Riding shotgun

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To ride shotgun is to sit in the front passenger seat when riding a car or other vehicle in the United States, Canada and Australia. It is also refered to in several countries in Europe such as Germany, Iceland and the United Kingdom, and other English speaking countries such as South Africa and Australia. In contemporary tradition, in order to claim that seat, one must "call shotgun" according to some set of informal rules. To call shotgun is, at minimum, to yell out "shotgun" while approaching the vehicle. Today, many automobile passengers consider the front passenger seat preferable to riding in rear seats due largely to greater control over leg room, an unobstructed view of the road in front, and better access to the vehicle's audio and air conditioning systems, not to mention easier entry and exit from the vehicle. In addition, some passengers find that riding in the front seat will reduce car sickness. There is also a tradition in family life that the adults sit in front, the kids in the back; hence sitting shotgun includes you with the adults. The first known reference to "riding shotgun" in print occurred on 27 March 1921, and the first use of the phrase in print to refer to automobiles occurred in 1954 when the TV series Gunsmoke became extremely popular, and used the terminology of riding shotgun nearly weekly.^[1]

Origin

The term stems from the old stagecoaches used in the US and UK. The seat next to the driver was used by an armed man to defend the coach against highwaymen and other robbers. This armed man carried a shotgun.