So I pull up to a 4-way stop, single lanes all around. There is one car in front of me. He goes, then the cross traffic goes across. Then I start to go straight, and the little blond teenage bitch in the red convertible starts to turn in front of me! She’s supposed to yield to me, I am going straight. She shoots ME the bird! Dumbass. I went anyway, and made her wait like she’s supposed to.
Just who the hell does she think she is, anyway? Hmmph.
Hey, you’re in Houston, where driving is not just a experience, it requires massive firepower as well.
I think the same little dumbass cut me off the other day by sailing through a solid red light at Westheimer and Beltway 8. I need a new car, but I don’t propose getting one because the old one was t-boned by somebody driving with their head up their ass.
You’re not kidding. We need rotating necks like Regan in The Exorcist just to watch out for the other guy.
I’m not paranoid, they really ARE out to get me!
And I got a flat tire night before last. From a construction zone! All of Houston is a construction zone. At least it wasn’t on the 6-minutes-or-tow freeway…
Do what I did. Buy a surplus M1A1 tank. It’s true that the mileage sucks, and unless you carpool, you won’t be able to operate the turret, but it more than makes up for it in peace of mind.
Four-way stops get on my nerves. If nobody actually stops, how do we determine who goes first?
Probably she’s the one with the right of way, unless she arrived after the guy in front of you left – or is there something you left out?
**The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard, but said driver, having so yielded and having given a signal when and as required by this section, may make such left turn and the drivers of all other vehicle approaching the intersection from said opposite direction shall yield right-of-way to the vehicle making the turn. (1985 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 10, Section 10B) **
With cross traffic just having passed, the left-turning driver (red convertible) should have yielded to Dolores.
Wait a second - the above is not referring to a four-way stop. In a four way stop, whoever gets there first gets to go first. Straight, left, no matter. If it’s a tie, the person to the right goes first. If the person ahead of you goes, it’s never your turn next. It’s the turn of someone in another lane. The above has to refer to a green light with no arrow or an unguided intersection. No vehicle that’s “approaching” a four-way stop has the right of way of one that’s already there who’s the first in line in his lane. Dolores didn’t have the right of way, unless there’s something I’m missing. Am I missing something?
I think another car went straight as well, when the guy in front of me did. It’s been several hours now, and my mind is not as sharp as it once was in my youth. Even so, she lost her place in line if she didn’t turn left before the cross traffic went (after the car in front of me went straight.) How am I supposed to know she didn’t go when it was her turn?
There were lots of cars on her side of the intersection, a long line, so I think she was just impatient.
Not so. If her car was already stopped at the intersection while you were still moving, then she had the right-of-way. If that was the case, then you’re the one who cut her off.
Doesn’t matter. Her turn could have been several dozen rotations back. As long as she was already stopped when you arrived, then you should have waited for her to go. If she showed no sign of moving after several moments, then it would be reasonable for you to proceed with caution (although a headlight flash from you to indicate that she should go would be appropriate before going yourself).
People,People,People…
Lets all close our eyes,relax, find a happy place and try to think back to when driving a car was a fun thing to do.
tesseract, that was the closest regulation I could find but it may be more a reflection of my lackluster Googling abilities than any real statute. Here’s something else I came across and while it is but an interpretation, it would at least appear to be one grounded in an honest effort.
“There are, unfortunately, no specific laws regarding who goes first at an all-way stop. The only applicable law states that drivers must stop and may enter the intersection only when it is safe to do so (§545.151). This law leaves the right-of-way assignment up to the drivers. So there is a widely accepted convention that most drivers use to remove the guesswork. Basically, it’s first-come, first-served. Implementing it is easy: when you stop at an all-way stop, look around and see who’s already stopped. When they’re all gone, it’s your turn! If two or more people get there at the same time, then the person farthest to the right should go first, and it should follow clockwise from there.”
For myself, If I’m turning left at a four way I’ll always yield to someone coming straight thru. It just always seemed like the sensible thing to do, especially if lines have developed and everyone’s collective and accurate recollection of the exact order of arrival is reasonably in doubt.
Miss red convertible might not have been guilty of an actual legal infraction but I too would view her judgement and haughtyness deserving of some modicum of scorn.
Thanks, **Lieu[/b.] That’s it in a nutshell. Convention dictates whose turn it is, and it was my turn. And she shouldn’t have given me the finger no matter what. I reserve that for near-death close calls due to blatant stupidity. 
With a lot of horn.