Driving Protips: Four-way Stop Edition

[GeekDrew]

Uh yes. Flashing yellow means you have the right of way. Traffic going perpendicular to you will have a flashing red light which is the same as a stop sign. They stop. You don't.

No shit. I didn't say that you don't have the right of way.

I *did* indicate that you shouldn't maintain full speed. I've seen a _LOT_ of wrecks happen that way -- an intersection close to my office is full-time flashing red for N-S and yellow for E-W. I've lost count of the accidents that have happened there in the last few years.

 

[jupiter57]

i thought the one with the most expensive car went first?

biggest

Fastest.

Around here, it is the one in the biggest hurry.
Which is typically the one with the handicap tag, headed to the coffee shop to drink free coffee & shoot the sh*t with the rest of the non-working crowd for a few hours.

 

[ShawnD1]

No shit. I didn't say that you don't have the right of way.

I *did* indicate that you shouldn't maintain full speed. I've seen a _LOT_ of wrecks happen that way -- an intersection close to my office is full-time flashing red for N-S and yellow for E-W. I've lost count of the accidents that have happened there in the last few years.

I guess the response should depend on what you're driving. On a motorcycle, be ready to stop or do something crazy to avoid being hit. In a Ford F350, don't bother slowing down. Whoever runs the red will die when you hit them.

 

[BornStar]

I get frustrated by the people that speed up to a four way stop perpendicular to the direction I'm going. They aren't saving themselves any time because I'm just going to creep until I'm certain they actually see the stop sign and are going to stop. I'm not risking getting hit by some idiot that isn't paying attention with my daughter in the back seat.

 

[ShawnD1]

I get frustrated by the people that speed up to a four way stop perpendicular to the direction I'm going. They aren't saving themselves any time because I'm just going to creep until I'm certain they actually see the stop sign and are going to stop. I'm not risking getting hit by some idiot that isn't paying attention with my daughter in the back seat.

Same deal with crossing as a pedestrian. If you race up to the pedestrian crossing, it will take longer for me to cross! I'm not going to walk onto the road until I'm reasonably certain people are going to stop.

 

[Ichinisan]

I'm supposed to slow down just in case someone runs the equivalent of a stop sign? wtf? Using that logic I should also slow down for green lights just in case someone blows through the red.

Ironically something like that actually did happen to me. I was on the highway. A guy on a side road ran a stop sign and hit my car. The car was written off and nobody was hurt but I still maintain that it's unreasonable to act paranoid all the time just in case people do crazy things like run stops signs or enter the traffic circle without looking.

You're saying that all flashing yellow lights should be green? Then why aren't they?

 

[OverVolt]

I love watching antics when there's a flashing red light. People usually stop and then as soon as the crosswalk is clear, half a dozen cars roll through even though it's still flashing. In the rare event there's a cop present, no one moves until the cop moves. I think they enjoy the luls too because they tend to sit there even though the crosswalk has been clear for 10 seconds or more. Of course, this being Tucson, the cops may not know what a flashing red light means either.

It's a FREAKING Stop sign people!

Nah when the power went out many lights went to flashing red. I preferred to just run the light en-masse with everyone else, you'd be surprised how much faster the drive was in the city where it was a free for all.

Now in the suburbs where I was going, everyone was treating main intersections like stop signs. Do you know the result? Side streets got MASSIVE priority, one guy would show up from a side street and be let go, meanwhile 50 people were waiting per lane per light on the main street. I decided to just go left-right-left-right-left-right zig-zagging between two main streets using the side streets every block and probably literally cut off 300 cars. Many lols to be had. Everyone was trying to be so courteous but it just resulted in a disaster.

In reality someone trying to make a left hand turn across 4 lanes of a major traffic artery while the lights were out should have been left to sit there and eat dirt.

