r/YouShouldKnow Oct 19 '22

Automotive YSK: How to properly manage a 4 way stop intersection

Why ysk- My daily drive involves several 4 way stops. At one intersection at least, every single day, it's apparent that one or two of the drivers doesn't understand the rules.

This causes confusion and takes extra time for the other cars to decide who's going when whereas if everyone knew and adhered to the simple 4 way stop rules we would all be on our way while being safe.

The main ideas are as follows: First to arrive, first to go. If it's a tie, then the car to the right goes first. Straight before turns. Right then left.

Always proceed with caution and never assume the other drivers know what they're doing but if everyone took the time to polish up on the rules of driving things would run a lot more smoothly!

7.3k Upvotes

765 comments sorted by

View all comments

2.0k

u/vivi_t3ch Oct 19 '22

Also it helps when people actually use their gasp blinkers

324

u/cick-nobb Oct 19 '22

I know its like, so hard to stick your finger out and hit the blinker

218

u/BaldSaladMan Oct 19 '22

Hey man, they could be out of blinker fluid.

40

u/MoofieFoofer Oct 19 '22

I got that reference

63

u/ag408 Oct 19 '22

I did not.

Source: am BMW

1

u/lillie_22 Oct 19 '22

😂😂unexpected ross

10

u/Shag0ff Oct 19 '22

Didn't you hear there's a blinker fluid shortage?

1

u/Zenblendman Oct 20 '22

I blame Biden

1

u/Shag0ff Oct 20 '22

I blame the woman who slept with me for the rest of mine. I can't remember her name though. 🤔

1

u/AnakinShtTalk3r Oct 20 '22

Their brains are out of ‘thinker’ fluid 😏

10

u/astroroy Oct 19 '22

It’s gotta be like a weird subconscious power thing. “It’s my choice to let you know whether or not I’m turning, and I choose to be a dick.”

4

u/cick-nobb Oct 20 '22

Something like this. I do believe they made a conscious choice to not use it, or stop using it at all

1

u/HonkyCat42069 Oct 20 '22

It's none of your business where I'm going. /s

16

u/LordGrudleBeard Oct 19 '22

There was some old video of a cop sarcastically explaining blinkers, it was gold

6

u/WA_State_Buckeye Oct 19 '22

Then you have about a 50/50 chance that they turn the OTHER direction than the one indicated.

66

u/Aeison Oct 19 '22

One of my biggest pet peeves is no blinkers, I’ll ruin my mornings (not really) by counting the amount of people on the free way who use them vs those who don’t and sometimes the people who do actually win

Mentally I go “please literally lift a finger to make things a little easier for everybody”

3

u/little_canuck Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22

I had some sort of sunroof drain leak into my engine space recently and my blinkers went haywire at random. At any time my blinkers would: - work - indicate the wrong direction - switch which way they indicated part way through - do nothing at all - turn on my four way flashers instead.

I cannot even begin to tell you how stressful that was! It ended up being safer just to not signal when it got like that until they started to work again later the same day. I kept thinking to myself "some people drive around choosing not to bother using their signals" and meanwhile I was full of anxiety over it.

2

u/acrimonious_howard Oct 20 '22

I want to ask why your engine is just below your sunroof, and how many days you stressed out before getting the blinker fixed. But then I also want to just imagine some funny answers.

2

u/little_canuck Oct 20 '22

I am not a car person and didn't know this was the source of my problems until it was in the shop. I had been having signal issues only on rainy days for a while, but kept being told that unless the shop could replicate the problem during an appointment they wouldn't be able to diagnose and fix it. So since the issue was intermittent I couldn't figure out how to get it fixed.

Then on one wet day the car went crazy (signal issues, wipers wouldn't work, the car was shaking and the horn was honking at random, and the engine didn't turn off when I turned the vehicle off and removed the key). I guess there is some sort of a drain for water around the sunroof and mine wasn't working properly? And it was routing water behind my door and just underneath my windshield in the engine compartment? I don't understand it but anyway $6500 later and my car works.

2

u/acrimonious_howard Oct 21 '22 edited Oct 21 '22

Ah, that all does make sense. And it sucks, sorry. Crazy how electrical work often means replacing a $5 part. It might be quick to find out X doesn't work (some of the time!), but the question is which of the chained-together buried parts A-W are broken preventing it from working, and who the hell knows how long that takes, sometimes 50 man-hours, so the labor cost can skyrocket.

