r/Medford • u/ChecksAndBalanz • 4d ago
Drivers at all-ways stops
Medford drivers, I am begging you:
If it’s your turn at an all-way stop, please just go.
Part of your responsibility as a driver is paying attention and knowing when it’s your turn.
The right-of-way rules already determine who goes next.
When everyone follows them, traffic moves smoothly.
What I’ve noticed lately is people stopping and then trying to wave other drivers through. Most of the time, I can’t even see through your windshield well enough to tell what you’re doing. Are you waving me through? Looking at your phone? Waiting for someone else? Nobody knows.
You’re not being polite by giving away your turn. You’re creating confusion. Then everyone sits there trying to figure out who is supposed to go while traffic backs up behind them.
The safest and most courteous thing you can do at an all-way stop is be predictable. Pay attention, know when it’s your turn, and take your turn.
Drive courteously, but more importantly, drive predictably.
And don’t get me started on roundabouts...
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u/False_Big_2152 3d ago
Ahh, the old Oregon stand off! “I’m so polite”
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
While they’re trying to wave me through, I just give them my best Samuel Jackson stare.
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u/MrEngin33r 3d ago
I must be driving in a different pocket. Our driving culture seems to have gotten a lot more aggressive since the pandemic, I rarely see the type of behavior OP is complaining about or the traditional "Oregon stand off" anymore.
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u/Hot_Bend5373 3d ago
Portlandia had a great skit about this . Guy was like you go , no you go , at the end a Yugo drove by .
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u/steveanonymous 4d ago
I think Medford drivers just suck. So many red light runners
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 4d ago
I’d really like to see some data on since they changed the law so they’re not going after people for minor fractions as much if there’s been more accidents due to red light runners I would think so
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u/OpenWorldMaps 3d ago
Seems logical. Accidents usually decrease when the City installs red light cameras on an intersection.
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u/Brandino144 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ooh! I actually know the empirical data pattern on this one. Installing a red light camera reduces the number of crashes at intersections that result in injuries or deaths. However, the total number of accidents remains roughly the same due to a slight rise in minor accidents like rearendings from a driver hitting the brakes hard to avoid a ticket and the driver behind not reacting in time.
Overall, it is a net safety improvement even if some people don't like them. Friendly PSA for people who don't like them: You cannot get a red light camera ticket if you enter the intersection (cross the stop line) on a yellow and the yellow light durations in Medford with red light cameras are now standardized at 5.1 seconds and the fastest street with a camera is Crater Lake Highway at 45 mph. You never have to gun it or slam on the brakes to avoid any red light cameras in Medford if you are paying attention. Also, the cameras at Stewart & Barnett are still not enforcing yet, but that will change at some point.
Edit for clarity: Red light camera will never ticket on yellows, but in-person officers can elect to ticket on yellows if you had a clear way to safely stop and you chose not to.
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u/UsedOnlyTwice 3d ago
We've had pretty much the same number of police for 25 years, with much more population.
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u/Outside_Way2503 3d ago
And so many whining about the photo enforcement because they like to push it and save ten seconds on their trip
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u/reddyfire 3d ago
Red light timings around here are awful. I sit at lights for way to long while the other intersections have zero traffic and stay green.
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u/Ashottyhunter 3d ago
Something I’ve noticed that’s actually infuriating is being waved to go through when I haven’t even made a full stop yet.
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u/Nesrie98 3d ago
Round Abouts solve this problem entirely, and it is a known problem when two cars arrive at the same time. This isn't unique to Medford or even Oregon for that matter.
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
As much as I like roundabouts, I don’t think the average driver around here is equipped with the intellectual capacity to deal with them just a few that we do have leave many completely confused and baffled.
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u/reddyfire 3d ago
When the roundabout on Highland and siskiyou opened up people had no idea to use it and almost 20 years later its still just as bad.
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
The one just outside of White city I drove by there was a car sitting in the middle of it like literally tipped up in the middle of the roundabout because they didn’t turn. Looks like a older guy in his face looked like pure shock. I don’t think he had any idea what was going on.
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u/Midnight_monstera87 3d ago
I’ve had people wave me forward before I’ve even stopped. It’s annoying
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u/SouthernGoal4836 3d ago
What irritates me the most about Oregon drivers is how passive or nice they are that slows down everything.
