My son's wreck

[dash riposki]

I think he was listing the order in which the cars should go. I.E. the car in front is "first." He's mentioned to me before that he doesn't like stop signs because it's hard for him to figure out who is supposed to go next.

It's hard for everyone, some times.

 

[Rajagra]

Thankfully we don't have four way stops in the UK (though I have seen a couple of four way give way junctions!)

But we do have similar standoffs at mini roundabouts where everyone arrives at once, stops and waits. Oddly enough I'm usually the hero who saves the day by going forward despite being generally more cautious than most. The trick is to reduce the choice to a simple question : can I proceed safely?

I'm not sure if that works at four way stops though. I suspect the design is inferior in that respect, they have no clear protocol for dealing with a standoff.

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[Gibson99]

Thankfully we don't have four way stops in the UK (though I have seen a couple of four way give way junctions!)

But we do have similar standoffs at mini roundabouts where everyone arrives at once, stops and waits. Oddly enough I'm usually the hero who saves the day by going forward despite being generally more cautious than most. The trick is to reduce the choice to a simple question : can I proceed safely?

I'm not sure if that works at four way stops though. I suspect the design is inferior in that respect, they have no clear protocol for dealing with a standoff.

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generally if 2 drivers arrive at a stop sign at the same time, the person to the right has priority. if they're coming straight towards each other and one wants to turn, then the person going straight has priority. if both are turning then it doesn't matter. of course if 4 arrive at once, you just have to wait for someone to go or wave others ahead. simple hand waves or light flashes are usually enough to make it a non-confrontational situation.

in the real world, most people don't actually come to a complete stop so it's hard to tell in those cases who actually got there first. i'm usually the sucker who actually stops and as a result, the other traffic goes the instant they see my wheels stop turning.

 

[DT MI]

The way I was taught to handle 4-way stops is as follows:

1. Vehicle arriving first has the ROW.
2. When arriving at the same time vehicle on the left yields to vehicle on the right.
3. Vehicle making left turn yields to vehicles traveling straight or making a right turn.
4. When all vehicles arrive at the same time 'official' vehicles have ROW (police, fire, etc.)
5. If more than one vehicle is 'official' and arrive at the same time precedence goes to federal first, state second, local third. (This last scenario would mean that a postal vehicle would have precedence over police, fire, and ambulance since postal vehicles are federal.)

My driving instructor was quick to point out that if 4 non-official vehicles arrive at the same time it's time to find a different route.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

NHTSA says:

When in Doubt, Bail Out.

This trumps all rules.
Even if you have the right-of-way, if for any reason you feel uncomfortable or that your safety is threatened, let the other traffic go ahead. Your safety always comes first. Of course, this would require common sense so proceed at your own peril!