To Stop or Not To Stop?

Stop means stop, right? The definition of “stop” is “to cease moving, progressing, acting, or operating; come to a halt”. Recently, we found ourselves in a situation that provided us the chance to observe a busy four-way stop intersection. We immediately noticed that the majority of cars that traveled through that intersection blatantly disregarded the stop signs. So, we decided to do our own informal study.

Over the span of about 20 minutes we counted 60 cars, give or take one or two. Of the sixty cars, only half dozen cars actually came to a complete stop. That means 90% of the cars did not stop. We noticed some slowed almost to the point of stopping, some slowed down slightly, and some just rolled on through.

We wondered a few things about what we had seen. Is this driving no-no as common at all stop signs? Did the intersection itself encourage disregard for the law and safety? Were there other factors that affected the behavior?

Following is an excerpt from the California Driver Handbook - Traffic Controls section:


An eight-sided red STOP sign indicates that you must make a full “STOP” whenever you see this sign. Stop at the white limit line (a wide white line painted on the street) or before entering the crosswalk. If a limit line or crosswalk is not painted on the street, stop before entering the intersection. Check traffic in all directions before proceeding.

This states clearly that a full stop is required.

Additionally, the California Driver Handbook – Laws and Rules of the Road section says:

An intersection is any place where one line of roadway meets another roadway. Intersections include cross streets, side streets, alleys, freeway entrances, and any other location where vehicles traveling on different highways or roads join each other. Driving through an intersection is one of the most complex traffic situations motorists encounter. Intersection collisions account for more than 45 percent of all reported crashes and 21 percent of fatalities according to the Federal Highway Administration. 

Pay special attention to that last statement “Intersection collisions account for more than 45 percent of all reported crashes and 21 percent of fatalities”. Forty-five percent? Almost half? 21% fatalities? More than one-fifth of people die from intersection crashes? We know not all intersection crashes are due to failure to stop at a stop sign. Even if only half of the accidents are due to drivers running stop signs, then these are some pretty staggering statistics. At PubMed.gov a study shows that of nearly 700,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurring annually at stop signs, about one-third involve injuries. 33%? That’s a lot in our book!

So, why don’t drivers obey the law and stop when it could mean an injury or worse, death? One reason we discovered is that some stop signs are placed where they are considered to be unnecessary. This seems to cause an increase in drivers ignoring the sign. We also found that many drivers believe they do not have to stop unless a pedestrian, bicyclist, or another car is approaching. Additionally in our “hurry-up society”, many drivers with busy lives seem to rush at everything they do causing them to disregard speed limits and stop signs. Distracted driving also causes drivers to blow through stop signs without even realizing they have done so until it is too late.

Our research turned up other studies whose results indicated even more staggering numbers. They suggested zero cars come to a full

and complete stop at stop signs. So, what is the answer? The threat of a $100 ticket for first offense; and $500 and up for consecutive offenses doesn’t seem to be working. We speculated that a police officer standing on each corner would cause every driver to come to a complete stop; however, this certainly isn’t practical.

 

We don’t have the solution; but we do have a suggestion. Think about what it would mean to your family or someone else’s family if a loved one was lost. Most of us would say that would be devastating. So, why take such a big risk when it is so simple to avoid it? When you drive up to a stop sign in the future, STOP! Count three seconds before moving on. Doesn’t matter if you count Mississippis or something else. Personally, we prefer alligators…one alligator, two alligator, three alligator. Just give yourself the time to be sure it is safe to move on. It could mean your life!