The Four-Way Stop
I don’t know how it came up, but Suzanne and I have discovered that we have two very firm, but different beliefs on how a four-way stop is navigated. These are such long-held beliefs that even if we find out that one of us is wrong, we will be hard-pressed to change our habits.
We are in agreement on the four-way stop in the one and two car at the same time situations. Its when several cars arrive at the same time, that we differ. Suzanne believes that the order must go based upon the order of arrival. In other words, it does not follow a clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation.
I, on the other hand, have always observed a counter-clockwise rotation once someone has claimed the right of way.
I have tried to research this in the Texas Department of Public Safety Driver’s Manual, but they were pretty vague and there was much left up for interpretation. There are a few other assorted Internet sites, but none seemed to have a definitive answer.
So until we find out otherwise, I guess we’ll each handle it our own way. I refuse to adopt Suzanne’s method since it seems inherently dangerous. I do not believe people can maintain an order that’s not some kind of a rotation. But for all I know, she may be right.