 

[DCal430]

Here we have a light intersection with a flashing yellow for those going north and south, and flashing red for those going east and west. However sometimes the flashing yellow will change to SOLID RED and the flashing red will change to SOLID GREEN. You need to pay attention when this happens.

 

[Exterous]

:thumbsup: Not to mention its mass chaos if the power goes out to a signal at a major intersection. Cars just going every which way whenever they want...

I got to experience European city traffic when I went to Italy this summer and my cousin drove us around. Like you said, they would fail horribly on a large scale here in America, but over there they work surprisingly well.

Driving over there is a completely different animal... I could share some good stories.

As much as I hate to admit it people around here did learn how to use a traffic circle although it did take over a year before the vast majority stopped stopping in the middle of the intersection

Now the other one at the highway exit is another story (most likely because its not a smaller group of locales that eventually can get used to it)

 

[alkemyst]

Nah when the power went out many lights went to flashing red. I preferred to just run the light en-masse with everyone else, you'd be surprised how much faster the drive was in the city where it was a free for all.

Now in the suburbs where I was going, everyone was treating main intersections like stop signs. Do you know the result? Side streets got MASSIVE priority, one guy would show up from a side street and be let go, meanwhile 50 people were waiting per lane per light on the main street. I decided to just go left-right-left-right-left-right zig-zagging between two main streets using the side streets every block and probably literally cut off 300 cars. Many lols to be had. Everyone was trying to be so courteous but it just resulted in a disaster.

In reality someone trying to make a left hand turn across 4 lanes of a major traffic artery while the lights were out should have been left to sit there and eat dirt.

This is proof in an global catastrophe we are all going to be fucked not by the event, but by our fellow man. We have had a lot of lights out due to hurricanes. Fuck whatever everyone else is doing. I am going to stop at my flashing red and then go my turn. You can bet though if someone trys to 'cut' I am blocking them.

 

[Nebor]

I hate 4 way stops. But traffic circles are even worse. They put a giant one (with exits) in Alexandria, Louisiana, and it's a death trap. Wrecks nearly every day. Americans aren't smart enough to operate traffic circles.

 

[alkemyst]

I hate 4 way stops. But traffic circles are even worse. They put a giant one (with exits) in Alexandria, Louisiana, and it's a death trap. Wrecks nearly every day. Americans aren't smart enough to operate traffic circles.

At least in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama probably.

 

[FancyTurtle]

Why does everyone's IQ drop into single digits when they come up to a four-way stop? The one busy one in my town is basically a 24/7 game of vehicular chicken. I've lost count of the number of times that I've almost gotten demolished by Suburban Jane and her Land Cruiser because she can't figure out what to do when the number of stop signs goes above 1.

PROTIP: Four-way stops are your friend. Here's what you do when you come to one:

1) If you arrived to a stop sign first, you get to go first. If you arrive second, then you go second. You can (hopefully) do the rest of the math.

2) If you arrive at the same time as another person, yield to the right. It's the right thing to do.

This public service announcement brought to you by Xanis' Middle Finger and the Citizens Who Can Actually Drive Association.

Driving is for stupid people; we 1% have drivers.

 

[ElFenix]

I'm supposed to slow down just in case someone runs the equivalent of a stop sign? wtf?

no, not run it. enter when they shouldn't. proceed with caution, not drive along like there's just some regular non-signaled cross street.

 

[Nebor]

At least in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama probably.

Easily the worst, most useless states in the country. I wish they'd all slide off into the Gulf of Mexico. Preferably while I'm in Texas.

 

[Lithium381]

This is probably the concept that escapes most drivers.... it's a mad house if a light goes out.... especially if there are designated turn lanes and it's basically just a cluster

 

[xanis]

This is probably the concept that escapes most drivers.... it's a mad house if a light goes out.... especially if there are designated turn lanes and it's basically just a cluster

People around here like to straddle the turn lanes and block 2 lanes of traffic trying to make a turn, so I can't imagine the horror of adding non-working traffic lights to the mix.