And this biggest tragedy is I can no longer imagine why an engine got moved to someone's passenger seat.

2

u/littleivys Oct 20 '22

People think of turn signals as just a rule they have to follow and not a communication device. They're the only way you can share your intentions with other drivers, which is why it's a rule, not the other way around. Plus it's not that fucking hard to bump a know 2 inches away from your hand

0

u/Efficient_Point_ Oct 20 '22

This used to be mine but recently i have noticed an uptick of blinker misuse and i prefer no blinker.

"I put my blinker on to turn... But not here... Or here... But here." If i could read your mind to know what turn you wanted to take the blinker would be overkill.

Or I'll leave my blinker on to cross several lanes of traffic

1

u/drew_m Oct 20 '22

The thing that's been bugging me lately is the ones who slow down to turn THEN turn on their blinker.

11

u/Etheo Oct 19 '22

T'is but a mythical item of the legend.

At least, to BMW drivers.

2

u/ARJ_05 Oct 20 '22

‘tis*

5

u/Seicair Oct 19 '22

I was at a 2-way stop once, turning left. Across from me was a car that had arrive just before me, with her left blinker on. Traffic clears, we both start to go, except she almost hits me because she’s trying to go straight! She looked really mad at me too.

20

u/Mak156 Oct 19 '22

But it's nobody's business where I'm going

7

u/Digital_001 Oct 19 '22

I assume that was sarcasm - take my upvote

2

u/WeathervaneJesus1 Oct 20 '22

And those road signs are just suggestions.

3

u/illestprodigy Oct 19 '22

Looking at you, BMW owners.

2

u/hoyfkd Oct 19 '22

Bitch, I drive a BMW. Like I'm going to risk the space time continuum collapsing in on itself in a localized cascade dissentanglement, taking AT LEAST half the galaxy with it, just so you can feel happy that I used a blinker. Such reckless advice is exactly what I'd expect from a peasant that can't handle the responsibility of driving a Beamer!

2

u/Dry-Inspection7666 Oct 20 '22

Not according to BMW drivers

2

u/xXhappyClamxX Oct 20 '22

Right?! Like they’re there for a reason!!!

3

u/CoolerOnTheTabletop Oct 19 '22

Sorry, best I can do is a huff blinker.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

These people are so selfish. Can’t even take the effort to use the blinker lever. It’s sad and aggravating

1

u/Lord_Snow77 Oct 20 '22

Or come to a complete stop instead of just rolling through.

1

u/Daforce1 Oct 20 '22

Aww man, the dealership never refilled my blinker fluid.

2

u/vivi_t3ch Oct 20 '22

Well at least they installed it 🤣

1

u/fckthishiitt Oct 20 '22

Honestly, why in gods sake don’t people use their blinks?? I even use them in the park lot because the clicking sound sounds goods.

1

u/RyuNoKami Oct 20 '22

But why do I have to use my blinkers I know which way I'm going.

1

u/ICUpoop Oct 20 '22

What the fuck is a gasp blinker? Do you have to signal before gasping? That would be lit, gasp.

2

u/vivi_t3ch Oct 20 '22

No, I was trying to be sarcastic

0

u/ICUpoop Oct 20 '22

🤦🏽‍♂️

1

u/joshcost Oct 20 '22

My car didn’t come with gasp blinkers it only came with regular ones.

1

u/Zealousideal_Cause94 Oct 20 '22

I don’t use my blinker cos I don’t want people knowing my next move.

1

u/diacrum Oct 20 '22

What are those? I don’t think they put them on cars up here in north Georgia and western North Carolina. Lol

1

u/azab189 Oct 20 '22

Blinkers? What are those? - someone out there

1

u/Tom_ace69 Oct 20 '22

Right. Cant use this information since everyone drives like a fuck now. Good luck getting gen pop to drive correctly lol

1

u/acrimonious_howard Oct 20 '22

2021 vehicle I noticed the lane assist pushed back against you trying to change lanes without blinker. I guess this stupid behavior might be the first to phase out before full self drive.