We’ve all done it at some point or another.
We’re sitting there in a line of traffic and it’s finally starting to move at 15mph and the right lane’s ending, and has been for 3500 feet, and that sports car is coming up way too fast, trying to cut in front of us at the last possible second, so we edge up as close behind the bumper of the car in front of us as we can because HE SAW THE SIGN.
Or, you know, that guy’s coming towards the intersection a little too fast, but we go anyway because we’ve got the green.
Or traffic’s not slowing down, but we’re already in the crosswalk and state law says they have to yield so by golly we’re going to cross!
And by golly, we’re right, by gum, we DO have the right-of-way. We ARE doing the right thing, and THEY are not.
Unfortunately the laws of physics do not vary based on the laws of the state, and even though the guy who drove through the crosswalk might be very sorry for having done it, that doesn’t help you recover all of your formerly-inner bits from whence they’ve been scattered across hood and sidewalk.
Sometimes insisting on your right-of-way can cause otherwise-avoidable catastrophic damage. And it’s not unusual for the person in the right to suffer more than the person in the wrong. Sometimes it’s worth pausing that extra minute or making a little extra room for that person who maybe isn’t quite doing things strictly according to the rules.
A little bit of grace can go a long way.
A lot farther than a Honda Accord can propel a human body, anyway.