# Junction without any traffic lights/and signs safer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127 "2013-05-23T15:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127/21 "2013-05-24T12:07:46Z")
I think the way to ensure road safety is to outlaw driver seat belts, and install a 6" long spike into the middle of all steering wheels. This will ensure safer driving. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127/22 "2013-05-24T16:03:53Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > That’s not a problem of red lights. That’s a problem of badly designed red lights or red lights that actively violate guidelines. Not at all comparable. That’s a different issue. Many towns and cities that have red light cameras have come to depend on them as a revenue source. More than a few of these localities have taken the highly unethical step of trying to rig the system to increase the number of people who run red lights (and get tickets for it). The main way to do this is to shorten the yellow time. Of course, once word gets out that they’re doing this, people adapt by being quicker to stomp on the brakes the very picosecond the light turns yellow. This results many more rear-end collisions due to the guy behind who wasn’t expecting the car in front of him to drop the anchor like that. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127/23 "2013-05-24T16:17:18Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I live in a suburb where almost all intersections are 4-way stops. Not only does this practice increase pollution, but it is dangerous. At the few intersections that are stops in only two directions, the cars that stop assume it is a stop in the other direction as well and barrel through just slowing down as everyone does at the 4-way stops. I don’t know but I would be surprised if there have been no accidents caused by this. What I would do if I were a traffic engineer (I have discussed this with my son who is), I would replace the 4-way stops by yield signs and leave the regular 2-ways stops. I have to agree about 4-way stops. They mainly just make the intersection inconvenient for _everyone_, instead of just the people on one road or the other. 2-way stops and yield signs (depending on the level of traffic) work much better in practice. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127/24 "2013-05-24T22:37:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I live in a suburb where almost all intersections are 4-way stops. Not only does this practice increase pollution, but it is dangerous. At the few intersections that are stops in only two directions, the cars that stop assume it is a stop in the other direction as well and barrel through just slowing down as everyone does at the 4-way stops. I don’t know but I would be surprised if there have been no accidents caused by this. What I would do if I were a traffic engineer (I have discussed this with my son who is), I would replace the 4-way stops by yield signs and leave the regular 2-ways stops. My town has a three-way stop at one intersection. The non-stopping side is on a steep hill, so I understand not having a stop sign there, but I don’t know why they decided to have the opposite side stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junction-without-any-traffic-lights-and-signs-safer/659127.md?page=1)