Almost got creamed the same way a few weeks ago in my little Nissan Versa.

When I taught my oldest to drive last year (middle child starts soonish if he gets is azz in gear to Get Stuff Done) I simply told her "keep your head on a swivel, check all ways 2x before going, pretend every one on the road/sidewalk/etc is either out to kill you or out to be killed by you". Works well for me, seems to have mostly worked for her.

Exactly his passing over a double yellow line makes him an ahole driver who is only concerned with getting where he is going with no regard for anyone else. I drive for a living in Manhattan I see aholes all day long. Look at the accident the other day where Tracey Morgan was hit in his Bugatti. the woman was making a right turn from the left lane and blamed him for the accodent

NY is nuthin' - try Boston

You and your loved ones riding with you almost died yesterday.

It's hardly relevant who has the right of way.

True dat.

And the whole "right of way" thing is misunderstood.

No one has the right of way.

The law is, who should yield the right of way.

Basically meaning, unless some one yields, you got no rights to jack ****.

Uhh, it has nothing to do with right of way. There is no right of way. He was in the wrong ****ing lane, technically going the wrong ****ing direction. NO ONE looks right when they are taking a right turn for good reason. The point of this entire thread is to point out that this is a case of a traffic violation that is done billions of times daily, and it never ever matters. But, this was a 1 in a million perfect storm.

I look right when I am taking a right turn for good reason.

My moron detector is also broken, so I look for them. I'd rather have it beep, point a red arrow in their direction and launch a homing missile tho...

I do.
I drive with my head on a swivel. I wish everyone would.
Situational awareness is never a bad thing.

I don't know about the US but here in NZ it's illegal to cross the center line at an intersection. Unless you are turning into a side street of course.

When I grew up in the country and learning to drive, my mum said "If you are coming out the front gate and you even see even a dot (car) on the horizon STOP, you don't know how fast they are going around here." Wise words for where we lived.

I'm glad the guy didn't hit you, glad you are alive to be here posting. I agree from what you described the other guy was in the wrong lane and was legally in the wrong.
But - I was always taught, as a pedestrian and as a driver, in that situation look "left, right, left." I still do it today. So, "NO ONE looks right when they are taking a right turn," isn't true.

That's very wrong, sugar.

Check both left and right before you venture into any crossing traffic.

The cost otherwise is way too high here.

I was just talking about this with my friend. Growing up in the country, and also having taken high school driver's ed, I always look both ways at an intersection. I've seen too many gruesome wrecks growing up. Still can see some of them in my memory.

We are attempting to change the point of this thread SW. You were stupid...and lived to post this thread....live and learn buddy ;).

I always look both ways when I’m making a turn- I call it ditch to ditch; sidewalk to sidewalk. You never know when a kid on a bike or pedestrian may be crossing in front of you from the right or in your a case an idiot in the wrong lane.

Sometimes it only takes one idiot to end your life....sometimes it takes two.

There are lots of idiots...

SW had a Darwin moment....two of 'em did :(.

SW got lucky....

On the subject of right turns, was on my way to work 2 years ago. Came to an intersection with a turning lane onto another 2 lane highway with an acceleration lane (up-hill section with heavy truck traffic). Milk truck obstructing view to the left and a car in front of me, I'm second in line to turn R). Car number one turns R) and I move forward, stop as per the sign instructs, look left and only see more of the milk truck then begin to accelerate---BAM. Straight into the back of the moron who had turned right and STOPPED in the acceleration lane. WTF?? Kid says "sometimes cars cross over". There were no cars. Jeebus.

That exactly, check every direction twice, and I always do.
Wow, I don't know how you do it, that place is insane. I drive in downtown Houston daily since I work there. It's NOTHING like Manhattan, fortunately, but I almost daily see folks turn right at stop lights from various lanes in front of other cars or turn right or left sometimes from the opposite far lane on 3-4 lane one way streets. I get that if you aren't familiar with a city center with it's one way streets it can be a pain to navigate, but sheesh!
I always look both ways, even on one way streets, it's just habit, and it's saved me more than once. Just because there shouldn't be someone coming doesn't mean there won't be. I've seen folks going the wrong way around a round-about, going the wrong way down one-way streets and doing stuff that I wonder how they got to that point.

Another one that I've seen multiple times is someone turning right on red and running into the back of the person that's in front of them also waiting to turn right on red. Just to make sure I don't get into that trap, I don't start looking left until the car in front of me is completely gone. I've known multiple people that did exactly what pavulon did below.

Case in point...

Sorry, I learned to look both ways at 17. I was inching forward at a "t" looking left, easily 10' over the crosswalk line, when a guy stepped out in front of me...... Hit him, not hard. He got a black and blue, and I learned a life lesson. In the 70's, it was mutual stupidity. Today I suspect I'd be sued.

Another rule that was drilled into us in DE...'leave at least one car length for every 10 mph between you and the car ahead'.
How many do that? I know brakes are better now that in the 70's..but does it really help to be on the bumper of the car ahead when they can't go faster?

Uhm, I look right, each and every time.

So do my kids, I drilled the snot out of them on it.

My wife does.

Why, because theres far less than a 1 in a million chance that a pedestrian, jogger, kid on bike, that car that made the right before you, is going to be there.

Had your incident ended in a worse way and you admitted, which you would have done cause you're an honest guy, that you did not look right before pulling out you would have been partially liable regardless of whether or not the other guy was wrong.

And it most certainly speaks to right of way. It does not matter that he should not have been where he was, had you looked right and seen him you would have been obligated to yield the right of way to him.

By not looking you did not yield, you are at fault if there is an accident.

May not sound logical to you but that's how it works.