How to negotiate a four-way stop intersection

We have acquired a some new low-volume, high-stress (four-way stop) intersections in our town lately. Until now they have been few and far between. Drivers could still get where they wanted to go by detouring occasionally so as to avoid them.
Suddenly, it is nearly inevitable that you will have to use one of those intersections unless you want to go somewhere by way of Colorado.

One of the problems with four-way stops is that too many of us took Driver’s Ed. too long ago. The other problem is that some of us weren’t paying attention during the four-way stop chapter anyway.

Just so you know, I happen to fall into the first group, not the second. So I got online and looked up the four-way-stop rules in an effort to get up to speed on this one, which is the only reason I am qualified to write about it. So unless you like going to Colorado, here is the missing chapter.

The basic rule of the four-way stop is to pay attention as you approach the intersection because the vehicles go through the intersection in the order they stopped at it. By the way, four-way stop does not mean that you have to wait for three more cars to stop before you can move through the intersection. It’s not rocket science; however, there are a few contingencies which might make it akin to computer programming.

First, the definition of “stop” is: none of your wheels are turning. (“Rolling stop” is an oxymoron that has no place in the lexicon of driving terminology.) That contingency might make it necessary for you to keep one eye on your rearview mirror in case the driver behind you thinks that “rolling stop” is a legitimate maneuver. This condition makes you realize a whole new meaning to the dictum “I got your back,” which in turn makes it difficult to recall which cars arrived at the intersection in which order.

Second, if you see that one of the drivers at the intersection is using a cell phone, you may have to assume that he/she doesn’t know who got to the intersection first either. In that case you may resort to hand-waving which may solve the problem of who goes first. Please note: you may be the type of person who opens the door for football players, but polite isn’t relative here. Do not wait for all of the other cars to go first unless you are sure that you got there last.

Fourth, one or more cars may actually arrive at the intersection at the same time. This isn’t the same as not knowing who arrived when. However, your perceptions of “the same time” may not be the same as someone else’s. You may be at the intersection with a Nascar driver wannabe who doesn’t comprehend second or third. If you suspect that you are at the intersection with one of those people, just pretend that you came in second or third, in spite of the usual regulation which prescribes that the car on the right goes first.

Fifth, in rare instances four cars might actually arrive at the intersection at the same time, which results in maneuvers similar to performing the Hokey-Pokey, or maybe it’s a square dancing routine that I am thinking of. I am sorry, but none of the rules apply since everyone is on someone’s right and since taking turns is going to require more than just holding up one, two, three, or four fingers. The way I see it everyone will be signaling “we’re number one.” You won’t see a peace sign anywhere.

For this contingency, I recommend carrying an empty pop bottle under your back seat, or brushing up on your Rock, Paper, Scissors skills. Another strategy is to make sure that you and three other cars are not arriving at the intersection simultaneously. The safest way to do that is to get there last. It’s not first, but it’s a strategy that gives you control over the situation. No one will try to beat you out of that position, and hey, believe it or not, the object is to get through the intersection without a bent fender.

The State of Utah Driver’s Handbook is mysteriously silent on the subject of four-way stops. Perhaps Utah drivers weren’t sleeping through four-way stop classes. Maybe there weren’t any, which might explain the general confusion at four-way stops. I did find this instruction on a website which describes some method for maneuvering a crowded four-way stop: “The alternating directions take turns. In other words, north and south go, then west and east. Those turning left yeild (original spelling maintained) to the car coming the opposite direction, just like with a green light.” I think that the instructions contained in the Utah Handbook are more helpful.

For your information, though, there are two pages of instructions in that handbook devoted to the maneuver of parallel parking. Now there is something that you can still manage to avoid without detouring through Colorado.