Quote:
Originally Posted by zonker
OK, here's the CA law... it seems to leave a door open for either side of the debate to present their case as being correct.
21804. (a) The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a
highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall
yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 620,
approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate
hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic
until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.
(b) A driver having yielded as prescribed in subdivision (a) may
proceed to enter or cross the highway, and the drivers of all other
vehicles approaching on the highway shall yield the right-of-way to
the vehicle entering or crossing the intersection.
Sec. 620: The term "traffic" includes pedestrians, ridden animals,
vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or
together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.
My understanding of that gibberish above is the freeway traffic has the right of way when someone is unreasonably trying to merge (not entering safely with correct space or speed), and the freeway traffic is obliged to let him in once the merger has been safe and prudent.
Lots of wiggle room there to support the merger or the mergee...
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It's not gibberish, and there is no "wiggle room".
Right of way laws are universally applicable (even on the Left coast), although few drivers today understand the concept of right of way or heed it.
The vehicle ("ALL traffic") on the thoroughfare has the right of way. All entering traffic (read: those about to merge or actually "enter") MUST yield to it.
Part two of your law addresses a car that already DID yield and has entered the highway successfully and safely. Others approaching from behind must then yield to that vehicle. In other words, you can't rear-end a vehicle traveling in the same direction as you are, that has already entered the roadway before you approached it, even if it is moving more slowly than you.
The OP is following the law and does not need to be traveling more than the minimum allowable speed limit, especially if he is in the rightmost lane, which is where slower moving traffic (such as him) belongs.
If they flip you the bird, smile and wave at them. If they hit you, expect to be paid 100% for their failure to yield right of way.