You know who you are....
When you are driving along, and you come upon an octagon-shaped sign that is mostly red with a 4 letter word on it painted in white, what you take that sign to mean is....
A) "You may want to slow down somewhere in this vicinity"
B) "If there are no cars around, just keep going"
C) "Stop here, and then proceed lawfully"
D) "Gun it!"
E) "Stopping is for suckers and old people. I'm in a hurry"
F) "All of the above, except C"
Now, this author is sympathetic to the notion that coming to a full stop out in the middle of nowhere at an intersection that rarely sees 3 cars a day, with a full peripheral view of 300 yards in every direction, is subject to review, but that kind of scenario is the exception, not the norm. So, for those of us who drive on average surface streets laced with intersections, STOP signs have a very decided and useful purpose, which is - to keep us all from slamming into one another.
Before you yawn and dismiss this subject, just do a simple experiment: get a comfy lawn chair, meet some of your neighbors, and sit where you can see a local 4 way stop. As you relax, sipping sweet tea, take note of how average drivers treat that intersection. If all the roads leading to the intersection are full of cars, everyone stops, but note their lack of reasoning and judgment as to who has the right of way. Want to throw the "average" driver into a tizzy? Let them come upon a busy intersection where two cars arrive at the stopping point at the same time. It's like watching a cat chase its own tail. However, if that intersection is largely abandoned, or seeing low traffic flow, count how many drivers just blow through, with little semblance of even slowing down. You may be surprised to find that less than 20% even pretend to stop under such circumstances.
STOP means STOP. So, maybe it's not terribly important for your car to have time to rock back and forth due to the forces of inertia and so forth, but you know good and well what an actual stop is, and what is not. But this is where all you "average" drivers out there think that such discussions are unimportant and childish. After all, you are keeping an eye out, right? And this is YOUR neighborhood, after all! You drive these streets year in and year out, and you've never run into someone or over someone, so what's the big deal?
Big deal, indeed.
As with so many traffic laws, a STOP sign is there in the anticipation that at any given time, all four lanes leading into the intersection (or two, or three lanes, or more) could be occupied by a driver, and so the worst case scenario is always handled first. This is reasonable rationale when you get to the point that you understand that you are not the only driver on the road. There are other drivers out there, and their very safety depends upon both you and them obeying simple driving laws that take into account all possible scenarios.
The problem is this: when you make a habit of running through stop signs, sooner or later you are going to miss something. You are going to fail to see that child, bicyclist, or other motorist that assumes you will stop, and they begin to cross. But of course, you know this area, drive it all the time, and run that stop sign all the time, and so while you're engaged in useless conversation on your cell phone, while eating fries and drinking your beverage -- supremely sure that you are so "cool" -- you do what you have done in the past, and roll right through, but this time, something happens. That child is crushed, that bicyclist is bounced, or that car is crunched, and there you sit, with such a stupid look on your face, asking, "how did this happen?"
The universal law is this.....regardless of your supposed skill level, you will eventually make a mistake and miss something if you continue to run through stop signs. Stopping allows you to check, and then double check, every direction, looking for possible hazards as you obey the law. In this case, the law is very helpful and should be obeyed with care, if for no other reason than that the other driver approaching your intersection may be intending to run through too. Hate to see that bill!
Go ahead and stop. Doubt it will kill you.
Drive precise!
CAR CARE TIP OF THE DAY
Speaking of brakes....
Did you know that not all brakes are created equal? Did you know that when certain elements of your brake system need to be replaced, you often have options?
It's true! In fact, most people don't service their brakes themselves, so they just accept that whatever the service technician provides is the one and only choice. Even those that venture into the dark world of brake repair often miss the opportunity to upgrade and reap the benefits of shorter stopping distances, lower noise, and less brake dust.
If you drive a car less than 10 years old, it is very possible you have disc brakes at all four corners. Even if you have drum style brakes on the rear, you can still obtain upgraded components that will reap the benefits listed above. But first, a quick review of your major brake components.
