Hey, Answer Girl -

At malls, stop signs are placed throughout parking lots. I labor under the presumption that these are private property and not subject to the same laws as public roads. So, if I choose not to stop for one of these, can I be cited under traffic laws by the police?

-John in Cheyenne

For safety reasons, you should definitely be stopping at those signs. They're not put there for fun, or so mall security can flash its lights at you. They're put there because parking lots - particularly those near malls - are sometimes very busy with cars and pedestrians (see: day after Thanksgiving; day before Christmas).

So, now that the lecture's over, yeah, you can still be cited by the police in parking lots even though they're private property. You may be able to argue a case against it, but those lots are for public use as a roadway to a business. Therefore, all roadway traffic laws apply, said Sgt. Steve Schulz with the Casper Police Department.

And pretty much no matter where you are, if you're in a moving vehicle, you can be cited for reckless driving. Causing an accident in a parking lot would likely qualify.

Yea for safe driving!

Hey, Answer Girl -

Is the Nobel Prize for Literature given for a specific book or for lifetime achievement? Who decides who gets it?

- Joe S.

The prize is given for an overall body of work, and is a lifetime achievement thing rather than a this-or-that-book thing.

The prize was established under the will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel and is awarded annually. In his will, Nobel suggested the Royal Swedish Academy choose the winners each year, and so far, the group does still award the prize. The academy, which was founded in 1786, is in charge of the Swedish language and publishes two Swedish dictionaries.

Winning the prize is, obviously, a huge honor for writers around the world, and puts writers in the same pool as literature greats Toni Morrison, Jose Saramago, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Steinbeck, Albert Camus, Pablo Neruda, William Faulkner and T.S. Eliot.

The prize has only been refused once, by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964.

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Answer Girl tackles questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your questions by e-mail to megan.lee@trib.com, or call Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616. Write to Answer Girl, Box 80, Casper, 82602. Visit the AnswerLabs Blog Place at tribtown.trib.com.