The term “Shotgun” refers to the front passenger seat of an automobile. “Calling Shotgun” is the act of claiming the position of Shotgun for one’s self. As this position is the most coveted of all positions when riding in a car, the following list of rules has been created to ensure that Shotgun can be acquired in a fair and equitable manner by any passenger of an automobile.
- You Must Say The Word “Shotgun”
- The Deed Must Be Done Before Shotgun May Be Called
- You Must Be Outside To Call Shotgun
- The Barefoot Rule
Since you must be outside to call Shotgun, some people will just grab their shoes, jump outside, and call Shotgun before putting their shoes on. This has been deemed “gaping“, and is not a legal procedure. You must have your shoes on, if you choose to wear any, before you may call Shotgun. - The Re-entry Rule
If you call Shotgun and then go back inside for some reason, you must re-call Shotgun after leaving. After you have re-entered the building, Shotgun is once again fair game to all.
In the situation of the deed being a hike or other extensive outdoor activity, you may not call Shotgun until the automobile is within your sight. This rule needs only to be used when the passengers are outside for a long time and have traveled long distances from the car, as with a day of snow skiing.
That might be overthinking it a little.
“The Deed Must Be Done Before Shotgun May Be Called
You Must Be Outside To Call Shotgun”
How is it that “the deed” be done before you call shotgun, yet you must also not be in the shotgun position *before* you can call it?
Good grief. My kids go through all that all the time. Then they are disappointed to find that both parents will be riding in the car, and that means I automatically get the best seat.
Yep, for the first time in 20 years, I’m not doing all the driving!
IKnowItAll,
If you had read the “details” you’d have learned that “the deed” refers to whatever you were doing before you headed for the car. In other words you can’t call shotgun when you get out of the car (for the next leg of the trip) when you go in some place to eat …. until after you’ve eaten and are on your way back to the car. Probably should change your name because you dn’t KnowItAll.
I don’t know about these “Official” rules. You wave this sort thing around and not only will you get laughed at, but you might just lose enough credibility that your buddies might not have room for Mr-Official-rules-for-calling-shotgun in the car. “Hey I adhered to the OFFICIAL rules of calling shotgun and I get shotgun since you violated the rules”. “That so? Well first of all I don’t care about your Official rules, if that’s a problem, go complain to the UN (They’re on Twitter!) Secondly, get yer ass in the back seat, because I called shotgun when the road trip was announced. Which as far as I know, that’s when shotgun gets called, inside or out.
Of course the return leg of any trip it would make sense to wait until you’re outside, but even then, if you went out for dinner and when dinner was over, someone will say something like: “so, are we all done? let’s go”. You could still be sitting at the table and someone could say: “shotgun”. I am reading way to much into this…I think that’s why I like taking my car most of the time, I don’t have to worry about the shotgun spot.
Jonco– you should probably change your name to “head up my own ass with no gainful employment”.
Give your blow-up doll my regards.