4-way stops

Alright, kids, it’s time to learn how to navigate an intersection with a 4-way stop. I know, I know, it’s totally easy and YOU know how to do it. Then why is that almost every time I come to a 4-way stop, it consists of a bunch of idiots staring at each other, hoping some other car knows what to do? Two phrases I say to make myself laugh instead of pulling out a gat and going apeshit (not really) are “Is someone waiting for a sign from god?” and “What is this, a MENSA convention?” Yeah, I know, I’m pretty witty.

First things first: a 4-way stop is an intersection where traffic from all four directions has a stop sign or blinking red light. You should have the alertness to determine the nature of an intersection before you get to it. You do this by looking and planning ahead. In Portland, where whoever designed the intersections had a death wish for motor vehicle drivers (they think “bike safe” is the same as “car unsafe” here), the 4-way intersection stop signs don’t generally say “All Ways” under them like they do in the other states I’ve lived in.

At a 4-way intersection, the largest number of cars you should ever have to wait for before it’s your turn to go is THREE, and it will usually be less. I have watched cars (in my rear-view mirror) let 8-10 cars pass through the intersection before they go. There is no reason or excuse for this whatsoever.

One major misconception at a 4-way stop is that you always have to yield for cars that came to a stop before you. This is incorrect! You only need to yield for cars that stopped before you if your route and their route will cross in the intersection. The only time you’ll ever have to yield for a car across from you is if one of you is going straight and the other is turning left. (Not to muddy the waters, but if you are in this situation at an intersection where neither of you has a stop sign, the car turning left must yield to the car going straight even if that car got there first.) You only have to yield to the car on your left if it is going straight or if it is turning left and you aren’t turning right. You have to yield to a car on your right if you aren’t turning right unless it is turning right and you are turning left. In all other cases, you can just fucking go!

Next, let me explain to you the elusive notion of “right of way.” All this means is that, if you stopped at the same time as a car whose path you will cross in the intersection, the car on your right gets to go first, or if the car is across from you, the car going straight (i.e. not the car turning left). Also, in Oregon pedestrians always have the right of way. (Personally, I think pedestrians should be wary enough of cars to at least look both ways before crossing the street and hurrying the fuck up while doing so.)

You should never yield for anybody who stopped at the intersection after you. Don’t try to be polite and wave someone through out of turn. You are fucking up the whole process and making all traffic slow down unnecessarily. Just follow the goddamn rules.

Finally (although frankly I’m not sure about the law’s opinion on this), it is perfectly safe and encouraged by me to utilize the “screen.” Any of you who have ever played organized basketball should understand this concept. If the progression of traffic makes it impossible for a car you would otherwise have to yield to to move, you can go ahead and go out of turn if it is still possible for you to do so. For example, if a car across from you is going straight and preventing the car on your left from proceeding, you can go ahead and go straight utilizing the screen of the other vehicle even if the car on your left stopped before you. Take the quality and timing of the screen into consideration. A semi will provide a very good screen but a mini-cooper probably won’t provide one at all. If the timing of the screen doesn’t allow for you to come to a full stop and then accelerate across the intersection before it is over then don’t bother. If you missed your chance, don’t try to force the issue by pulling out in front of the car that used to be screened.

Once you’ve committed to crossing the intersection, proceed in a timely fashion. I can’t believe how frequently a car will pull out in front of me and then stop in my way to find out whether I’m going to collide with them or not. Don’t tempt me.

Shockingly, considering how much trouble others seem to have figuring it out, that's all there is to it. One thing that is really helpful at an intersection is USING YOUR TURN SIGNAL! You do this by turning it on before you get to the intersection. Portlanders have an annoying habit of turning on their signal while they turn. Whenever possible, I keep a close watch on the drivers of the other vehicles in order to determine which ones aren't paying any attention whatsoever, don't have a clue what they're doing or are just going to do it wrong. If the other cars are just going to sit there scratching their heads, I will just go ahead and go even if it's their turn. Of course, I am forced to yield to those that just go through the intersection without even looking.