4-way stop. What do YOU do?

[Innocent Bystander]

In the UK there is an old joke - forgive me, I may have told it here before, I'm getting old.

Four vehicles approach a (four entrance) roundabout and stop at the white lines at exactly the same time. They are: a family saloon <insert make of choice here>, a taxi, a BMW (or an SUV) and a motorcycle.
Which goes first?














The first one to stop laughing after the BMW and the taxi collide.

[Joseph E. Smith]

[Redwolf]

Downtown Santa Cruz is all four-way stops. What makes it a pain is that pedestrians will go out of their way to enter an intersection before cars can start to move (even cutting corners or running to get there before the stopped car can start to roll, so they can power trip the poor driver). That's technically not legal (cars are required to yield to pedestrians already in crosswalks, but not to remain stopped until every pedestrian in sight has exercised his option to cross the street)...it's actually "impeding traffic" from a legal standpoint, but I have yet to see a pedestrian ticketed for it. Consequently, you see a lot more "roll through" stops in downtown Santa Cruz than you do elsewhere around here...sometimes it's the only way you can get through at all, especially on Farmers Market night or when there's a major concert in town!

Redwolf

[emmline]

What the heck, in UK speak, is a saloon?
'Round these parts, it's the pub with the swinging door that you bust through in a black cowboy hat. Then you order sarsparilla. In a dirty glass.

[BigDavy]

What the heck, in UK speak, is a saloon?
'Round these parts, it's the pub with the swinging door that you bust through in a black cowboy hat. Then you order sarsparilla. In a dirty glass.

Hi emmline

A saloon is a sedan in US speak

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saloon_car

David

[emmline]

Thanks Davy. I trust they don't come with swinging doors in the UK.

[mutepointe]

Downtown Santa Cruz is all four-way stops. What makes it a pain is that pedestrians will go out of their way to enter an intersection before cars can start to move (even cutting corners or running to get there before the stopped car can start to roll, so they can power trip the poor driver). That's technically not legal (cars are required to yield to pedestrians already in crosswalks, but not to remain stopped until every pedestrian in sight has exercised his option to cross the street)...it's actually "impeding traffic" from a legal standpoint, but I have yet to see a pedestrian ticketed for it. Consequently, you see a lot more "roll through" stops in downtown Santa Cruz than you do elsewhere around here...sometimes it's the only way you can get through at all, especially on Farmers Market night or when there's a major concert in town!

Redwolf

dear redwolf: the "roll through" stop in known as a "hollywood" or "california" stop here in west virginia.

[Miwokhill]

This reminds me of the question 'What do you call someone who only looks one way before crossing a one-way street?' A. An optimist.

[Walden]

4-way stop? I wish the other guys would just go on, instead of waving each other on, all day.

[Daniel_Bingamon]

In Texas, the car to the right does not have the right of way. The drivers have to work that out for themselves, though the "right goes first" is supposedly common convention, it's not law. Often it comes down to who's got the testosterone to make a move first....

When I saw the words "In Texas....", I thought you were going to say the the driver with the handgun gets the right-of-way.

[Wanderer]

In Texas, the car to the right does not have the right of way. The drivers have to work that out for themselves, though the "right goes first" is supposedly common convention, it's not law. Often it comes down to who's got the testosterone to make a move first....

When I saw the words "In Texas....", I thought you were going to say the the driver with the handgun gets the right-of-way.

You know, unlike some states (like florida) there's not a whole lot of honking that goes on during rush hour, come to think of it...

[jbarter]

My choice wasn't in the poll. I let the driver worry about things like that.

[Sylvester]

You Englishmen place roundabouts so often in order to laugh at all the rest of left-hand drivers.

Always stop. Police, radars, recording traffic cams and helicopters, conceales for sure around you.

Uh!, it prevent crashes as well...

[SteveShaw]

You Englishmen place roundabouts so often in order to laugh at all the rest of left-hand drivers.

Always stop. Police, radars, recording traffic cams and helicopters, conceales for sure around you.

Uh!, it prevent crashes as well...

Yeah, Sylvester, but what about that huge great scary roundabout you have at the exit of the Santander car ferry terminal! That was the first time I'd ever driven on the right, and I rapidly discovered that you need a computer program to work out what to do at Spanish roundabouts. Talk about a baptism of fire. Luckily for me, the Spanish drivers showed great restraint. I'm told that this is not always the case.

[Tyler]

don't even get me started about 4way stops here in Utah...
Nary a driver knows how to use them...they all wanna go at the same time, cause everybody's gotta be first...grrr.

Oh, and then theres this one light, Susan probably knows about it if she's been out this way much, but there's this one light by my house where traffic zapps through at a constant ten to fifteen over the limit (the limit is already 40mph fer creyin'outloud!!) and always ALWAYS there's one azwipe who's gotta run the light three or four seconds after the red...supergrrrrrrr.