Let’s talk for a second about stop signs. First, I’m going to address four way stops. When you roll up to a four way stop, and there are other cars around, which ever car got there first gets to go first. If the car that got there first is going straight, and you are turning right, you can go ahead and turn right before the person across from you turns left, because the driver turning left has to wait on the driver going straight. And, from what I understand, if you all roll up at the same time, the driver going straight has the right away, then the driver turning right, the then driver turning left. Left always goes last if everything else is equal, and straight always goes first. Please STOP me if you learned something different. (haha, I’m so punny).
Now let’s talk about two way stops, where there is a busy road, and you are on a smaller road, either trying to cross the busy road or turn onto the busy road from the smaller road. The rules are basically the same, but sort of different because you are trying to not get killed by oncoming traffic on busy road. What makes sense to me, and what seems the most safe in my experience, is that if you are sitting at the stop sign, and there is another car sitting at the stop sign on the other side of the busy street, REGARDLESS of who got there first – the person turning right is probably going to go when ever it wants – and not worry too much about the other car, because they only need one lane to be clear to turn. But if one car is going straight across busy road, and one car is turning left onto busy road, the car going straight should go first. Then the car going left can turn.
Obviously, if there are lots of cars in line, and all the cars on one side are going straight and all the cars on the other are turning left, they should take turns, straight, left, straight, left, etc.
But lately I’ve been thinking that maybe I have this theory wrong. Because every time I try to give the person going straight the right of way, they sit there like I’m stupid and wave to me to go ahead and go, which seems dangerous because sometimes I react to their waving by assuming the coast is clear, when really it isn’t.
Was I taught wrong? Or is the world just full of terrible drivers?
the thin line between optimism and delusion... 