At a 4-way stop, for how long must one yield to the right?

Question

How long is considered appropriate to wait before failing to yield to a driver to the right that does not take their turn at a 4-way stop? When multiple parties come to a 4-way stop the right of way belongs to the driver coming from the right. When that driver sits there without acting on their right of way does anything supported by the courts stipulate how long one must wait before that right of way is invalidated?

Case in point. A driver came to a 4-way stop from the right at the same time as a truck in front of me. The truck in front of me made a right hand turn at the intersection and continued on. Meanwhile the driver that had come from the right remained at the 4-way stop. I came to the 4-way intersection and stopped as appropriate. The driver from the right remained unmoving at the 4-way stop. After pausing longer than a typical stop I entered the intersection going straight. The driver from the right finally moved and hit the front right fender of my vehicle. Now the driver from the right is claiming I failed to yield at the intersection.

Where may I locate information supporting that they gave up their right of way by failing to observe their right of way?

Answer 1

stop overthinking it

Answer 2

I have never heard of any laws for how long you have to wait at a 4-way stop but the only thing that will help now is if you can find a witness that can help support your case..

Answer 3

I hope that you filed a police report stating what you say here. Very well put. The thing is that once you are in an intersection, whether turning or going straight, you have the right of way. Based on where the other driver hit you, it seems that you were already more than half way across the intersection before the hitter hit you. Ergo, you had right of way and hitter was at fault. Check your state driver handbook.

Here is what it says in the CA Driver's Handbook, pg 12 -

"Yield to vehicles already in the intersection or just entering it."

All the best.

Answer 4

The other guy is obviously stupid.

Answer 5

At a 4 way stop the right of way belongs to the car that arrived first to the intersection, whether on the right, left, front, back...

Never to the car on your right.