Stop signs mean stop.

So here I am reading the Oregon Driver's Manual in preparation for getting my license. What an eye opening read this is. It frightens me to the core when I read some of the stuff that they had to put in here.

There are many examples within the manual, but this one in particular really stood out.

"Children must not ride on the hood, fender, running board or other external part of the vehicle."

Wow. Amazement was the first reaction, but that soon gave way to mortal fear. People wouldn't actually do that, I thought to myself, but deep down, I knew somewhere there was a kid going down an interstate strapped to the hood of a Pinto stationwagon via a network of old bungie cords and masking tape. What's worse is that my sister has witnessed similar events, and thus my fears became a reality.

Now to leave the house I must overcome my fear of being run over by a blind man driving his car from the passenger seat, with an elephant carrying a box of nitroglycerine strapped to the roof.