SEVEN SPRINGS – The state Transportation Department will install an all-way stop at a Lenior County crossroads to improve safety.

The location is N.C. 903 and Davis Hardy Road. Drivers on N.C. 903 currently do not stop.

The transition is scheduled to be made Tuesday, from roughly 8 a.m. until noon, weather permitting. Drivers should slow down and watch for crews and equipment, if traveling through this area.

Converting intersections into all-way stops have shown to reduce total crashes by 68%, as this NCDOT page explains. As a reminder, drivers encountering them should follow these rules:

• The first vehicle at the intersection has the right of way;

• When two or more vehicles reach an intersection at the same time, the vehicle to the right has the right of way and may go straight or, if legal and after signaling, turn left or right;

• When two facing vehicles approach an intersection simultaneously, both drivers can move straight ahead or turn right. If one driver is going straight while the other wants to turn left, the driver who wants to turn left must yield; and

Even with the right of way, drivers should remember to use appropriate turn signals and watch for pedestrians and other vehicles.