ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: what's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: I'm trying to find out about the proliferation of four-way stop signs. Why doesn't the DMV manual address this situation? Since it doesn't, how do we find out how to handle the situation where four cars stop at a four-way-stop intersection all at the same time? The rules say the person on the right has the right-of-way, but that doesn't help in this situation. What do we do about this?| |H.B., Salem A: The DMV driver's manual doesn't address four-way-stop intersections because the Code of Virginia doesn't mention them.
Avoiding collisions is the individual drivers' responsibility, and their discretion and good judgment are needed. That's a rare freedom in this litigation-happy society.
Police say that after a wreck at intersections such as these, they try to find out who got there first. Everyone else should yield to the first arrival.
But, expecting four people to agree every time about who was first is tempting fate. It's best to have a backup plan.
The second rule is: After all vehicles have stopped, the other three must yield to the one that starts moving first. This rule is based on section 46.2-821 of the Code of Virginia, which says that, when a vehicle is stopped at a stop sign, it must yield to any approaching vehicle.
It could come down to a dispute over who-stopped-first vs. who-started-first. Both parties could claim to be right, but that's of little help if the fenders already are crunched.
The bottom line is, our written law is not specific about four-way stops.
Common courtesy is the best rule. Alertness helps, too.
By the way: Traffic engineers at the Virginia Department of Transportation and in Salem say it's been a long time since they approved a four-way stop.
In Roanoke, four-way stops are frequently requested but rarely approved. A five-way stop was installed within the past year at the intersection of Walnut, Maple and First Street Southwest.|
Trash piles up|
Q: I live in the Wasena area close to some businesses that place their refuse along the curb in front of a neighboring apartment house each night. I was under the impression that there was a city ordinance that states you cannot put garbage out for curbside pickup before 6 p.m. the night before collection. Is this an actual ordinance? Who in city government would you contact to report this problem?| |A.J., Roanoke A: The ordinance is Section 14-18 of the city code. It says residential garbage cannot be placed curbside earlier than 7 p.m. the day before scheduled pickup.
From your description, it sounds as if the garbage is being placed daily on a residential site that gets once-a-week pickup.
Businesses should be eligible for twice-a-week pickup by the city's commercial garbage truck.
To get some help with this, call 981-2363, advises Jim McClung, manager of the city's solid waste collections. His department will visit whoever is putting out the trash, explain the code and request compliance, he said.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayRRoanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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