An all-way stop – also known as a four-way stop (or three-way stop etc. as appropriate) – is a traffic management system which requires vehicles on all the approaches to a
road intersection to stop at the intersection before proceeding through it. Designed for use at low traffic-volume locations, the arrangement is common in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and
Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
, as well as in a number of, usually rural, locations in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
where visibility on the junction approaches is particularly poor. The
stop sign
A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...
s at such intersections may be supplemented with additional plates stating the number of approaches.
Operation
In most jurisdictions of the United States, the rules of the all-way stop are the same. A motorist approaching an all-way stop is always required to come to a full stop behind the
crosswalk or
stop line. Pedestrians always have the priority to cross the road, even if the crosswalk is not marked with
surface markings.
* If a driver arrives at the intersection and no other vehicles are present, then the driver can proceed.
* If, on approach of the intersection, there are one or more cars already there, let them proceed, then proceed yourself.
* Should a vehicle be behind one of those proceeding cars, the driver who was there first will proceed before that vehicle.
* If a driver arrives at the same time as another vehicle, the vehicle on the right has the
right-of-way.
* If two vehicles arrive opposite each other at the same time, and no vehicles are on the right, then they may proceed at the same time if they are going straight ahead. If one vehicle is turning and one is going straight, the right-of-way goes to the car going straight.
* If two vehicles arrive opposite each other at the same time and one is turning right and one is turning left, the right-of-way goes to the vehicle turning right. Since they are both trying to turn into the same road, priority should be given to the vehicle turning right as they are closest to the lane.
Driving instructors suggest that communication is always vital—including the use of
turn signals
Automotive lighting is functional exterior lighting in vehicles. A motor vehicle has lighting and signaling devices mounted to or integrated into its front, rear, sides, and, in some cases, top. Various devices have the dual function of illumin ...
to indicate which direction you intend to turn. Often, vehicles are able to make compatible moves at the same time without following the order listed above. If it is not clear who has the right-of-way, drivers should use good judgement until they clear the intersection. Within some U.S. jurisdictions, such as the state of
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, bicyclists are exempt from the need to make a complete stop, but must give way to other vehicles as otherwise required by law.
In Australia, drivers must give way to other drivers on their right side after coming to a stop.
Application

In the United States, the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
's
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (''MUTCD'') defines the standards commonly used for the application of all-way stops. Where a stop has been determined to qualify, it is signed at all approaches to the intersections with a standard octagonal "Stop" sign, with a supplemental "All-Way" plate. Earlier editions of the MUTCD allowed supplemental plates specifying the number of approaches in an all-way stop, as in "2-Way", "3-Way" or "4-Way". According to the MUTCD, installation of an all-way stop should be based on a
traffic engineering study to determine if minimum traffic volume or safety criteria are met. These intersections are often found where roads have light-volume traffic which does not justify a
traffic light
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...
.
An all-way stop may also be justified if the intersection has shown a history of
collisions involving pedestrians or vehicles. All-way stops may also be used as an interim measure preceding the placement of a traffic light, to provide a low-speed area for pedestrians to cross, where a cross street experiences considerable difficulty finding safe gaps due to heavy traffic volumes, or where traffic is frequently delayed by turning conflicts. Additionally, the MUTCD advocates the placement of all-way stops at intersections between through roads in residential areas if an engineering study can show that
traffic flow
In transportation engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic control devices), with the ai ...
would be improved by installing it. Despite published guidelines, all-way stops are routinely placed by jurisdictions due to political pressure from adjacent residents. Intersections between two minor
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
s with similar traffic counts, two
collector road
A collector road or distributor road is a low-to-moderate-capacity road which serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collector roads are designed to provide access to residential properties. Rarely, juris ...
s in an urban or suburban setting or a collector road and a
local road in a busy setting (such as near a school) are the most common locations for an all-way stop.
Traffic signals will sometimes flash red indications in all directions following a malfunction, or all-red flashing operation may be scheduled to reduce delay or handle construction activity or unusual traffic patterns. When a traffic signal flashes in all-red mode, it legally operates as an all-way stop. When all approaches to an intersection are controlled in this way the rules for an all-way stop apply. Traffic signals may also flash yellow to major directions and flash red to minor directions during off-peak times to minimize traffic delays, in which case only side-street traffic is required to stop and yield the right of way to crossing traffic on the major street.
During electrical outages when a traffic signal does not display any indications including flashing red, some jurisdictions require that the intersection be treated as an all-way stop. Other jurisdictions treat a dark signal as an uncontrolled intersection, where standard rules of right-of-way apply without the requirement of a complete stop.
Benefits and disadvantages
The main reason for the use of stop signs at road junctions is safety.
According to an international study of locations where the system is in use, all-way stop control applied to four-legged intersections may reduce accident occurrence by 45%.
However, given alternative methods of intersection control and some of the disadvantages of all-way stops, the ''Handbook of Road Safety Measures'' recommends that four-way stops are best used between minor roads away from urbanized areas.
Another benefit of all-way stops is assurance that vehicles enter the intersection at a low speed and have more time to take heed of the traffic situation,
especially useful when sight distance is highly restricted.
Some of the disadvantages associated with all-way stops are:
* Increased emissions of
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
s.
* Increased average delay.
* Increased wear on vehicle brakes
* Discouraging bicycling.
* That once installed, stop signs in general are unsafe to remove; accidents that result in injury may increase by 40%.
Once an all-way stop is installed, removal is difficult and risky, as habitual drivers may continue to expect an all-way stop condition.
* According to game-theoretical analysis, drivers may have stronger incentives to run the stop sign if they believe drivers in other directions will stop at their respective signs.
Worldwide comparisons
Few countries outside North America – least of all, those in Europe – have intersections at which all users must stop at all times; the conditions for
stop sign
A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...
placement may indeed preclude such an arrangement in many places.
In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
all-way stops (''Flervägsstopp'') have been tested since the 1980s but are little used even though they are now permitted.
In the
UK they have always been very uncommon and were formally prohibited by the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
.
Four-way stops are common in the
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Goals
The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...
area, with priority going to the first vehicle to arrive and stop at the line.
The United Arab Emirates also has four-way stops.
[https://jawdah.qcc.abudhabi.ae/en/Registration/QCCServices/Services/STD/ISGL/ISGL-LIST/TR-511.pdf Abu Dhabi Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices page 433 - 'Other References']
At four-legged intersections within Europe, a
roundabout
A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
or
mini-roundabout may be used to assign a relative priority to each approach. (Roundabouts remain rare in North America, where early failures of rotaries and traffic circles caused such designs to lose favor until the gradual introduction of the modern roundabout in the late 20th century.) Alternatively, at smaller intersections,
priority to the right
Priority to the right is a right-of-way system in right-hand traffic, in which the driver of a vehicle is required to give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4.a of the Vienna Conve ...
is widely used in most countries.
See also
*
Pedestrian scramble, where all directions are red, allowing diagonal pedestrian crossing
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:All-Way Stop
Traffic signs
Traffic law
Road junction types