The Rolling Stop at a Rain-Soaked Four-Way
It is 7:40 a.m. and raining hard. You are driving a light truck westbound on a residential street posted at 50 km/h. You approach an all-way stop where a car is already stopped on your right, a cyclist is approaching from your left, and a pedestrian with a stroller is waiting on the northwest corner. Your wipers are on high, your windshield is fogging at the lower left, and your phone is in a dash mount running navigation. You brake from 50 km/h; the pavement is wet and your stopping distance is noticeably longer than usual. You roll to a stop with your front bumper slightly past the stop line because the crosswalk paint is hard to see. The car on the right begins to edge forward at the same moment.
1. Who has the right of way, and what should you do first?
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First, stop completely and get your front bumper behind the stop line/crosswalk, even if you must reverse slightly; a stop line you cannot see in rain still applies. At an all-way stop, the first vehicle to stop is first to proceed. You cannot verify who stopped first between you and the car on the right, so treat it as a tie and yield to the vehicle on your right. Do not wave the cyclist through - the cyclist is a road user with their own obligation to stop, and a friendly wave can pull them into a conflict with the car. Sequence: complete your stop, clear your fogged windshield, confirm the car on the right is going (or clearly yields), then proceed when the intersection is clear, watching the pedestrian with the stroller who may enter the crosswalk.
2. The pedestrian steps into the crosswalk as you begin to move. What is the correct response, and why does wet pavement change it?
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Stop and yield. A pedestrian in a crosswalk at an intersection has the right of way; you must not proceed until they have cleared your path. Wet pavement lengthens stopping distance, so your approach speed and following margin must be larger than on dry roads - this is why you should be creeping at low speed rather than accelerating through the turn. Do not attempt to beat the pedestrian; even a slow roll can become a skid. If you have already entered the crosswalk, stop where you are rather than reversing into the car behind you, and let the pedestrian walk around your front.
3. Does the navigation app change your obligations here?
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No. A dash-mounted phone used for navigation is permitted only in a hands-free manner, and it never overrides signs, signals, or right-of-way rules. If the app instructs a turn that conflicts with the all-way stop or a sign, the sign controls. If glancing at the screen would take your eyes off the wet intersection while a pedestrian and cyclist are present, ignore the screen until you are through.