Does Stop Means Stop? Not to everyone.

A police officer noticed a vehicle roll through a stop sign so he decided to pull the driver over. As he approached the vehicle the driver rolled down his window and asked the officer what the problem was. The officer replied, “You didn’t come to a complete stop at that stop sign back there.” 

“Well, I slowed down” came a reply from inside the car, “isn’t that good enough?” 

“No. It isn’t good enough” said the officer. “Imagine this: If I were to start punching you in the face and you yelled at me to stop, would you be happy if I just slowed down?”

First of all, this isn’t a story about police violence, it is simply about making a distinction between coming to a complete stop and rolling through a stop sign. There are many good reasons to stop at a stop sign however one that might not be considered as often is the need to develop good muscle memory. If we condition ourselves to roll through a stop sign consistently we will develop this habit. On most days this won’t be an issue, however, on the day where we have had a fight with someone or have received some bad news our minds can wonder. If we have been conditioned to stop and look before proceeding we should be okay. If we have been conditioned to roll through the stop sign relying solely on our focused and engaged mind we could be in trouble on the day that our mind isn’t so focused or engaged. The reality is that stop means stop. It is as simple as that.