Traffic Trifecta- by Michael

My wife kindly agreed to let me voice my concerns/complaints/ramblings on her blog.

This entry revolves around the general theme of traffic laws. The office where I work is an hour away from where I live, so I deal with my fair share of traffic on most days. Although I don’t get headaches (my wife tends to get enough of those for the both of us!), if I did, I’m sure that they would be induced at least partly by traffic-related issues.

Without further adieu (du Laq), I introduce this Traffic Trifecta, comprised of the following topics:

1. When to stop for a school bus
2. Yielding right of way on a left turn (with a special guest appearance by “left on red”)
3. Watch for the kiddies (but don’t break the rules)!

1. Stopping for a school bus:

The background on this is that a lot of people apparently do not know what the rule is, regarding stopping for a school bus. Although I’ve usually done with my commute before the busses start rolling, sometimes I get caught behind those who aren’t aware of the correct procedures to follow.

Generally speaking, here are the guidelines that should be followed when following/approaching a school bus that is stopped, or is preparing to stop:

· All traffic going in the same direction as school bus always stops when the bus stops, but traffic going in the opposite direction only stops if there are fewer than 4 total lanes of traffic (counting both directions).

· Vehicles only need to stop when the red flashing lights on the bus are on – it’s ok to pass when the yellow flashing lights are on.

2. Yielding to oncoming traffic (with one driver going straight and one turning left):

Here’s the setup – you are arriving at a stop sign, and someone travelling in the opposite direction is also approaching the same intersection, and their corresponding stop sign. So who goes first? As is often the case with tax law, the answer is “It depends”.

I’ve seen a variety of approaches – some based on “first in line always wins”, some based on “straight always wins” (like in California?). As a shortcut around this approach, I’ve created/utilized several “workarounds”:

- Purposely arriving at an intersection after the oncoming vehicle has reached their stop sign (premature deceleration).

- Turning off my lights (which I always have on when I drive – Bessie’s been very, very good to me, I certainly don’t intend to repay her by allowing her to get hit!)

- Changing my mind last minute, from turning left, to go straight – and then turning left at a later intersection).

Due to confusion on my part about this specific issue (and not generally being a big fan of “blissful ignorance”), I turned to the Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle laws that the Ohio Department of Public Safety publishes (http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/links/hsy7607.pdf). The information contained therein, while generally helpful, was not as explicit in this circumstance. Under the topic of “Yielding”, it is indicated:

“A driver must yield the right of way:

… To oncoming traffic when making a left turn. …”

Not to sound like former President Clinton, but that passage from the manual left me with the basic question “what does oncoming mean?” More specifically, the question that arose in my mind is “If a car that is oriented in the opposite direction that you are is stopped at a stop sign, is it considered to be oncoming?”. Or, would the meaning of oncoming be limited to vehicles that were in the act of travelling through the intersection, excluding those that were not moving?

My search for the answer lead me to another area in the manual under Turns, entitled “Left Turn” (a very invigorating read, right up there with “Right Turn”, and “Right-Hand Turn on Red”).

I read:

“The driver of a vehicle intending to turn left:

…Is required to yield the right-of-way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. Prior to engaging a left-hand turn, the driver must wait for oncoming traffic to clear the intersection. One may advance into the intersection as a prelude to turning, provided that no other traffic control devices prohibit this action.”.

Ok, so it sounds like “oncoming” is a reference to the less-passive act of travelling through the intersection. However, to be sure, I contacted the State Highway Patrol with my question.

Here’s the definitive answer – if 2 vehicles approach the same intersection from opposite directions, and each is faced with a stop sign, with one of the vehicles intending to turn left, and the other intending to go straight, the vehicles that gets there first has the right of way. If they arrive at the stop sign at the same time, the one that is going straight is the one which has the right of way. However, if the cars have to wait for cross-traffic (or, presumably, any emergency vehicles travelling in the same or the opposite direction) before proceeding, then everything is “reset”, and the car going straight then has the right of way, even if the car that is intending to turn left arrived at the intersection first.

To summarize:

- The first one to the stop sign has right of way, with any ties going to the vehicle intending to go straight.

