First Baptist Church of Herndon

A Rolling Stop

Linda Soller | Jul 03, 2023

It was my hope that the title of this blog would get your attention. I’m sure you know that “rolling stop” is a misnomer! If you are rolling you can’t be stopped! However, this subtle fact seems to be missed by many.

I was heading to the grocery store, at the speed limit, on a local two-lane road. A driver skillfully performed a “rolling stop” coming out onto the road in front of me and the car behind me. Did I mention there was no visibility problem which may have triggered this blunder? Leaving her neighborhood street, she performed a “rolling stop” to perfection, and she also finished with a well below the speed limit entrance into oncoming traffic. Again, that would be me. Relax, there was no accident. Brakes were applied. As she proceeded to the traffic light, she stopped with a gap of at least six cars between her car and the next car already waiting at the light. The turn lane holds about eight cars, which meant my car and any behind me were now blocking the other lane, due to no fault of our own. This is never a comfortable position to be in. The light turned green, and she slowly moved through the intersection. As I passed her on my right, I did not see a phone or food, just a driver who was apparently oblivious to all the drivers around her.

I go through this story in detail because it reminds me of how many people go through life. They think there is a “rolling stop”, and they can do as they want because people around them should be paying attention. Clearly, we all need to pay attention to what is going on around us. We can opt to ignore others, it’s a selfish way to live, but pretty common. Or we can watch out for each other. Those who watch out prevent accidents, save lives, help the needy, respond in emergencies, and you can see my point. The real lesson here is that we have a decision to make. Do we go through life as though it’s one big “rolling stop” or do we stop, actually stop, and take notice of the world around us before we move forward?

Be the love in the world  : )   Linda