Moment belligerent drivers refuse to budge in 15-minute 'Mexican stand-off'.... but who is in the right?

Mark Chandler4 May 2017

This is the moment a Mercedes driver is involved in an extraordinary “Mexican stand-off” with another car, blocking a narrow London road for up to 15 minutes.

Resident Kelly Newcomb filmed the scene as the drivers refused to budge from the road in Deptford, as a succession of frustrated fellow drivers beep their horns behind.

The 21-year-old marketing manager told the Standard the driver of the silver car had stopped for just a couple of seconds on Wednesday afternoon to let his child out of the vehicle.

But she claimed he was then blocked off by the driver of a black Mercedes, who refused to budge.

Stand-off: The cars refuse to budge
Kelly Newcomb

She said: “His kid got out of the car while she was coming down the road. She should have given him right of way. He wasn’t stopping for any length of time.

“She just started coming down the road anyway. It was clear to me that he was ready to pull away.”

Ms Newcomb said the altercation lasted for up to 15 minutes, with at least five other cars having to back-up and drive off because she had blocked the road in front of them.

Video: Kelly Newcomb took the footage
Kelly Newcomb

She said: “This guy in a red car came up behind and he was honking and honking his horn. Then he started shouting.

“He got out his car and went round to the woman and was shouting ‘move, I just want to go home’.”

Ms Newcomb said the driver of the silver car remained polite throughout but eventually left his vehicle to get help from a council worker at a nearby playground.

Frustration: Other cars are left waiting
Kelly Newcomb

Both men tried to reason with the other driver before she eventually backed up, not before creating a small traffic jam behind her.

She said: “I think she was massively entitled. I don’t know why she didn’t just back her car up. She obviously knows the roads round here.

It’s a very busy road but everyone else manages I’m completely shocked by how long she stood her ground.”

The footage sparked a lively debate about exactly who was in the wrong.

One user claimed it was her right of way because there were no cars on her side of the road.

Another chimed in: “If the guy on the 'wrong' side is already half way down when she arrives it is HIS right of way.”

Simon Edmund said: “Technically she could claim in theory it's her right of way - but in reality in these situations common sense is the only way to resolve it.

“If the fella coming the other way was already long committed and would have further to reverse, then she's just being daft.”

The Highway Code states that drivers should give way if a car coming in the opposite direction has already committed to overtaking other parked vehicles.

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