- Despite the above rule, if the vehicles at the intersection have to wait before proceeding (due to cross traffic, emergency vehicles, etc), the vehicle intending to go straight has the right of way.

To reiterate it from a slightly different point of view -- The only time a vehicle turning left has right of way over a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, when both have to stop, is when the vehicle intending to turn left arrives at the intersection first, and does not have to wait for oncoming traffic to make that turn. The vehicle intending to travel straight has right of way in all other instances.

On the topic of turns, and only slightly off-topic, one of the most curious possibilities that drivers could encounter deals with turning on a red light. Many are aware that right turns on a red light (after coming to a complete stop) are legal. But how about a left-hand turn? It’s possible, but certainly not in all situations. Specifically, although I’m not the world’s most well-travelled man, I have actually had the opportunity, on multiple occasions, to visit a town where turning left on red is perfectly safe (and, better than that, it’s legal, too!). In downtown Toledo, one can happen across the situational logistics required to permit a left hand turn on red – from a one-way street to another one-way street. It’s such a peculiarity, in fact, that, even though I was aware of permissibility of “left on red” turns, I actually felt a little naughty the first time I tried it (I think that’s the year that I did not get the pony I asked for, for Christmas).

3. Watch for the kiddies (but don’t break the rules)!

Rounding out the Traffic Trifecta is one of my pet peeves. Frequently, in parking lots, as well as on streets, drivers, being cognizant of young ones on their way to school, or exiting/entering stores, will stop their cars, and wave children (and parents, also) on, so they can safely be on their way without interruption.

While good-intentioned, I dislike this, for a couple of reasons:

- It promotes improper and unsafe behavior by children. Children should never have to rely on the kindness of drivers to be able to get to school safely. That’s why there are crossing guards, and designated crosswalks. If children make a habit of crossing streets without the added benefit of safety measures like crossing guards and crosswalks, they could be putting themselves that drivers in awkward situations, if only by obstructing the vision of the young pedestrians.

- It is illegal. You can’t just stop you car in the middle of the road, even if it is to let the kid-os get across the street. Unless you’re at a crosswalk, vehicles have the right of way on a street, not pedestrians (young, or not).

- It works against the training that I’ve taught my children. I have taught them to always wait for cars to pass before crossing the street. I know people are just trying to be nice, when they stop their cars in the middle of the road, wave us on, and give me a puzzling “What on Earth are you waiting for, don’t you realize what a huge favor I’m doing for you – why don’t you just go, already!” look, when I just stand there, shaking my head no, while talking to the children, to tell them to always wait for the car to pass, even if they stop and wave you on”. All in all, it is a good opportunity to reinforce/test them on what I’ve taught them previously.

What about when I’m in the driver’s seat? Do I purposely patrol the neighborhood when school’s about to begin, and try to run the little tikes over? Certainly not. However, I do not simply do away with the rules of the road just so that a child can safely cross the street just this one time, in this one place. The less children need to rely on others for their safety, the better.

Don’t get me wrong, I go out of my way to try to promote safety. As a CPA, I tend to double check certain things quite often, and I try to anticipate things whenever possible. Keeping in mind that school’s out, I’m frequently on the lookout this time of the year for escaped playground balls and runaway scooters. If I see something roll out into the street, I slow down or stop. However, I only do that to make sure that I won’t hit:

1 -- whatever it is that entered my path of travel, or (usually more importantly)

2 -- whatever it is that is following #1 (usually a little boy or girl). Once the ball is safely out of my way, and making sure that there are no little feet scurrying into the road, I proceed. If there are any children approaching the roadside, I make sure that they do not enter the roadway. I don’t keep the car there while the ball is retrieved, because that could promote within the children the sense or understanding that all motorists will always watch for children, and will always stop until you get the ball, and make it back to your yard before they resume driving – because they won’t! I don’t know that anybody intentionally caused harm to children in this manner, but there are a lot of people who probably aren’t as concerned or aware of young ones as I think they ought to be (think of the pizza guy, very young drivers, or even elderly drivers).

That about rounds out the Traffic Trifecta. At the very least, I hope it’s been entertaining. Maybe I’ll make some more guest appearances in the future. If you have any related traffic tips, or pet peeves about driving, feel free to let me know.

Appreciatively,

Tiffany’s Michael