Originally Posted by earlyre
what they all said. if the light is working, and there's no cop or flagman directing you to do otherwise, obey the light.
and just a small addendum/reminder of something i see often(ish), if there is a traffic light that is just plain non-operational, power is out, whatever, the intersection defaults to a 4 way stop. PERIOD.
whenever this happens i always see people either blast through, or sit there waiting for divine inspiration on when to proceed.
Originally Posted by Kira
The 4-Way Stop thing is funny. Did you ever hear about how to go through one during driver's ed.?
Originally Posted by earlyre
Originally Posted by Kira
The 4-Way Stop thing is funny. Did you ever hear about how to go through one during driver's ed.?
yes.
come to a full & complete stop, and then, if the intersection is clear, proceed.
if another vehicle or vehicles is at the intersection, the one that stopped first, proceeds first.
if 2 or more stop at the same time, preference is given to the driver to the right of the other. the Rightmost vehicle goes first, next most right, etc.
it's a dual meaning to the term "Right of Way"(in Left hand Drive Countries). the Driver to the RIGHT, has the Right to go first.(if you are in a right hand drive country, the Driver to the LEFT is given Right of way.)
and if any of the above is wrong, please do correct me.
This may be correct depending on location-in OH, your likely correct per the laws there.
Here in the great state of Michigan our legislators in their infinite wisdom determined that there is a precedent at intersections where the signal is non functioning due to a power outage etc. The law here says that the "primary or major" route has the right of way and those motorists can proceed thru the intersection as if their light is green, those on the minor side street crossing have to wait for a break in traffic before they can proceed as if they had a stop sign or a flashing red light. Their logic is that the primary street would have the right of way over the minor street if there had never been a light there so if the one there is malfunctioning then it is to be treated like the light isn't there.
I can see the logic of it at the root of things but it leaves far too much open to interpretation especially at major to major road intersections-where 2-5 lane roads intersect what drives is to say their leg of the intersection is the major or minor? Add to that you must trust that the driver in the other side of the intersection knows what to do and will do it properly so that you can proceed or should you just err to caution and stop?
While the above is the strict legal version the accepted practice is to treat as a 4-way stop as is described above....