First, don’t read the replies to this thread. Post what you think are the rules regarding four way stops. In the spoiler box below, I’ll type the rule according the to State of Oregon, as taken from the Oregon Driver Manual.
Then, if you wish, you can discuss if your state has different rules, or if you were taught different rules, etc. I’d like to read your interpretation of the rule I’m quoting. Am I wrong?
[spoiler]From the manual: “At any intersection with stop signs in all four directions, it is common courtesy to allow the driver who stops first to go first. If in doubt, yield to the driver on your right. The important thing to remember is to be careful. To avoid the risk of a crash, never insist on the right of way; be a courteous driver.”
My interpretation is cars take turns depending on who got there first. If the driver to my left arrived first, I arrived second, the driver opposite me arrived third, and the driver to my right arrived fourth, first the driver to my left goes, then I go, then the driver opposite me goes, then the driver to my right. If two or more cars arrived at the same time, yield to the car to the right.
I’m not sure what most people think the rule is, but “Me first, always” seems to be the rule in Portland. That happens far more than no one knowing and just sitting there, but that seems to be the second rule.[/spoiler]
(I searched this topic twice; each time the search function didn’t work, so I hope this hasn’t been done to death.)
FIFO. The answer regarding who goes first in the event of simulataneous stops is not “the driver on the right.” What happens if four cars each come to a stop at precisely the same time? Who’s on the right? Use common sense. Make eye contact and don’t be an ass.
Without reading: Come to a complete stop, and proceed when it is safe to do so. Wait for cars that arrived before you if they may conflict with your desired direction. If multiple cars arrive at once, the one to the right of the others goes first, then the one to his left, etc. If only two cars arrive simultaneously, and from opposite directions, there is only a conflict if one is turning left, and the other isn’t. In that case, the one turning left waits for the other.
ETA for Jake Jones: If four cars arrive simultaneously, all must stay there forever. Sorry.
It’s real, because an informal survey amongst people I know revealed that most people don’t know what the rule is. After discussing, I realized I wouldn’t have been able to make a bet on it, either, so I looked it up. I’m curious how many people here know.
Whoever gets there first goes first. The way I look at it is that four way stops should alternate directions, with those turning yielding right-of-way to those who are going straight. So, the east-west street goes, then the north-south, etc etc. This includes turns. Let’s say I’m turning left and the car opposite me is going straight. I pull into the intersection and turn after the other car clears my way. This seems to make things go faster in busy intersections.
Whoever gets there first goes first, generally. If two or more cars arrive at the same time, the one farthest to the right goes first, then on around the intersection in order. If the intersection is just jammed all the way around, you just keep taking turns. That’s the way I learned it.
Lately, though, at least around here, it seems that when the intersection is jammed all four ways, people do more like the traffic signal model, with the first cars from opposing directions crossing at the same time, then the ones from the other two ways. So N and S would cross, then E and W. It works pretty well, even if it isn’t strictly proper.
Forgot to say, if four drivers arrive at the same time, the one coming from the east goes first. That’s the way I was taught. It never works that way.
First person there stops, then proceeds. Everyone else goes in order of arrival. Simultaneous arrivals nod and wave at each other in a positive orgy of politeness (1) until someone snaps and proceeds, while making the ''Thanks you, I’m so rude, but I must take my wife to the delivery room" grimace. If there are any bikes around, there is the obligatory near-running down of the cyclist as well (2).
1 Actually this is more common in Newfoundland, Canada, where I’ve occasionally stopped traffic by looking as though I might conceivably wish to someday cross the street.
2 This is more common in Vancouver, where cyclists take no crap, to the point of throwing themselves in front of cars that actually have right of way. Cyclists in Newfoundland weirdly get no respect at all, and are pretty much given the consideration commonly reserved for imaginary friends.
Without reading OP’s spoiler or anyone else’s replies:
a) If you come to a complete stop and no one is at the intersection from any of the other three intersecting branches, you can proceed (of course).
b) If you come to a complete stop and someone else IS at the intersection: if they are on your right, THEY have the right-of way and get to proceed first; if they are on your left, YOU have the right-of-way and get to proceed first. If the other person is directly across from you, you can proceed simultaneously, assuming neither of you wants to make a left turn.
c) If you come to a complete stop and there is a vehicle directly in front of you AND other vehicles at other intersecting branches, one car at a time can go through, as per the rules outlined in b above; the vehicle behind must allow the other vehicles that were at the intersection as of the time the vehicle in front of them got there to proceed first.
d) If you come to a complete stop and there are vehicles at all three of the other intersecting branches, and no one got there after any of the others, none of the vehicles may proceed until the others have gone through the intersection
It’s pretty simple. The car who approaches the intersection first has the right of way. If two, or more, cars approach the intersection at the same time, then the car on the right has the right of way. It’s very unlikely that 4 cars arrive simultaneously, and if they do then a hand gesture may be in order. Otherwise my rules above are the defacto standard for 4-way stops. And I really wish the other morons could clue in.
The spoiler box is exactly the rules that I use. I have never notice the “me first” phenomena in anywhere that I have lived after I became a driver. (NY, FL, GA, TN, MS, MO)
I don’t know what Missouri’s laws are, but I expect they are similar to OR.
Every vehicle that comes to a 4-way stop must stop.
If one vehicle arrives before another vehicle, that vehicle has the right-of-way to go first, after coming to a full stop.
If two vehicles arrive at the same time, and both are going straight (and in conflicting directions) the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way to go first.
If two vehicles arrive at the same time, and one is going straight and the other is turning, the vehicle going straight has the right of way.
If more than two vehicles arrive at the same time, good luck.
I learned to drive in Oregon. What do I win?
Roddy
When approaching a four-way stop, a driver must come to a complete stop. Once you have made a complete stop, the first driver to stop is the first to proceed. If two drivers finish stopping at the same time, the driver on the right goes first (right-of-way).
If you actually do this in real life, you are being a bad driver. Bad drivers are the ones who don’t use the proper rules of driving, which everyone should be using. When you don’t use the same rules, you become unpredictable, and that is bad.
In Calgary, four-way stops are free-for-alls because no one stops for stop signs (or right turns on red lights, but that’s not important right now). It’s hard to tell who stopped first when no one actually stops. :mad:
God, yes. PLEASE stop “trying to be nice” and follow the damned rules. The reason I’m not going is because it’s your damned turn, and I’m waiting for you. I figure the reason you aren’t going is because you’re regarding your navel, and you will come back to us at any moment and plow into me if I go ahead and go. Take your proper turn like you learned when you were 15, please.
This is why there should be mandatory retesting every 5 years when licenses come up for renewal.
“The one coming from the east goes first”, please.:rolleyes: Didn’t you read the driver’s manual that your state/province puts out before you took the written test?
