Right of Way

One of my pet peeves encountered in driving is the situation where someone wants to give me the right of way, when it isn't really mine.  I see three difficulties with this.  First, the person trying to force me into taking the right of way may not see the whole picture.  Second, if an accident resulted, it would be my fault, not the fault of the person trying to be "polite."  Lastly, the person trying to be considerate of me, may not realize he is being inconsiderate of vehicles behind him.


Today I approached an intersection and stopped for a red light.  I had my turn signal on, because I was planning to make a left turn.  When the light turned green, a car coming straight through from the other direction tried to wave me in front of him.  I shook my head 'no,' so he tried to wave me on again.  I pointed at the street I planned to turn into.  An elderly woman was crossing, and I preferred not to run her down.  He didn't understand that I was trying to get him to look in that direction, and with an exasperated expression and shrug, finally came through the intersection.  He probably muttered for the next block about my lack of gratitude.  I muttered for the next several blocks about what would have happened if I had just swung into that left turn based on his go-ahead.


So, don't do me any "favors" when I am behind the wheel.  If the right of way is mine, I expect to get it.  If the right of way is yours, please, take it.


There are some analogies to life in general here, but I will let you make them on your own.