California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from McAllister v. Cummings, 12 Cal.Rptr. 418, 191 Cal.App.2d 1 (Cal. App. 1961):
'Section 553 of the Vehicle Code provides that: 'The driver of a vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from any private road or driveway or from an alley * * * shall yield the right of way to all vehicles approaching on said highway.' Literally, this section would require the prospective entrant from a private road to yield the right of way to all vehicles on the highway regardless of where they were. This would be an unreasonable interpretation. For that reason, the courts have interpreted the section to mean that a prospective entrant from a private road may lawfully enter a highway so long as there is no vehicle so near as to constitute an immediate hazard. [Citations.] In Todd v. Standfield, 111 Cal.App.2d 615, 245 P.2d 331, the court affirmed a trial court that gave an instruction that, under this section, the driver on the highway, if his car did not present an immediate hazard to the car entering from a private road, should have yielded the right of way. Thus, the instruction proffered by plaintiff stated a proper rule of law applicable to the facts.'
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