The Georgia Stop
Friday, February 29, 2008 Filed in: Places
Where I'm from in Missouri when a car rolls slowly
through a stop sign at an intersection instead of
actually stopping, it's called a Georgia stop. As in
almost a full stop, but not quite.
Why 'Georgia' and not, say, Iowa. Or, Alabama. Or a Mexican stop?
Apparently a 'Georgia stop' is a regional thing. In New York it could be called a 'Jersey stop.' In North Dakota it's probably called a 'South Dakota stop.' It's also something of a derogatory term.
Whatever it is, it's probably illegal in most states, regardless of the state's name, or the name of states nearby, derogatorily used or otherwise.
Besides outright dangerous and illegal, what is it called when a car runs a red light? Not while traffic is crossing, but just after the light changed from yellow caution to red, but not before the light changed from red to green on the crossing traffic.
Why does society in some regions give a name for one offense but not another?
A bank robber is a bank robber, not a 'Georgia robber' as if there was some significant difference between robbers from one state vs. robbers from another.
Maybe it has something to do with personalizing petty crimes. What's more petty than slowly going through a stop sign without really stopping, almost, but not quite? Some cities give tickets for jaywalking. Some give tickets for not stopping at stop signs.
Is a slow roll through a stop sign a crime?
Why 'Georgia' and not, say, Iowa. Or, Alabama. Or a Mexican stop?
Apparently a 'Georgia stop' is a regional thing. In New York it could be called a 'Jersey stop.' In North Dakota it's probably called a 'South Dakota stop.' It's also something of a derogatory term.
Whatever it is, it's probably illegal in most states, regardless of the state's name, or the name of states nearby, derogatorily used or otherwise.
Besides outright dangerous and illegal, what is it called when a car runs a red light? Not while traffic is crossing, but just after the light changed from yellow caution to red, but not before the light changed from red to green on the crossing traffic.
Why does society in some regions give a name for one offense but not another?
A bank robber is a bank robber, not a 'Georgia robber' as if there was some significant difference between robbers from one state vs. robbers from another.
Maybe it has something to do with personalizing petty crimes. What's more petty than slowly going through a stop sign without really stopping, almost, but not quite? Some cities give tickets for jaywalking. Some give tickets for not stopping at stop signs.
Is a slow roll through a stop sign a crime?