I am writing in response to Ms. Camoza’s letter, “Motorists, beware of the Hoyt Road stop,” published on Oct. 20. I disagree with her opinion. The intersection at SW 320th Street and Hoyt Road/47th Avenue SW is a busy intersection close to my house. Many kids cross the street at this intersection when walking to school.

Last February, I did my science fair project on this same intersection to test how many drivers would come to a complete stop at the stop signs. Before I did this project, I actually thought that most drivers would stop at the stop signs because it is the law.

I watched the vehicles from the Lindy Lou’s parking lot on the southwest corner, which is the same place where the officers watch the intersection. I chose that parking lot because it was easy to clearly see all lanes of traffic, including the southbound lane. To determine which drivers actually stopped, I watched the wheels of each vehicle. I observed the intersection on two different days, once at rush hour, and once in the early afternoon.

In all, I observed 604 vehicles. Overall, 57 percent of the drivers did not stop at the stop sign, and 63 percent of the drivers who were turning did not stop.

I made some interesting observations during my experiment. Drivers seemed more likely to stop when there were more vehicles at the intersection. I also noticed that an ambulance did not stop at the stop sign, even though it appeared that it was not going to an emergency, since its lights were not flashing. A few minutes later, I saw a school bus that came to a complete stop.

Based on the results of my experiment, an officer is clearly needed at the intersection of SW 320th Street and Hoyt Road/47th Avenue SW. This intersection is potentially very dangerous when so many drivers choose not to stop at the stop signs.

Dylan Brown (a fifth-grader at Brooklake Christian School), Federal Way