LITTLE ROCK — Oh Student of the Vehicular World: Can you remind our fellow motorists that an intersection without power to traffic lights becomes a four-way stop and not a drag strip?
- Groovy
Dear Groovy: Thank you for sending this on Wednesday morning, apparently right after you either made it to work, or didn’t make it to work, or went shopping for post-Christmas bargains, and encountered much snow, ice and impatient drivers along the way.
The Mahatma managed to get to work, white knuckles all the way, and passed through several such intersections. At some of those intersections, the public-works people in North Little Rock - bless their hearts - had put up portable stop signs.
But at others, no portable stop signs.
So, to remind, and we quote from the driver’s license study guide of the Arkansas State Police:
When the traffic lights go out, treat the intersection as a four-way stop.
At a four-way stop, the driver reaching the intersection first gets to go first - neener, neener - after coming to a complete stop.
At an intersection where there is no stop sign or traffic signal, drivers must yield to vehicles approaching from the right.
Confession: At some of these intersections, The Mahatma slowed but did not stop completely, fearful of getting stuck in a mountain of slush. He bad.
Last week’s column asked the question on everybody’s mind: What’s a side wing? The question asked in reference to the requirement that vehicle windows be free of obstruction, including side wings.
Richard Frothingham of Little Rock checks in to say a side wing “is apparently a device attached to the outside of an automobile, holding a rear-vision mirror for the use of the driver.” That, he opines, is likely the meaning of the 1937 Arkansas legislation that mentions side wings.
Hold on, says Dot Hatfield of Beebe. She thinks we were being facetious, asking about side wings. We may be satirical, tongue-in-cheek and smartalecky. Never facetious.
Dot says a side wing “was about one-eighth of the front windows that flipped open and closed.
If everyone in the car was smoking you could open a side wing to bring in a little fresh air.”
But weren’t these vent windows? The Mahatma once had a 1963 Chevy Impala with vent windows.
The car was sort of a dowry, but that’s a story for another time - except to reveal the Chevy is long gone, but the girl is still in the picture.
Our old friend True Alisandre asks that we tell everyone that he will lecture Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Little Rock, 1818 Reservoir Road. The topic will be “Drive in Peace: Defenseless Driving Truths.” At 10 a.m., he’ll lead a discussion on the topic.
Alisandre lectures on peaceful driving as an alternative to defensive and fearful driving.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/29/2012