It was good to see the Gazette shedding some light on the problems with the 4-way stop sign near the Dairy Queen. [“What To Do at Crozet’s Four-Way Stop,” July 2018, page 20] It is very clear to anyone who goes through the intersection regularly that a large number of people either don’t know the rules of 4-way stops or they choose not to follow them. The article was helpful in focusing on people waiting extra time because they are hesitating, unsure of who has the right of way. In my experience, that may happen now and again.
A far more frequent problem that I encounter is people bolting into the intersection when it is definitely not their turn. At least 5 times in the last month I have seen motorists second in line at one direction immediately charge forward when the first in line at their stop sign appropriately goes forward. The problem is, 2 or 3 other cars had already been stopped at the front of their lines at the stop signs in the other directions, and they all clearly had the right of way over car #2 in their directional lines. And that car #2 never even stopped at the stop sign when it reached the head of their line. This is frustrating and also dangerous. It would have been great if your article also brought this to light and made it more clear that you don’t “reach” the intersection until you have stopped as the first car in line at your stop sign. Only then can you then assess who has the right of way next.
Kevin Quirk
Crozet
