Stop Signs...They Are There for a Reason!!

We are in a new neighborhood now and I am loving it! We only have neighbors on two sides of us as we are on a corner lot and have fields behind our house. It is sooo nice to not be totally surrounded by people. At my old house, every window I looked out of I saw a house. Now, it is not that way at all and it is wonderful. Out my bedroom window, I have a great view of our street and I can also see several streets over too.

One thing that irks me to no end is watching people come up to the stop sign in front of our house. As I look out my window, I see a car approach the stop sign. The driver decreases their speed and coasts through the intersection...without even stopping!! Ok, so this is my beef here. It's a STOP SIGN...not a YIELD sign! If there was supposed to be a yield sign, then yes, I can see why someone would not come to a full and complete stop. However, this is a neighborhood FULL of children and yes, there is traffic that travels these streets.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I was driving home from my mom's house one afternoon. I approached a busy intersection that was controlled by one stop sign - the one I had to stop at. No one else had a stop sign so that meant I had to be extra careful to not pull out in front of someone. So, I slowed down and came to a complete stop. No cars were coming in either direction but I had been taught to ALWAYS stop at a *ahem* STOP sign. I had stopped my vehicle but the driver behind me failed to stop and rear-ended me. Now, it wasn't a bad accident and I had a small dent in my fender. When the other guy got out of his car, he told me that "No one ever really stops at THAT stop sign..." so he wasn't expecting me to. Really? Seriously? I couldn't believe my ears. Needless to say, his insurance company paid for the repair on my vehicle.

This is what I am talking about. There are stop signs for a reason. For your safety. Watching just about every driver coast through the stop sign on my street has given me a new awareness of how I drive and making sure I do indeed STOP at each and every stop sign...even if it irritates the driver behind me. ALWAYS obey  road signs...they are there to protect and keep you safe!!

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