A brake disc looks like a big metal pancake, often viewed behind the wheel of your car. It is round, has two flat sides, and will often be "vented" in the middle, which means that the two flat surfaces have hollowed out portions between them, providing better cooling. You see, your brakes essentially take forward motion and turn it into heat energy while exerting pressure on the rotating assembly. Therefore, your brake components get hot, and it is critical that your brake system can handle this heat. Many upgrade components deal with, and dissipate that heat more effectively than stock parts. Along with the discs, calipers hold disc brake "pads" that are pressed against the disc on both sides, providing the necessary friction to stop the car. This design is inherently efficient and has become the industry standard. Just 30 years ago, four wheel disc brakes were rarely seen on anything but the most exotic sports cars.
A drum brake system is older, but still fairly efficient at stopping. Drum brakes have brake "shoes" (they look like half moons) that exert pressure from the inside out upon a circular drum that rolls with the tires. This design is not as effective and powerful as disc brakes, but usually weighs slightly less and is the old standby.
Next up are brake lines. Standard brake lines are both solid (metal tubing) and flexible (rubber tubing) and will normally last a decade or longer. However, with age, these lines can corrode or crack, both internally and externally, causing a serious risk for failure. Stock replacements are fine, but upgraded stainless steel braided, Teflon lined hoses are available for many cars and trucks, and provide extra pressure due to their more resilient design.
Finally, there is the actual brake fluid. DOT 3 is the most common type (DOT standing for "Department of Transportation"), used for decades. Rarely seen, but readily available, is a DOT 4 substitute, which is still of the same chemical design, but has a higher boiling point. You see, brakes create heat, and excessive heat will eventually transfer to the brake fluid that is used to operate your hydraulic brakes. If that fluid boils, you will experience brake fade, whereas the brake pedal either becomes excessively mushy, or just drops to the floor due to loss of pressure. Since it is recommended that your brake fluid is flushed about every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, that is a good time to upgrade to DOT 4. There is a DOT 5, but it has a different base and cannot absorb moisture, so it is regulated to race cars only (all standard DOT brake fluids aggressively attract moisture, which degrades the fluid and can harm internal brake components, hence the need to flush the system regularly).
So, what are the other possible upgrades? First of all, keep in mind that your brake system should be visually inspected at least once a year. If it has been 3 years, or if more than 30,000 miles since your last brake inspection or repair, you are more than due. Regardless of how the brakes feel, take your car in (or do it yourself) immediately if that is the case.
OK, so the upgrades: one of the easiest is to upgrade to premium pads for disc brakes. Most manufacturers will install a pad that offers the best compromise between power, noise, and dust, but that rarely means you have the best pads available on your car. In almost every case, the pad offered as a factory replacement is superseded in the list of options by better pads that cost more, but do everything better too. Now, if you drive a Porsche or a Lambo, you might want to stick to the stock stuff, but even then, there are better pads to be had. So, the shortcut here is to get the most expensive pads available, provided they are not rated as "track pads," for autocross or racing only. What you are likely to notice is less noise, shorter stopping distances, and less dust, to be sure. The same basic advice goes for drum brake "shoes."
Another upgrade is in the disc itself. In many cases, the factory replacement will cost much more than options from leading aftermarket brake companies. Brembo is an excellent brand that builds discs of better material, with designs that improve upon most build parameters. If you have had a problem with your brake discs warping or cracking, get away from factory replacements or cheap-o off brands, and search out a good upgrade replacement.
Keep in mind that as to the design of brake discs, most have a flat surface, but some upgraded designs have flutes cut into the surface (often called slotted), while others may have small holes drilled in to them (referred to as cross drilled). These designs are intended to help remove water from the disc, and to help get rid of gasses that can build up between the disc surface and the pad under extreme use. Frankly, slotting is about as exotic as most street driven cars need to get, as cross drilled rotors can be prone to crack, but they give the car a racy look! The discs that have these features cost more, and are not available for every car on the road.
Is stock good enough? Depends upon the car, but again.....if you can't stop, you are certainly in deep trouble, and in many dangerous situations, being able to stop just a few feet shorter can be the difference between a close call, and calamity. It's worth the few extra bucks to improve upon a decent design, even if just a little. So check those brakes, and if any repair or replacement is necessary, do some investigation, and upgrade. You will be glad you did.
