September 23rd 2005.

Every time I receive visitors from Europe, I get the same reaction from them:
"What's with all the stop signs you guys have, almost at every corner?"
And they're absolutely right. In the UK of-course there ARE no stop signs.
Everyone is trained to give way to the fellow coming from their right.
(It would be the left if we were to adopt such a system).

But, hell we can't even turn right on a red light in this part of the world, let alone suggest that we might have the
necessary maturity to actually give way to the left at an intersection.

The Brits also turn a lot of their traffic light to flashing red at 11pm. Another bright idea,
How many of you have to sat alone at an intersection controlled by traffic lights, at midnight, without another car in sight?

But to get back to the stop sign issue for a minute If the tree huggers and econazis wanted to earn any respect from me and
many many other motorists, they would figure out that stop signs are one of the most polluting and energy wasting "ideas"
that has ever been invented.

In my part of the world, I swear the mayors' brother actually must manufacture the things, there are so many of them.

Let's see what stop signs do:

1) They wear out brakes and suspension.
2) They create extra engine load and clutch and transmission wear.
3) They pollute like crazy, because a car uses five times more fuel to accelerate to speed than to maintain a steady speed.
4) They pollute again, because of item 3.
5) They are a major nuisance to to home owners in the immediate area since noise becomes all embracing as cars first
     put on their brakes and then accelerate again.

I'm sure every long distance transport driver with a 16 speed gearbox, would be delighted if even half of the existing stop
signs were to be dismantled.

City "engineers" use stop signs to placate the usual militant citizens who want cars to go back to the days when every car
had to have a man with a red flag walking in front.

You can imagine the conversation:
"Yes, Mrs Smith, you say there's cars speeding on your street? Don't worry, we'll erect another stop sign.
That should put paid to the bastards"

And then there's the four way stop. Nothing I can imagine is more dangerous to motorists or creates more fender benders than
the four way stop sign. It's illogical and insane and yet every municipality in North America does it and every one of them is
guilty of rescindant thinking.

So the end result, particularly as gas prices rise, is that more and more otherwise law abiding citizens barrel through these stop
signs, almost without slowing down.

For Gods' sake, municipal "engineers" rethink this whole crazy concept (and take out the speed bumps while you're at it!!)