this mean you must always stop for pedestrians in crosswalks? NO. It means you must let them go first if a conflict is eminent. Remember this, pedestrians have the right to cross at any legal place, and at whatever pace they wish to precede, without interference from us drivers. If however, you force them to slow their stride or to stop, then you are guilty of not yielding the Right-of-Way. Some drivers, even though they know they don't always have to, nevertheless feel they should always stop whenever a pedestrian is in a crosswalk. This however, might cause a serious accident because the vehicle behind them doesn't expect them to stop. In some cases, the pedestrian winds up dead or seriously injured, because the overly-cautious driver's vehicle is pushed violently into them upon impact. WHAT IS JAY-WALKING? Jay-walking occurs when a pedestrian crosses the street without using the available crosswalk. If the crossing occurs somewhere along the block rather then at an intersection, then it is ONLY Jay-walking if there are traffic signals at both ends of the block and the pedestrian isnt within a crosswalk.

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