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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Road right of way issue - who was right (diagram and satellite image included)

113 replies

Notanotherhousepost · 18/04/2023 12:03

This was sparked by the grudge thread.

Driving home I was going down a residential street with cars parked along the side. "My" side of the road had no obstruction so normally, I would have right away.

As I approached the stretch of road, another car was approaching from the other side and we were both roughly at the start of the section. I was maybe a little bit further back than he was, level with side road 1 so not technically in the obstructed section.

I was expecting him to proceed and pull into side road 2 allowing me to pass. This is normal procedure.

However, he decided to proceed past the entrance to side road 2 and came nose to nose up to me. As I had right of way, I refused to reverse. As he was being a knob (my opinion) he refused to reverse. Then begins the Mexican stand off.

15 minutes later, a queue had built up behind him and somehow nothing behind me. A driver from the queue came up to me and asked me nicely to back down since they had to get their kids from daycare. Very reluctantly I did and knob features decided to take full advantage with a slow drive past me.

I'm still pissed to this day I backed down.

In case its relevant:

Him, Middle aged man, BMW five series

Me, Middle aged woman, Landrover Defender (New style)

AIBU: he had right of way and I should have given way at the start

AINBU: he was being a knob

OP posts:
RB68 · 18/04/2023 12:58

Right of way is a fallacy anyway. If you were in a clear area of road whilst he was in the restricted area you wait regardless of sideroads and where the cars were parked, for him to pass through.

ArcticSkewer · 18/04/2023 12:59

You shouldn't have just started down the road when it was clear you couldn't proceed - he was there first, you can't just magic him away!

Jux · 18/04/2023 13:00

RB68 · 18/04/2023 12:58

Right of way is a fallacy anyway. If you were in a clear area of road whilst he was in the restricted area you wait regardless of sideroads and where the cars were parked, for him to pass through.

YABVVVVVU

This. He was already committed so you should have waited. To insist that you were 'right' despite cars queueing up behind him was idiocy and entitlement in the extreme.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 18/04/2023 13:01

You were in the wrong. He was obviously already committed to passing so you only had to wait 2-3 seconds for him to get through. Jesus, you are embarrassing making everyone wait for 15 minutes because of your stupid pride.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 18/04/2023 13:04

You didn't have right of way. If he was in the obstructed section before you, he did and you shouldn't have entered it.

You were the knob.

Justalittlebitduckling · 18/04/2023 13:04

You both sound entitled tbh. You were right originally but as soon as there was another car behind him you should have moved. Unfortunately now he has won and had his behaviour reinforced.

Howdoesitworkagain · 18/04/2023 13:09

You were wrong. How embarrassing for you to sit stubbornly for 15 minutes and for a third party to have to calmly intervene in the stupidity.

TheOrigRights · 18/04/2023 13:09

15 minutes! The rest of the people must have been furious!

RausageSoul · 18/04/2023 13:15

I was going to call this a reverse, but you clearly don't like to reverse (in the new style defender)

Fandabedodgy · 18/04/2023 13:18

You should have waited and once a queue developed you were completely U not to move.

Beautiful3 · 18/04/2023 13:18

There is a road like this that I use every day. I have right of way, as cars are parked on the other side. However if a car is already coming and already committed, I always wait until it passes. Even if I can see gaps that they could pull into. Just look ahead, and let them pass. It's not worth the Mexican stand off, and trapping others, who did nothing wrong. I was trapped in this said situation recently, with others too. I ended up turning the car around, as I didn't want to get involved. They were both so angry, screaming and refusing to back down. It made me feel quite sad for them. It's not really worth being mad, nor dwelling on something that really doesn't matter. Some times I make mistakes driving, yes we all know the rules for right and wrong. But mistakes happen to everyone, it's more important how we deal with them.

lifeissweet · 18/04/2023 13:19

Good diagram.

That's all I have to add.

Oh and YABU. Sorry.

Wnikat · 18/04/2023 13:24

But the side road is on the wrong side of the road for him?

YouveGotToGrooveIt · 18/04/2023 13:24

Why was he? There was a queue of cars behind him so he couldn’t move. OP had NO cars behind her.

I missed that.

In that case, just the one dickhead then Grin

RideACockHorseToSunburyCross · 18/04/2023 13:35

You were in the wrong OP. The fucking gall of you to sit there refusing to move for 15 minutes when you should've waited for the road to be clear in the first place.

NotAnotherBathBomb · 18/04/2023 13:36

Sorry OP, you were wrong. Check the Highway Code. The person already on the journey has right of way

NotAnotherBathBomb · 18/04/2023 13:38

Here you go

Road right of way issue - who was right (diagram and satellite image included)
KrisAkabusi · 18/04/2023 13:42

I was expecting him to proceed and pull into side road 2 allowing me to pass.

Based on what? There's no rule of the road that says he has to turn off his route onto a completely different road, facing the wrong way!

You're in the wrong here.

BessieSurtees · 18/04/2023 13:55

Judging by your diagram you were wrong as he had already pulled out around the cars onto your side of the road. So although you are on the right side of the road and would usually have right of way, in this instance you don’t.

We have a road which is always blocked one side and a bloke driving his car and a bus came nose to nose, that Mexican standoff lasted over 20 mins, apparently it is illegal for a bus to reverse with passengers on board? So much traffic built up that the traffic police were called to redirect it.

Madness

AxolotlOnions · 18/04/2023 14:11

From what I can see he should have seen you coming and not passed the cars. then, having started his manoeuvre he should have stopped adjacent to the side road to allow you to go around him or reversed back to it. All of the cars that then created a queue should have seen you both and waited.

furryfrontbottom · 18/04/2023 14:49

Nice picture, but why does anyone need to drive a Land Rover in what is clearly an urban environment?

Original poster
Notanotherhousepost · 18/04/2023 16:39

furryfrontbottom · 18/04/2023 14:49

Nice picture, but why does anyone need to drive a Land Rover in what is clearly an urban environment?

Because we haven't been living in an urban environment and are moving to an even less urban environment very soon and only have one car.

OP posts:
GoldenGorilla · 19/04/2023 06:51

@Notanotherhousepost - so given that absolutely everybody disagrees with you…..do you accept you were in the wrong?

dementedpixie · 19/04/2023 06:53

If he had already started past the cars you should have waited for him.

WhineWhineWhineWINE · 19/04/2023 06:54

You were both bloody childish.