Who has right of way at four-way stop? Despite law, it can be unclear

law doesn’t allow anything but that.

Waiting for the opposite car to go is frustrating, especially on Peachtree Road, where four-way stops are still new. There is no way the two vehicles are going to hit each other, so common sense would say both should be able to advance. But that has to be done with the assumed risk of getting a ticket. No lawman is going to say that two vehicles passing in a fourway stop intersection is legal, but the offense certainly isn’t egregious. Doing so is probably similar to choosing to drive 10 mph over the speed limit. It’s a small risk but illegal nonetheless.

Another conundrum at the four-way stop is sorting out who actually arrived at an intersection first and who has the right of way. Much as the regulations spell out, no driver should just assume they have the right to cross an intersection. If I come to a four-way stop and there seems to be any doubt about who arrived first, I try to motion the other driver to go. Sometimes if a driver is too forgiving to another who arrived later, there can be confusion about going. But the problem of being too kind is better than the problem of too many wrecks.

The law leaves little subjectivity with four-way stops. But the wiggle room lies within how much risk to assume when choosing to cross an intersection and how much deference to show a fellow driver who may or may not have the right of way. With that said, let’s not even start talking about how to use roundabouts. At least not today.