I’ve lived in Texas almost 2 years now and I’ve got to say that my biggest nitpick about this state is that motorists just don’t seem to know how to drive well. It is extremely rare when I get to a stop sign and proceed to follow the rules on how to use an intersection and do so correctly without someone else doing it wrong. Everybody knows that green means go at intersections that have lights, but take away those lights and just about every native stares at the intersection and the other vehicles as a deer caught in the headlights.
And once somebody starts to go through the intersection it seems like everybody else starts as well and then they all stop and begin inching through the intersection arguing with each other with their gesturing about who should go first. And then there’s that little thing where two cars are facing each other and it’s their turn to go, natives will wait for the first car to make it all of the way through the intersection before the second one starts. Yes, I know, 5 seconds more is not a whole lot, but when you have 40 cars in front of you and there are just as many at the other sides of the intersection, it can sure add up to a lot. Here’s a novel idea, if both cars are going straight, why don’t both go at the same time?
And once we all can figure out how to go straight at the same time with a car going the opposite direction, maybe we could learn how to turn left at the same time the car facing us is turning left. But, I don’t want to get carried away. Maybe it would be better of me to hope for traffic lights to be installed and not have this outrageous hope that all of the natives will learn how to use a stop sign efficiently. I guess for now I will continue drive out of my way to avoid 4 way stops, it’s better for everybody.