Please learn how 4 way stops work!

[Blue Ginger]

Yeah, trams and Roundabouts are not a good combination. But the 2 roundabouts that I mentioned aren't small ones.

The Mount Alexander Road/Keilor Road, Essendon one can probably fit 20/25 cars nose to tail around it, with the tram going through the middle. The other one is about 4, maybe 5, times bigger.

Actually if you look at the Elizabeth Street/Flemington Road, Melbourne one on google maps satellite view you can see how small the cars are going around. The trams are separate from the cars on the approach and then have their own tracks through the middle and side of the roundabout.

But both are a pain if you don't know which lane you need to be in.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I have waved people on when I got to a 4-way stop before they did, but this would only be in cases where I needed the space they were occupying in order to complete my passage through the intersection.

That I can understand. I also stop well back of the intersection when I see an approaching truck with their left blinker on to turn into the road I am in if the roads aren't very wide. Actual laws of physics sometimes trump rules of the road.

[Jetfire]

I also hate this when I'm a pedestrian crossing a street. If it's a back street, that's one thing... but if I'm trying to cross the main drag in town and I'm not using the clearly-marked crosswalks, you don't have to stop for me and I'm fine with that.

The best is when I'm waiting to cross the street and there's like 20 cars that go by, then the LAST guy in line decides he's the one who's going to stop... and there's no one behind him. Do you really think you're doing me a favor, dude? It's clear roadway for a mile behind you - why would you bother stopping?

Agreed 100% with both of them.

I have to cross a somewhat busy street each morning when I get off the bus. (The bus stop is about 2 bus lengths away from the crosswalk, but Freddy Transit won't move it up closer; since there's no side walk, this makes it a pain in the ass to reach in the winter, but I digress). So every morning I get off, and check the traffic. If it's light, I will jaywalk across; other times I'll walk to the crosswalk and usually wait for traffic to lighten up before pushing the signal.

What I hate is when someone with no one behind him (and no one coming the other way) stops to let me go. Makes me feel guilty for making them stop, when if they'd just kept going, I could have crossed behind them.

It's to the point now that I'll turn my back to the road and keep an eye on traffic until it's light enough for me to cross with and/or light enough for me to want to push the button. If I don't make eye contact, they are less likely to stop. Luckily there's an Ingress portal right at that crosswalk so I have an excuse to kill time on the corner.

[BPFH]

i was always told that the rule at 4 way stops was "whoever got there first goes first. if multiple parties reach the stop at the same time, whoever is on the right goes first."

Actually, everyone else needs to yield right-of-way to whomever got there first, yielding to the right if there were multiple people who stopped at the same time. Theoretically, multiple parties could go at the same time, so long as they can all do so while yielding to the appropriate person. As a practical matter, though... yeah, take turns.

[An Haddock]

It's to the point now that I'll turn my back to the road and keep an eye on traffic until it's light enough for me to cross with and/or light enough for me to want to push the button. If I don't make eye contact, they are less likely to stop. Luckily there's an Ingress portal right at that crosswalk so I have an excuse to kill time on the corner.

I do the same thing. I did it this morning. I was waiting for four cars to pass and I didn't want them to stop so I turned my back to them.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[notalwaysright]

I do the same thing. I did it this morning. I was waiting for four cars to pass and I didn't want them to stop so I turned my back to them.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

When I'm driving I'm happy when people do something to indicate if they're wanting to cross or not. Because when I see someone standing at a crosswalk (or unmarked crosswalk) watching the road, I assume they want to cross and will stop for them. If they're looking away or physically turned then I assume they're waiting. These things can work.

In my hometown there was this three-way stop that was the worst. It is very touristy and is on the water (cue, "oh look, BOATS!") and has several restaurants around. People would stand in large groups right at the crosswalk. You'd try to see if they wanted to cross. You'd wait a few seconds. After no movement and no indication either way you might I dunno... Try to drive?! Then suddenly they step into the intersection look at your car like you just appeared out of thin air and either act startled or get angry. At the car. In the intersection. Who just waited patiently while the group chatted. I should note that this is the main road through town. The town was not originally a tourist town, it was a fishing and logging community.

[Greenhall]

Once, in college (many years ago), I stopped behind someone stopped at a 4way stop, they went, and my brain turned to porridge and treated it like a stoplight- go when the person in front of you does. Halfway thru the intersection my brain unturned to porridge and I was horrified, but kind of committed.

...I have bad luck with stop signs, apparently, because at my most recent new job, I spent a week driving past one before it registered on my conscious brain - again in the middle of the intersection I was blowing thru...

How do the rules of all way stop (there are only 3 sides on this one) work when pedestrians are crossing in front of the car who's turn it is? I generally go ahead and go to keep traffic flowing, and because I know the third side is likely to do the same and they got there after I did....

[Strathclyde]

I gotta say... I hate the 4-way intersection that I walk past from work. I walked past it from school, too, so these issues have been going on for years. Nothing makes me more uncomfortable than a car (whose turn it is, yes) driving up to me as I'm crossing the crosswalk and stopping in the middle of the intersection for me to get out of their way.

I don't know them and I can't read minds, so how am I supposed to know that they actually intend to stop? Don't care how slow they're going, it's a terrible thing to do. Plus as illegal, I'd imagine, as blocking the intersection at a stoplight.

[XCashier]

This is the only roundabout I like...

[Estil]

The vehicle with the right of way is the one with the biggest wheels

[wolfie]

The vehicle with the right of way is the one with the biggest wheels

So you're saying that the blinged-up hoopty with 24" rims has the right of way over the Peterbilt of Natural Selection (22.5" rims)?

[Estil]

Oh please don't get me started on those...they are the automotive equivalent of sagging drawers :P

Only the original size wheels count

[wolfie]

So a mountain bike (26" rims) would have the right of way over the Peterbilt of Natural Selection? After all, when bobtailing (no trailer) I only outweigh him around 100 to 1.

[Estil]

I guess I stand corrected!

[HawaiianShirts]

As a bike commuter, I've often been surprised at how easy it is for me to get through a four-way stop. It seems that one of two things will happen:
1- Drivers don't pay much attention to me; I just go through alongside a vehicle going the same direction.
2- The drivers panic at the sight of a cyclist, and even though I've stopped and am yielding to whoever truly has the right-of-way, they ALL wave me through. So I shrug, give them all a wave or nod, and pedal as fast as I can to get out of the way.

The best is when I'm waiting to cross the street and there's like 20 cars that go by, then the LAST guy in line decides he's the one who's going to stop... and there's no one behind him. Do you really think you're doing me a favor, dude? It's clear roadway for a mile behind you - why would you bother stopping?

I've done that a few times. I became so focused on the pedestrian that I neglected to notice that the light behind me had changed, making the road behind me empty. Here I am, trying to be generous and courteous and whatever else, and only after the person has crossed in front of me do I notice that I just created an awkward and embarrassing situation for both of us.

The problem, I think, is that people don't really like the idea of "taking turns".

I was a pizza driver in high school. I remember coming up to a four-way stop as a beat-up, dirt brown pickup truck approached from my right. I reached the stop well before the other guy did, so I had right-of-way. After coming to a stop, I pushed the gas to take my turn, sure that the other driver would stop for the stop sign. He didn't. Instead, he revved his engine, laid on his horn, and tore through the intersection while giving me the finger.

I would have chalked it up as just another jerk on the road, but I recognized the truck. It belonged to the son of my high school's principal, and he'd just gotten his license. I reported him to the Drivers' Ed teacher, who was good friends with the principal. For some reason the principal's son went back to riding the bus to school for about a month...