The Rules Don't Apply To Some

Mr.D

Mr.D

Watch my videos on Youtube: goo.gl/1atkMb
So this is the thing:

In Belgium we have this thing called "voorrang van rechts" which is a rule for right of way.
The rule is that when a person is coming from the right at a crossroads they have the right of way.
Now Belgium wouldn't be Belgium if there weren't a few exceptions, however today that was not the case.
I came out of a street where I had the right of way but for some reason the woman in the big BMW didn't even see me until I was right next to her (wasn't speeding, was indicating and wearing a white helmet). She even had the guts to start screaming at me in her car. This happens almost every day (not only to me).

The problem is that this rule has been changed a couple of years ago (right before I had to get my driver's license, that's why I remember).
Before the change the person that was the first one at the crossroads had the right of way.
This means that all of the drivers that got their license before the change don't even know about this change. This makes for some dangerous situations in which people are convinced they are right.

So today I was once again confronted with one of these drivers.

I could have known this was going to happen because her license plate warned me:

1-DIC-166

I really needed to vent so there you have it.
 
Mr.D said:
So this is the thing:

In Belgium we have this thing called "voorrang van rechts" which is a rule for right of way.
The rule is that when a person is coming from the right at a crossroads they have the right of way.
Now Belgium wouldn't be Belgium if there weren't a few exceptions, however today that was not the case.
I came out of a street where I had the right of way but for some reason the woman in the big BMW didn't even see me until I was right next to her (wasn't speeding, was indicating and wearing a white helmet). She even had the guts to start screaming at me in her car. This happens almost every day (not only to me).

The problem is that this rule has been changed a couple of years ago (right before I had to get my driver's license, that's why I remember).
Before the change the person that was the first one at the crossroads had the right of way.
This means that all of the drivers that got their license before the change don't even know about this change. This makes for some dangerous situations in which people are convinced they are right.

So today I was once again confronted with one of these drivers.

I could have known this was going to happen because her license plate warned me:

1-DIC-166

I really needed to vent so there you have it.
Click to expand...

Mr.D, vent my friend. Scream your mind out. Then take a deep breath and remember...there are idiots everywhere.
 
Honestly when I ride I expect at least 5 people to fuck up before I start getting mad! Stay safe my friend.
 
The US has a similar rule, but it only applies when multiple people stop at the same time. For instance, two roads cross and two cars pull up and stop at the same time. The one to the right goes first. If they are across from one another, the one going right goes before someone going straight or tuning left. If someone stops first, they have right of way at this kind of stop, no matter their direction of travel.

I don't see how it can ALWAYS be the person on the right. That sounds like a traffic nightmare. Imagine heavy traffic to your right while you just sit and watch them all go ...

It sounds to me like you understand the rule correctly as it's likely just like the US rule and others have the issue.
 
Australia has similar rules, however once out on the road its biggest one wins when you're on a bike.
 
RoadSprock said:
Similar rule in the UK, but it's broken daily
Click to expand...
I rode in the UK and had the pleasure to finally know what roundabouts are.

No one will get anywhere if you followed right of way strictly because there is always someone coming in from the right. So you just have to play it like you were entering a major road from a minor road, judge if a vehicle is far away and slow enough before you go into circulation, even if there is an oncoming vehicle.

Personally I never had an issue in London because for some reason all the cars immediately stop before the roundabout when they see me on a motorcycle, and no new cars enter until I pass them.
 
If you already know these champions are most likely not to notice you or give a f--k about your right of way, I wouldn't bother, just quickly enter and speed up to keep your distance away from these champions, or if you see that they are not giving way, just close the throttle a bit, slow down, merge in behind them and overtake them later, make sure you rev bomb them as you pass them close to their car window.
 
Come to Armenia where 'the guy with the more expensive car has the right of way'. I have a Flaming Red Hyundai Tiburon coupe and that hting gets the right of way ALL DAY LONG! The entire traffic will stop for me to do a u-turn. They won't honk the horn if I randomly decide to stop in the middle of the street and block the entire street even.
Now do that in the old Hyundai Pony GTS that I got and things change drastically.
 
Reize said:
I rode in the UK and had the pleasure to finally know what roundabouts are.

No one will get anywhere if you followed right of way strictly because there is always someone coming in from the right. So you just have to play it like you were entering a major road from a minor road, judge if a vehicle is far away and slow enough before you go into circulation, even if there is an oncoming vehicle.

Personally I never had an issue in London because for some reason all the cars immediately stop before the roundabout when they see me on a motorcycle, and no new cars enter until I pass them.
Click to expand...

You must of got lucky! Normally they wait until your close and then go ;)
 
Mr.D said:
The problem is that this rule has been changed a couple of years ago (right before I had to get my driver's license, that's why I remember).
Before the change the person that was the first one at the crossroads had the right of way.
This means that all of the drivers that got their license before the change don't even know about this change. This makes for some dangerous situations in which people are convinced they are right.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the priority to right rule was always there. But in the past, if both you and the person coming from the right stopped at the junction, then the person who moved first had priority. This caused lot of confusion so they changed it so that the person coming from right will always have priority, stopped or not. This doesnt seem to be what happened in your case so the lady was clearly at fault, no matter what excuse she gave.

SevenCube said:
I wonder if you guys would be able to ride in India. :D
Click to expand...

It also goes the other way round. Indians who landed in Europe for first time will never be able to drive here :D
 
Being a fellow Belgian, I know what you're talking about, Mr. D :) The right of way rule is IMO one of the most important rules in Belgian traffic, but so few people apply it correctly, either unknowingly or knowingly. It's typical for BMW drivers to think they don't have to give right of way to anyone, though. They're driving a BMW, why should they stop? :rolleyes: They also don't have to use their indicators, everyone knows that o_O

Do you happen to have this "confrontation" on camera? Would make for a nice video ;) I usually have my camera recording now, especially during my commutes.
 
So it's not just me :) it's a global thing.
I could never ride in India, waaay to busy!!
Got some nice filtering done today so the right of way thing was already forgotten ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Posters Past 30 days

Winners Video

Website Supported by Ipswich SEO

Latest posts

Back
Top