Poll: which of the two vehicles in this accident originally had the right of way? (See gif below.)

 

  Hey!

:|

 

  I agree with you. I couldn’t tell for sure either, so that’s why I submitted the poll.

  It’s not clear if there’s a traffic light or stop sign or other markets that indicate right of way, and with the speed they’re both traveling, either one could be in the wrong or in the right. I wonder if neither one of the drivers was fully paying attention.  

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Yeah---was it a controlled intersection or just subject to the driving manual for the location.

 

  You don’t think that the van is traveling on a main road and the car on a side street?  If that is so on both counts, wouldn’t the van have the right of way?
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It doesn't make a difference.  Where I live in South Dakota, most intersections on minor roads don't have stop signs or yield signs, so it's always the car on the right from the driver's point-of-view that has the right of way.  The exception is if it's a T intersection, then the driver on the road that continues has the right-of-way.  However, most minor roads here do have stop or yield signs where they cross a major road.

In Europe, lots of roads don't have stop or yield signs at intersections, so traffic on the road that has priority has the right-of-way.  Those roads have a priority signs on them, which is a sign we don't have in the USA or Canada.  

If neither road has priority, then the car on that's the right from the driver's point-of-view has right-of-way, but I think that's reversed in places where traffic drives on the left.  If a road doesn't have the priority sign on it, it doesn't make a difference if it looks more important or is wider than the cross streets.


The priority sign that means the road you're on automatically has right-of-way (not used in USA and Canada):


The priority sign that means the road you're on does not have automatic right-of-way (also not used in USA and Canada):

 

  Thank you for all that background. I know that your background expertise in the trucking business has given you particular insights, I appreciate you sharing it. My driving experience outside of the US was mostly in Okinawa, Japan. My experiences as a passenger outside of the US covers about twenty countries worldwide, and I wasn’t aware of the priority signs until reading it here from you. 

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This post was edited by Randy D at September 20, 2020 12:05 PM MDT

WHICH ONES?  Arrrrrrrggggghhhh. I’m not a dentist, you know!

 

  Danged Aussie. Grrrrr. 

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It looks like a man to me. He is even holding the purse with his elbow at first.

Oh yeah, I see what you mean about the way he was carrying it at first. He’s most likely carrying it for someone. 

 

  I won’t touch my wife’s purse, especially not in public!  One of the fellas might see me.

(Well, when we’re at home and no one else is there to see me except her, I might touch it every now and then with the express purpose of getting money out of it, BUT THAT’S ALLLLLLLLLLL.  Shhhhh.)

 

  I think that person is a man. Why do you hate the gif?

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Too much going on in it and it stresses me out.