“Shotgun is this rule that applies to…um, basically, to ensure that you get to ride shotgun in a car, meaning the passenger seat right next to the driver uh you have to yell ‘Shotgun’ but there are some rules I think. Me and my brother, we usually, um, we agree that the car has to be in sight before you can yell ‘Shotgun’ and uh…also I think there are other things you can call out depending on where you want to sit in the car. I’m not sure what the other ones are but I think there’s ones for if you wanna sit behind the driver, behind the passenger, or if you wanna sit in the middle…um, I don’t know, I think it’s just the extension of the Shotgun Rule. I know each of them has a specific name but it’s not as common as yelling Shotgun. Although, now that my brother’s gotten way more stronger than I am, the rules no longer seem to apply. Even if I call Shotgun he will push me out of the way and steal the seat. As to how this rule got started…I think maybe, maybe, back to the olden days… when um, as people, as frontiers were moving west, the person who would sit in the carriage next to the driver would literally have a shotgun in his hand to defend the driver. I think it’s a pretty fair way to decide who gets the best seat in the car. It’s the best seat in the car ‘cause you get to control the A/C, and the radio, you’re not crammed in the back…you get your space up in the front there. I think it’s a good basic rule…I know me and my brother we tried to implement new rules but it never really stuck and I can’t remember what they were.”

This Shotgun Rule is effective and fair because it’s simple enough for people to remember the rules (you just need to be the first person to call “Shotgun”). The passenger seat next to the driver is the privileged seat because, as Shushan mentioned, you gain the same access and privileges to the A/C and audio controls as the driver and you get your seat and your own personal space whereas the people in the back seats have to share their space. Additionally, you get the same front view as the driver as well as the side view from the window so you can see more of what’s outside.