The 4-way stop way of life

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Nearly 80% of the intersections in Palm Beach County are without functioning traffic lights. That means 4-way stop rule is in effect. Ha!

People's definitions of how a 4-way stop works is totally different than the actual statue. First, you have those drivers who don't obey any type of intersection courtesy at all. By the way traffic accidents have taken a sharp increase since Hurricane Wilma.

Then there's those drivers who believe in the 'pod' system. Okay, the car in front of me has the right of way so I'll just ride on his tail and we'll go through the intersection in a pod of 4-5 cars at a time.

My personal favorite is the 'going my way' driver. If a line of cars from the opposite direction have the current right of way and are driving through the intersection, then that means the other drivers to my immediate right and left can't clear, so I'll just go ahead and scoot across the intersection myself.

Did I mention that traffic accidents are out the roof in my county?

:) Carol Stephenson, 10 1/2 days without power and counting