Four-way stop driving, Ballito’s extreme sport

Four-way stops can be confusing at the best of times, but negotiating them should not be as difficult as North Coast drivers make them out to be.

Mostly well-natured hooting and comically frustrated gesturing – generally towards GP number-plated BMW drivers – are par for the course, but it’s less funny when there’s a fender bender or someone is knocked off their bike.

In an ideal world, four-way stops are used for traffic calming in lower traffic areas, but with loadshedding reaching levels ever greater, busy intersections are often forced to act as ‘super stops’ with multiple lanes in each direction.

So, how does one make your way through a four-way stop?

Here are some guidelines based on the K53 learner driver manual to help make the process easier for all involved.

• Stop means stop – there is a reason it’s not called a four-way yield. Even if you think there are no cars coming, you should always come to a complete stop before taking off again.

• If there is more than one car at the intersection, the car that arrived first gets to go first, with second following and so on. If cars arrive at the same time, the furthest right has priority.

• When multiple cars are queued at a ‘super stop’, it has become common practice for cars going straight in opposing directions (north-south for example) to go at the same time. It is wrong to do so by the letter of the law, but will most likely be what you encounter. If this is happening, cars going straight have right of way, after which the cars turning can go. Those turning right have right of way over cars turning left. This process is then repeated for cars who are travelling east-west, after which it goes back to north-south and so on.

• Yes, we know you are very clever to rush through when you see a gap out of turn, but it only makes the process longer for everyone else involved.

• Similarly, you might be in a good mood and wave someone through when it’s not their turn, but this has the same overall slowing effect.

• Praying for a pointsman is not a sustainable solution.

Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news

Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0