So who goes first?

The one thing that I remember growing up and reading all the driving material is when you come to a stop sign the person to your right has the right of way.  It is funny the things you remember.  To this day anytime I come to a stop sign it does not matter if it is a one, two, three, or four ways stop sign block the person that gets there first has the right to go first and if you all get there at the same time then the person on the right has the right of way.

It was in a small town where they did not have any traffic lights but they did have this one block intersection and at all four streets there was a stop sign.  An accident had occurred and when the police had arrived he wanted to see everyone’s auto insurance card and wanted to know who got to the intersection first, second, and third.  When the first person stepped forward and collected their auto insurance card the policeman said who caused the accident.  The person stood there not knowing what to say.  When they said “I do not know” the policeman said you are free to go and drive safely.

Looking puzzled the other three looked around and started getting nervous not sure what the policeman was going to do.  As he was looking at the two vehicles in the middle of the road that had hit each other he asked for the second person who reached the intersection to come forward.  The second person came forward and collected his auto insurance card and when asked what happened he said the third car had pulled out at the same time he did and they hit each other at each other’s backside.  The policeman asked the third person to come forward he collected his auto insurance card and when asked what happened he stated the same thing the second person said.

 

The policeman now called the fourth driver to retrieve his auto insurance card and said “who hit who” and who’s fault was it.  The little girl was nervous as could be and stated the tail ends of both cars slides into each other on account of the first driver was dumping oil from the back of his car and did not know it.  The police man sent the first driver a ticket and gave the other two his insurance information.  Just because you have the right away does not mean you cannot be held accountable for an accident.  Watch the debris that comes from your car and always have your auto insurance card with you in case you need to provide the information.

 

They always say that the best way to keep your auto insurance information handy is to have your registration and insurance card in your glove compartment.  They also have little folding jackets now for auto information that will hold your registration, insurance card, inspection card and an extra key if you need it.  This is something that I purchased as a holiday stocking stuffer for all the drivers in the family.  It was a neat and handy idea and now everyone knows where all their information is in case they need to pull it out.  If you have towing insurance keep your card in there too to have it handy so you will not have to search for it.

 

Sometimes when we looking at some of the traffic signs we need to remind ourselves what they mean.  The red yield sign means stop and then yield if clear.  In this case you would not have the right of way and would be at fault if you had caused an accident.  The yellow yield sign means to slow down and yield or merge with caution into the flowing traffic.  If there is an accident it may or may not be your fault this is one that would depend on who and where the cars got hit.  Unfortunately there are people out there that do look at some of these opportunities to claim fraud so be careful when it comes to stop signs and the right of way.  You would not want to accidently hit them or be hit.  There are people that intentionally look for the opportunity to cause an accident.

Always make sure you do have a clear line of vision and if someone waves you through go forward cautiously in case they change their mind.  Next time you get a chance stop by the DMV and pick up a book to review the signs.  It is always good to have a refresher.

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