The ‘Wave of Death’: Please Stop Trying To Be Nice By Yielding When You Have Right-Of-Way

I recently moved to the big city, and I love it. But it’s also brought a particular issue into focus for me, one that has caused me endless frustration and rage. It’s quite simple: I can’t stand when people yield when they have right of way. I don’t care if you think you’re being nice. It needs to end, now.

Long ago, traffic engineers and administrators came up with simple rules for assigning right of way. In combination with turn signals, these rules allowed drivers to anticipate traffic flow and safely interact with other vehicles. The rules established an understanding of who was allowed to go first, and when. This was and is an unambiguously good thing. It allows traffic to flow and minimizes the number of accidents on the road.

Sadly, these rules are not religiously adhered to. Some people just ignore the rules entirely, so we give them a wide berth. But you know what’s just as bad? People who yield unexpectedly because they’re being nice. It’s dangerous, unwelcome, and it needs to stop. We’re gonna talk pedestrians, we’re gonna talk road rules, and we’re going to cover the horror of the “wave of death,” as some call it.

Don’t be like this.

Walk Safe

As I mentioned above, moving downtown has made this a daily issue for me. Oftentimes, I’m walking down the sidewalk, and I come to cross a road. I’ll happily wait for a few seconds for cars to roll through on their merry way before I cross. After all, they have right of way! And yet, maybe half the time—they hit the brakes, come to a stop and wave me across! This can be frustrating.

I had already picked out a perfectly safe time to cross—after they had passed by, as they had the right of way. By stopping, they throw everything out of whack. I have to recheck the surroundings to make sure that there is no other traffic that will run me down. Then, I have to scamper along to get out of the way of this vehicle that is now waiting for me when it was never supposed to in the first place! It’s positively infuriating.

I get it. You’re happy to make way for pedestrians. But here’s the thing. They have their slot in traffic just like you do. By yielding your spot unnecessarily, you’re forcing them to step out of theirs. Suddenly nobody in the intersection can predict what anybody else is going to do. This is where danger lies! You should always take due care when driving and not simply expect other people to get out of your way—but ignoring your own right of way entirely is unhelpful.

The worst example happened to me recently. I was waiting to cross a sidestreet, when an approaching car stopped to let me cross even though it had right of way. They were expectantly waiting for me to cross. Meanwhile, another vehicle was trying to turn on to the sidestreet, expecting that they had right of way. After all, if everyone followed the rules, I wouldn’t be crossing since another car was approaching.

Some jurisdictions require drivers approaching the throat of a T intersection to give way to pedestrians—like California, or Queensland, Australia.

Ultimately I made a stupid decision to try to cross, and nearly got run over by the turning car in the process. I should have ignored the car waiting for me and left them as the only unpredictable fool in the scenario. Not pictured in this diagram is my partner who was rightfully upset with me for making such a silly decision. Felt bad. I know better!

Wave of Death

This happens in all kinds of other situations, too. Have you ever tried to turn your car across a multi-lane road, when someone on that multi-lane road stops short to wave you through an opening? They’re giving up their right of way to be nice, but they’re putting you in a tough situation. You can’t see the traffic in the other lane, so if you pull through, there’s every chance you’ll end up in a majorly ugly crash. It’s called the “wave of death” and it can have brutal results. I’ll stop short of showing you videos of actual crashes. They’re out there, but viewer discretion is advised. In any case, there are plenty of examples of near misses out there. [Ed Note: There’s a bit of cursing in the videos below; we don’t condone cursing out folks just trying to be nice (there are other ways), but this is a matter of public safety, and if that’s how these folks need to vent their frustrations, so be it. -DT]. 

Then there’s the four way stop. These can be confusing, but ultimately, somebody has to go first. If you’re already stopped and are about to go, and you see someone else approaching and slowing down? You can go! They have to stop and yield to traffic already in the intersection. If you wait for them, they’re going to be confused, because they’re waiting for you. This then creates the risk that when they give up, you’ll both go at the same time and have a collision.

Of course, there’s no accounting for fools. Like this Cadillac driver who doesn’t realize you’re supposed to give way to the right, and to traffic already in the intersection  — not cool

If you’re wondering why this is a bad thing, there’s real legal precedent in this regard. As covered by lawyer Anthony Carbone, the 1998 court case of Thorne v. Miller. Here’s a summary of the case, per the linked court document:

The accident took place on Route 530, a four lane road running east-west with two lanes in each direction. Prior to the accident, defendant, Lori Miller, was waiting to make a left turn out of a parking lot adjacent to the westbound lanes. She wanted to go east on Route 530 and needed to cross the westbound lanes to do so. Traffic was congested. Donald Cook was driving in the slow westbound lane (the outer lane) and stopped just before the parking lot Miller needed to exit. Cook “waved out” Miller twice in a way to indicate she could exit the parking lot in front of his vehicle. Miller responded, and as she crossed the westbound lanes, she struck a car traveling in the fast westbound lane (the inner lane). That car was operated by Rita St. George, a plaintiff, and the impact caused St. George to hit a vehicle driven by Joseph Thorne, another plaintiff in this case. Miller sued Cook as a third party defendant and St. George has brought a direct claim against him.

Cook, who was not involved in the accident but for his waving gesture, brings a motion for summary judgment on the ground that he owes no duty to Miller.

Both St. George and Miller sued Cook, on the basis that his wave caused the accident. The court agreed that the wave may have contributed to the crash, and noted that Cook could have taken the time to assess the traffic flow before waving. The court also found that a waving driver does “assume a duty [of care]” in such a situation. The court decision doesn’t outright state the apportion of blame to the drivers involved in the collision, but it effectively states that waving on another driver is not without liability risk.

YSK the "wave of death" helps no one and is dangerous.
byu/molivergo inYouShouldKnow

I’m not the only one upset about this!

In Context

I reached out to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety regarding the “wave of death.” Director of Media Relations, Joe Young, noted that there is little to no official research on the topic. It seems that I may care a great deal more about this topic than either state transport authorities or, indeed, the insurance companies themselves.

That’s not to say he didn’t have some helpful pointers, though:

“Communication between road users is common and can certainly be helpful in some situations, such as when the right of way isn’t clear…I think most of us have encountered a situation, however, where someone yields the right of way instead of taking their turn, which can create a problem if not all drivers and other road users are on the same page. “

Ultimately, though, you’ve got to focus on doing the right thing yourself, Joe explains:

“I think in this scenario it’s important to rely on common sense, not rush, and take normal precautions such as properly yielding to any other road users that may be in the area, including pedestrians. While I’m sure their intentions are good, it’s unlikely the driver waving you through has considered every scenario, so it’s very important to ensure that it’s safe to proceed before doing so.”

If you’re someone who does this kind of thing, I get it. You’re a nice person! And it’s nice to be nice sometimes. You’re trying to help out your fellow motorist or pedestrian, and that’s really sweet. The reality is, though, you’re introducing unnecessary chaos into the flow of traffic. That’s risky, and can get people hurt. The “wave of death” is called that for a reason. People can get seriously hurt in situations like these, and it’s simply not worth it.

I promise you, you’re not being selfish. If you’ve got the right of way, take it. Drive safely, of course, but don’t wave people through when it’s not your turn.

Drive safe out there.

Image credits: Lewin Day, Austlii.edu.au via screenshot, Reddit via screenshot, Clueless Drivers of Maryland via YouTube screenshot