To Stop or Not to Stop

To Stop or not to Stop

That is the dilemma

As I walk around Stamford, I see many of my fellow travelers not stopping at stop signs or right turn on red.  The question is should they. Let’s face it many times there is no one coming when you approach a red light or stop sign. So why not just go. After all, if I stop, I will lose time and there is the additional energy needed to accelerate from a complete stop.

Let us look at the other side of to Stop or not to stop.  It is the law.  We do need some rules when we are driving, or it would be utter chaos. One could argue we have chaos already. When I watch people make right turns from the left lane, I would say we are heading in that direction. I could list more.

Now from my point of view as a walker.  It is dangerous for us. The main problem is that when a car traveler is looking to see if they can go, they are not looking for pedestrians. One of the scariest things for me is crossing in front of a driver who wants to make a right turn on red. Very rarely do they look to the right. The same goes for not stopping at the stop sign. The drivers are not looking for pedestrians they are looking to see if they can avoid stopping and not hitting other cars.

Now I also could plead guilty to not stopping at stop signs. Four months ago, I decided that I will always stop at the stop sign.

This decision has had many positives results. I have already avoided a major accident. I was at a T intersection. I started to make a left when a car from the right blew past the stop sign without even slowing down. If I had coasted through the stop sign, we would have collided. There is much less stress stopping. You can concentrate on the stop. Then check to see if it is safe to proceed.

Coming to a full stop takes maybe two or three seconds and maybe thirty feet. Just last week the car in front of me did not stop and I did. I caught up the other car at the stop sign.

Let’s see. Stopping is not going to cost you time. You will be more focused on driving properly and you are increasing your chances that you won’t have an accident.