15 Rules for Calling Shotgun

Are you tired of having fights with your friends every time you go to the movies or out for dinner on who gets to sit next to the driver? Believe it or not there are over fifty semi strict and/or goofy rules that determine who gets to sit in the shotgun seat. All these rules are considered to be in effect, however the driver has the final say and can void all shotgun calls under his discretion.

1. The first person to yell “SHOTGUN” gets to ride in the front seat.
2. The shotgun caller must be in within clear sight of the car, and the driver must be able to hear the shotgun call.
3. Shotgun cannot be called until both you and the driver are outside any building you may be leaving.
4. You cannot call shotgun once somebody has previously called it for the ride. First person to call it gets it.
5. If you are picked up first to be picked up you automatically keep it for the rest of the ride.
6. When there is a tie amongst the shotgun callers, there is a foot race to the passenger side door of the vehicle but it is only for the people who are involved in the tie.
7. Shotgun cannot be called in advance, for example while you’re in the car or at your destination you cannot call the return trip until the other rules permit.
8. Once shotgun has been called the driver has the option to reload. A driver can use this to void all previous shotgun calls. It is especially useful in the event the driver doesn’t like the person that won the call. Keep in mind, a shotgun only hold two shots.
9. If there are multiple passengers then after shotgun has been called you can effectively call back left, back right ect. Essentially this leaves the slowest person with the middle seat.
10. If the owner of the car is drunk or for some other reason chooses not to drive, then he/she is automatically given shotgun.
11. Shotgun overrules “baggsies”, “dibbs”, “calling” it and any other slang version of the official calling of shotgun.
12. If the rightful caller of shotgun pulls the door too soon and jams the lock requiring the driver to unlock it again they forfeit all rights to shotgun.
13. However a driver’s girlfriend/boyfriend is not required to call shotgun.
14. Women do not automatically get shotgun, as men and women are created equal.
15. When riding in a two or three door car, it is the responsibility of the shotgun caller to allow them to crawl in on their side, and open any door that is not able to be opened by the passengers in the back.

Like I said there are tons of different rules for calling shotgun, but these were the ones I found to be the most commonly known, and most basic needed to understand the calling of shotgun. There are also a few I don’t agree with such as the person sitting shotgun receives a speeding ticket if they fail to spot a police car. I omitted the ones I thought to be unfair or just plain stupid. Any funny stories out there about a shotgun call?

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