4 way stops and other mysteries

Have the rules changed? As far as a quick Wiki search they haven't.

A motorist approaching an all-way stop is always required to come to a full stop before the crosswalk or stop line. In most jurisdictions that use all-way stops, pedestrians always have priority at a crosswalk, even if the crosswalk is not delineated with pavement markings. Within some U.S. jurisdictions, such as the state of Idaho, bicyclists are exempt from the need to make a complete stop,[citation needed] but must give way to other vehicles as otherwise required by law. After a full-stop has been made, vehicles usually have the right-of-way to proceed through the intersection in the order that they arrived at the intersection. In the United States, if vehicles arrive at approximately the same time, each driver must yield to the drivers on their right,[citation needed] while in South Africa drivers must use common sense and make eye contact and gestures.[citation needed] Some areas have additional formal and informal rules which may or may not include special procedures for when all stop signs are approached simultaneously.

I routinely get waved through, a nicety but when I'm the last to arrive and the other drivers are just staring at me like "now what?" I'm thinking it's a 4 way stop you were here first, you were in the process of going through the intersection then stop midway and stare at me.

I'm stopping or stopped. 

Why??? 

These are side streets usually not main thru streets or downtown.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on March 11, 2017 at 10:46am

And they are used to bicycle riders blowing through so afraid to proceed.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on March 11, 2017 at 1:22pm

Not necessarily. Riders who "blow through" stops usually don't survive long enough to become commonplace.

i think it's more often the case that they've come to believe -through reading all the anti-cyclist screeds they've seen in the Tribune and other places- that cyclists don't ever stop.

Now, just this year alone when i've been out on the bike, i've seen at least a dozen cars blow though stop signs (and some signals as well)  without even a hint of brake lights.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on March 13, 2017 at 2:35am

I see riders blow through stop signs all the time, so I suspect there are enough of them surviving that drivers often see this and react accordingly. ;)

Permalink Reply by mike w. on March 11, 2017 at 1:28pm

i get the feeling that 4-way stop protocol is no longer taught in drivers' ed...

i also get the feeling that if the state began randomly stopping drivers and having them take a mandatory driving test would produce a 75-90% failure rate.

When i'm out cycling or driving, i just assume that a large number of the drivers around me are unlicensed and/or uninsured, judging from the behaviour i witness.

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on March 11, 2017 at 6:58pm

No just driving distracted, texting, trying to figure out how to parallel park an SUV.

But... in several situations today I was in line or the last to approach the intersection and they either didn't know what to do or didn't know where to go.

I realize that riding "fixed" may look confusing as I pedal to stop but riding free wheel or fixed once my foot is on the ground it should seem apparent that I'm no longer in a forward motion and in the 25 seconds you were waiting for me to get to the crosswalk stop line you could have just gone straight...oh wait you had no signal on and were going to turn left.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on March 13, 2017 at 5:40am
I've entirely given up on trying to understand and explain the behaviors of most humans.
Especially drivers.

This is where you just go through the 4-way no matter how considerate/polite/law abiding you want to be that day.
You have just had an encounter with some 'bewildered drivers' unaware and fearful of the predictability of a certain type of road user, 'the cyclist'.
It's free pass time, you nod (or scowl) and go quickly and just accept the fact that the next encounter with drivers in a similar situation could be totally different. . . .

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