another bloody yank

It must be a little different where I live. If there are 4 cars stopped at once, then everyone does this sort of ritual that consists of starting across, then, finding that everyone is starting across at the same time, hitting your brakes and waving the others across as they are waving you across which leads to all starting at the same time and then braking again, more waving, creeping forward, an Amish guy and his 15 children in a buggy cutting across the grass divider and through someone's front yard to avoid the intersection alltogether, some dickhead behind you honking, your passenger saying "FFS!! SOMEBODY GO!!" Finally someone takes advantage of a pause in the action to blast across and the whole thing is repeated with the remaining three cars until either everyone crosses or just u-turns and goes back home.

Unless one of the vehicles is a combine or other peice of huge ag equipment, then it gets tricky.

Paul S

hold on a mo... That sounds like the realtor we used

hobbes79

Was in a car with a German once trying to explain this. We arrived at a 4-way stop and he just sat there, long after it was clearly his turn to go.

We sit there and I say, "err, you can go". He says "no".

Finally someone honks a horn.

He says "now we go".

I guess that's how he was dealing with every 4-way stop he came to... just waited to hear a horn and then he knew it was his turn!

Rete

Actually I was taught in Driver's Ed the same way your realtor advised you. The person on the right goes first.

However, I no longer do that at a four-way stop sign (which btw is the correct American term)(I thought you were talking a legal issue) and it is who is there the longest that goes first. Causes problems at times but so does driving period.

Have you read up on it in the Texas driver's manual?

Rete

From the wiki online:

Operation
A motorist approaching an all-way stop is always required to come to a full stop. In most jurisdictions that use all-way stops, pedestrians always have priority at a crosswalk, even unmarked ones which exist at every intersection with approximately right angles as the logical continuations of the sidewalks. Bicyclists in some US jurisdictions, such as Idaho, may treat any stop sign as a yield sign. After a full-stop has been made, vehicles usually have the right-of-way to proceed through the intersection in the order that they have stopped at the intersection. In the USA, if vehicles arrive at approximately the same time, each driver must yield to the drivers on their right[2] (4 cars arriving simultaneously is unlikely), while in South Africa drivers must use common sense and gestures. Some areas have additional formal and informal rules which may or may not include special procedures for when all stop signs are approached simultaneously.

BlightyBoy

What do you do at a stop junction? You bore your American spouse with a monologue about how they should have roundabouts, How in Blighty they have big ones and small ones and that a small one would fit here easily and they need to take a leaf out of our book, blah blah. They really should though!

avanutria

A semi-related note - if you ever encounter an intersection with stoplights, but the lights aren't working due to a malfunction or blackout, then you should treat the intersection as if it were a four way stop, and also note that it will probably take a while to get through it, so go back home via a different route.

Also, if you are not in the righthand-most lane then it is useful to keep an eye on the guy to your right, because when he goes straight you can be relatively confident that it's safe to travel in his shadow! Any car on the other road would hit him first...

another bloody yank

Realtors... H&R Block... EDS... you just keep showing the love.

chartreuse

Don't forget lawyers!

ChocolateBabz

This is how I was taught to do it but you will find people coming from the other directions use their brief stop to re-apply makeup, make a phone call, pick their nose, eat sushi, stare into space thus forcing you to make the first move. Of course as soon as you start to accelerate they will too leading to a stalemate halfway across whereupon furious handwaving will ensue followed by horn honking from those behind you.

Of course being from the UK you are allowed to miss stop signs altogether (the who put that bloody thing on a main road rule) or tap breaks briefly at the stop sign before proceeding (the i'm not bloody stopping theres no-one on the bloody road rule). P.S. Both these rules were found in my husband's handbook but no-where in mine!!

MsElui

i find that if the cars arrive at roughly the same time then they all err on the side of caution and me being a London driver waits a nanosecond and then jumps across. they are usually all still stood at the line as im halfway up the road.

CitySimon

All way stop signs were invented for two reasons:

1) Because most Americans (generalisation based entirely on my own limited experiences) have no idea what so ever how to use Roundabouts (having been through Gettysburg I know this to be true)

2) Because it puts the responsibility for any accident on the individual drivers, rather than on the town or highway department.


I got into a discussion with my FIL the other day about all way stop signs. As said before, the idea is that you give way to the right at all times. However, I realised that there is a situation which can occur where NOBODY has right of way...

The situation is unlikely, but still possible. That being that a car arrives from all four directions and comes to a stop at the exact same time... Who then has right of way???

Assuming you are one of the cars, you give way to your right, who gives way to his right, who gives way to his right, who gives way to you... But you are already giving way to your right, so nobody can move. The person who moves first is breaking the law as they did not have right of way.

AdobePinon

Even if you have only two cars opposite each other arrive at the same time, nobody technically has right of way. It does have to be one of the dumbest rules ever written down on paper.

CitySimon

If something is opposite you, and you are both going straight on (or right), you both can go as there is nothing waiting to your right for you to need to give way.

If you are turning left, the car opposite has right of way, just as if you were making any left hand turn on any other road.

Optimus Prime

Alternatively, just by a **** off great SUV and dont give a shit and rely on intimidation like everyone else.