Just STOP!

I’m Rahlita Thornton, from the Thornton Esquire Law Group, PLLC. I want to share with you something that young people are doing now. They’re getting tickets for rolling stops, and they act like they don’t understand what that means. And it’s not just young people either.

When we approach a stop sign, we should stop and then we should be counting 1001, 1002. Of course, we should also be looking each way before we proceed.

A Rolling Stop

However, if we come to that stop sign and see that the road is clear, we might not count out those two seconds and sit still before we proceed. In that case, we have committed a rolling stop. And if the police catch us, we’re going to get a traffic ticket.

A Real-Life Story

I’ve had someone contact me recently about that kind of situation. And the first thing they said was, I stopped, but I didn’t see that police officer over there. So that is what made me ask them in detail, “How did you stop?” “Well, I was in a rush.” “You still didn’t answer my question. I asked you how did you stop.”

After further questioning, it was clear that this person did not stop entirely at the stop sign, and they rushed through it instead. And as a result, they received a traffic ticket.

The Consequences

Now they have to try to get a deferred because they have a situation where they already had a traffic ticket for something else, and they’ve already done defensive driving. So they’re going to have to see if they could get a deferred.

But guess what? They’re still going to have to pay some court costs. Maybe it won’t go on their record. Maybe, it will. But the point that I’m trying to make is that it’s still going to cost them something, regardless of what they do.

What You Should Do

Let’s come to a proper stop. It’s just not safe to do a rolling stop. We need to be good drivers because there are a lot of crazy ones out there on the streets. You already know that. We need to be the best drivers that we can be and control our own situation. That is the tip, and that’s what I would suggest for all of us to be more mindful of.

Send me a comment, a message or a post if this tip saves your life because it certainly could. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m just trying to spread information, trying to tell folks how to fix things in their daily lives.

So use that tip, and let’s all be more mindful of what we’re doing when we’re out there. Just because the police does not see us doesn’t mean that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. And we need to do what we’re supposed to be doing, so that we can maintain ourselves and govern ourselves accordingly.

If you have any questions or you want to talk to me, feel free to give me a call, post a text, or send me an email. I’ll be happy to talk with you.