The Seemingly Hard to Understand 4-Way Stop

Since I started writing this blog, I’ve had a lot of people ask that I write on the subject of the 4-way stop. Apparently, there is a collective belief that people don’t seem to know what the heck to do when faced with one.

I’m here to help.

The simple rule is this: “Automobiles leave the stop sign or traffic light in the same order in which they arrived at the stop.”

Let’s assume it’s a busy intersection and there are lots of cars lined up at each one of the four stop signs.

First off, you are taking turns – all four of you. TAKING TURNS.

So, car A (first one to reach the 4-way stop) goes, then car B (the second person to have reached the 4-way stop) goes, and the same for cars C and D. If you are behind car A, YOU DON’T GET TO GO UNTIL B, C, and D HAVE ALL GONE.

Same for car B. If you are behind car B, you don’t get to go until C, D and A have all gone.

Last person to reach the 4-way stop is the LAST PERSON TO GO!

Here is a boring, but informative, video on how this all works:

And here’s a nifty, short video:

What happens if you and another car arrive at your respective stop signs at the same time?

The driver’s manual says: “You should yield the right-of-way to the driver on your right at a four-way intersection controlled by stop signs.”

You can also just let the other car go. #courtesy

The problem arises when a doofus completely ignores the rule.

via GIPHY

Someone who either wasn’t paying attention to the order in which he arrived or simply doesn’t care, disrupts the whole system, infuriates other drivers like me and risks causing an accident…