Does a speeder have the right of way?
<p>You’re driving the speed limit in a U.S. state with an absolute speed limit (e.g., Florida). You need to change lanes. A vehicle behind you in that lane is exceeding the speed limit. Who has the right of way?</p>

<p>(Note: No vehicles were harmed in the making of this question. No one hit anything.)</p>

<p>The vehicle occupying the lane has right of way i.e. if you merge and cause a collision, you are liable. The fact that the other driver was in breach of the road rules <em>as well as you</em> is immaterial.</p>

<p>If you rephrased the question to be "A vehicle behind you in that lane is exceeding the speed limit - can I exceed the speed limit too?" you would see why. </p>

<p>"Because they were breaking the law I should be allowed to" is not a defence that has any prospect of being successful. The law says you must give way when merging, so give way when merging.</p>

<p>In California, and I would guess most other states, many items about right of way in the <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&amp;division=11.&amp;title=&amp;part=&amp;chapter=4.&amp;article=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">vehicle code</a> will end with the phrase "until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety." It's one of the basic rules of the road. If you cannot do something safely, then you can't do it. If you can't change lanes safely, for <em>any</em> reason, then you can't change lanes.</p>

<p>Consider another example. You are waiting at an intersection. You have a red light. The light changes to green, but it is obvious to you that one of the cars in the cross traffic that now has the red light is not going to stop. You have a green light, can you go? No, you can't go. Not until the red light runner has passed through. If you can't proceed safely, you can't go.</p>

<p>I mostly agree with @DaleM.  However, the police/insurance companies could <strong>possibly</strong> say it's the speeder's fault.  For example, if the other driver was driving 150 mph then you might claim that you couldn't reasonably have seen them because they were overtaking you so quickly.  This argument would never fly for 10 mph over the limit though.</p>

<p>I understand your desire for everyone to obey the law.  However, if you are someday accidentally driving 46 mph in a 45 mph zone, do you want all the other drivers to have carte blanche to cut you off?</p>

united-states traffic