Road Rules: Is short-stopping at a four-way intersection allowed?

Question: I sometimes see drivers at four-way stop intersections short-stopping (coming to a stop well before the stop line). It seems to me like a jerk move; they do it so that they stop before the rest of the drivers because whoever stops first is the next to go through the intersection. Is that legal?

Answer: I wasn’t familiar with the term “short-stopping” prior to this question, so of course, I Googled it. I learned that along with your definition, it refers to a kind of telecom fraud as well as when a drug dealer infringes on another dealer’s territory. Who knew? I also discovered that lots of people (at least on the internet) are as irritated by it as you are. I’m speaking of short-stopping at an intersection, not the other two kinds.

I, too, have seen it on occasion, but I have a different hypothesis for why it happens. Before we get to motivations though, let’s take a look at the law.

The idea that whoever stops first gets to go first isn’t actually stated in the law, but it’s a fairly reasonable interpretation and very similar to the Washington Driver Guide, which reads, “At a four-way stop the driver reaching the intersection first, goes first (after coming to a complete stop).” This is supported by the law that requires drivers to yield to vehicles already in the intersection or approaching so closely as to constitute a hazard.

The Driver Guide continues, “If more than one vehicle arrives at the same time, the vehicle on the right goes first.” This part parallels the law that states, “When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.”

I was curious to see both how often short-stopping happens, and if there is any pattern to when it happens or what kind of vehicles do it most. I set up at a moderately busy four-way stop intersection and observed 200 vehicles as they went through. Of those vehicles, 18 stopped short of the stop line, mostly just by a few feet. Only one stopped at what I estimated to be about a car-length back. And many of them stopped short even though there was no potential advantage. (At that moment they were the only vehicle approaching the intersection.)

Here’s what I found most interesting: 17 of the 18 vehicles were pickups or SUVs. And here’s my hypothesis: On tall vehicles with long hoods, drivers lose sight of the stop line earlier, so they stop sooner.

But is it legal to short-stop? The law requires, in part, that drivers stop “at a clearly marked stop line.” If we want to get particular, the Driver Guide instructs drivers not to stop in travel lanes. Does stopping a car-length before a stop line constitute stopping in a travel lane?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. I can’t prove the motivations of short-stoppers, but even if they do it to be first (and this might be controversial), so what? It costs you five seconds and possibly a little confusion.

Yes, when drivers follow the law and drive predictably, things flow better and we’re all safer. We should all strive to be that kind of driver. But if you encounter a driver who fails, either by error or intention, to live up to those standards, it’s an opportunity to execute one of the hardest driving maneuvers out there: stay cool, shake it off, and do whatever makes the roadway safest in that moment.

Doug Dahl is a manager with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Region 11 and publishes TheWiseDrive.com.