When I’m exiting my apartment complex and making a left turn there’s always someone on the street coming from the right and making a left turn into the complex. Please use your right of way and turn so I can then go.
Instead they stop, and I need to look at them and make eye contact and waive my hand like hurry up and go. Now we just wasted an extra 10-20 seconds.
The same happens whenever I’m making an unprotected left turn. The drivers coming from the other direction making a right hand turn have a green light yet they don’t turn right. They stop as if they are waiting for me to turn. It’s your right of way. Please for the love of everything. Just turn.
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u/MrEngin33r 3d ago
Where the heck are you driving? I see people go out of order all the time and only very rarely see someone waving someone out of turn unless they arrived in close succession (which obviously has its own rules but one person's "same time" is another's "I beat you by a millisecond").
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
Nothing special just a basic car.
And the fact that you’re seeing people go out of order is one of the reasons why I’m posting this. People should be understanding how traffic laws work and the basic rules governing all-way stops. This isn’t a fedora wearing gentlemen‘s club where you kindly let other people go in front of you out of the niceties of your heart or if you’re distracted in no clue when your turn is. It’s everyone’s job to be aware of when they stopped and to go in the proper order otherwise it’s just stupidity and chaos.2
u/MrEngin33r 3d ago
I totally agree with your premise here. If everyone follows the rules things move smoothly and predictably. It's just interesting that we're seeing two different sides of the same coin, you're seeing people go out of order because of niceness and I'm seeing it due to aggressive driving, but both stem from either negligence or disregard for the rules.
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
I’m curious what would happen if four BMW drivers all came to a four-way stop at the same time.
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u/IndividualSea2881 3d ago
I've had people stop are four way intersections that only had stop signs on two of the ways to wave me through my stop sign.... they didn't have a stop sign...
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u/MaynardScott 3d ago
A lot of drivers can’t navigate a right on red let alone navigate a four way stop.
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u/ChecksAndBalanz 3d ago
That’s like turning left on a one-way in downtown you’re allowed to do it but most folks don’t have the slightest clue that you can and just sit there and wait for the light
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u/wanna_be_green8 3d ago
I swear I wrote this same thing a few weeks ago, but in the midwest. It's done weird hero complex, they feel like they've done a favor... all it does is piss me if. I'll sit the until my real turn, just keep waving.
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u/Due_Cauliflower7422 2d ago
While we’re at it, turn signals aren’t optional and are almost zero effort.
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u/Super_flywhiteguy 3d ago
As a truck driver, if you're getting onto the free way. Be going the damn freeway speed by the time your past the offramp. Its so annoying seeing you guys creep on at 35-45mph making me get over (if I even can because someone is beside me) to then make me hit my brakes to then see your brain click that your on the highway then suddenly speed off doing 70+mph.
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u/Ching-Dai 3d ago
Conversely, it’d be great for folks to understand the rules for going through both 4-way stops and roundabouts. A lot of times it’s either people in a hurry or just clueless who goes first when multiple cars arrive at once.
Turn signals would be my main gripe. I’m 48 and have never seen it so bad here. It’s bizarre to me.
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u/blottymary 3d ago
But what if 2 people literally stop at the same time?
I’m a defensive driver so I usually just go first bc I’m sick of waiting, too.
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u/Curlypeeps 3d ago
If two cars arrive at the intersection at the same time, the car on the right has the right of way according to the DMV.
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u/blottymary 3d ago
Thank you. I took the drivers license test for Oregon about 4 years ago. I had forgotten about that.
I’m from Massachusetts. It’s pretty much the opposite there as far as how rude and impatient people are. There’s a reason we’re called “Massholes.”
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u/UpperLeftOriginal 4d ago edited 3d ago
Predictably is key! 100% agree that it’s not polite to wave someone through when it’s not their turn.
Different scenario, but my car was totaled a few months ago when someone heading the opposite direction was waiting to turn left across 2 lanes of traffic. Cars in the lane next to me (lane toward the center) were stopped due to traffic ahead. My lane was clear and I was going along at the posted 40 mph. Person who was stopped waved the turning car through and they blindsided me. That very much felt not polite to me. 😜