Stop Signs

Technically it is safer to abide by the laws of the road that apply to cars. Does that mean there aren't certain circumstances that should allow one to go through a stop? A stop sign out in the country with full view in both directions for a long ways is fine, but not in the city, things happen too fast in the city and I've seen cyclists almost get hit from going through stop signs. The problem with allowing cyclists to run stops is that discretion as to when it is safe to run it comes down patience or lack there of! And it is usually the lack there of that most cyclists express at stops and run out in front of cars, so in light of impatient cyclists safety they should stop for all stops just as cars do.

 

Sunday I was out with a group and the front guys rolled a stop sign in a town called Pacific, population about 6,000, a cop saw this happen and commented on the loud speaker about stopping completely. He than followed behind the group for a while to make sure people actually listened.

 

good for the cop, but you all you're going to hear is from the cop haters who think the cop has nothing else better to do...nothing else better to do then to keep cyclists safe isn't enough?

 

Alabama requires that cyclists obey all traffic laws, so most motorists expect cyclists to stop just as if they were cars. If in doubt, be a car.

 

It all depends on what YOU think is the right thing to do. If there are no cars in all directions, I pass the stop sign like it was never even there. However, it is pretty obvious that if there are, then I would not hesitate to think about stopping. It's all a matter of common sense, and keeping the safety of you and your bike to a minimum.

 

I agree, if there are no cars coming, your feet are clipped, why are you going to stop? It really makes no sense to lose that momentum just because of a stop sign, at least that's my opinion. I would not stop.

 

lol, busted eh? Sure, I really can't argue that, we should follow the law, but sometimes if no one is coming there is really no harm is there?

Nice avatar btw.

 

I take the pause approach. Pretty much the same thing I do when driving, a rolling stop. However, where I find it feels like every 30 feet there's a stop sign so I would be doing more stopping than riding if I were to follow the law to a T.

 

[SIZE=10.5pt]It would be safer to stop in these situations because these stop signs are placed usually on intersections, usually busy ones with a lot of traffic, cars and pedestrians. Even if there is a time when the intersection is clear and not that busy, it is still advisable to completely stop before the stop sign, because we do not know, maybe there is a speeding car coming or a group of people crossing. In some countries where traffic law is strictly followed, they do not even have stop signs. When there is an intersection, they will [/SIZE]mandatory[SIZE=10.5pt] stop and wait if it is clear. [/SIZE]

 

Not where I live. There's a stop sign on dead end blocks (which frustrates the crap out of me). I take it on a case-by-case basis.

 

I don't stop completely but I will try to slow down my bike considerably. I guess, with cars, it is easier to be severely injured even if being hit by a slow moving vehicle so that is why it is mandatory to stop when you are driving. However, I don't think that being hit by slow bikes is as bad as being hit by cars so sometimes, I would just let my bike roll albeit slowly. I don't know how safe it is to brake suddenly either but I believe that braking completely is what is required even for bikes.

 

I like that choice of words, pause approach. Pretty much what I do too, safety comes first after all, so I slow my speed down, look both sides and if no-one is coming I just move on.

 

If there's no cars in sight, of course it makes more sense to just cross instead of waiting at the stop-sign. I mean, of course if you want to follow the law that harshly you can choose to do so, but it seems fairly ridiculous to obey it in cases where theres no reason to

 

That is the fact. Also, there are quite a few cyclists in my city that go around some traffic laws, after all being inside a city can be tiring, so sometimes nothing like going to the sidewalk to avoid riding too much.

 

Stop signs are supposed to protect pedestrians and bikers, but we all have to face the fact that there are rude drivers out there who don't deserve to have gotten their license. Therefore, considering that, I will still proceed with caution whenever passing by stop signs and I will make sure that I look at coming vehicles and make sure they really stop before I move forward. Better safe than sorry! I've seen people get into an accident even when the right of way is on them. I would not want that to happen to me.

 

I do think there is great need to stop when there is a sign. It is part of rules and regulations and overlooking it can be really horrible experience. I would never do such a thing.

 

Yes, impossible to argue that shilpa, we need to follow the law, but at the same time some things don't make much sense, so I usually judge that in the moment.

 

Knowing the law is important, especially because you want to be watching out for cops if you're breaking it.

If I'm riding in a group, I obey all laws. You shouldn't lead other bikers into danger and following the rules is the best you can do for keeping groups safe. When I'm alone, I ride like I'm a rodeo clown with a dozen bulls trying to get behind me. This includes blowing through a stop sign at speed if it makes sense.

Example: I'm coming up to an intersection where I can clearly see all ingress points clearly. I'm doing 15mph approaching this empty four way stop; and another car is coming up to turn left in front of me. But at my speed I'm obviously seven seconds ahead of that car and I can see it's slowing to make the left turn. I extended the courtesy of blowing through the intersection, exiting it before the other car was ever within five seconds of me. Sure, my chain could have slipped (but it wouldn't because I kept my speed) and I could have crashed in the middle of the intersection. Of course that would be more likely if I was accelerating from a stop. Anyway, I was gone by the time it got to the intersection and I watched it blow through the left turn at 15mph because I was gone. "You're welcome," I said, because I could tell in my heart he had thought, "Thank you."

Had I stopped it would have changed our timing such that I would have had right of way to go first, just as he stopped. Then I would have hesitated to go until I knew he saw me, because I don't know if he's some goody two-shoes that always stops at intersections where nobody else ever does; which means maybe he doesn't see me and so I'm hesitating, but then because he isn't going I can tell he expects me to go, but what if me not going is interpreted as a sign that I want him to go and now I'm really not going because bikers never win a misunderstanding.

I've been riding for 40 years (hit by cars three times in the first five, and never since) and there are so many things to consider that I don't think you can give advice about this and expect it to be good advice, because it all depends. I obey all laws, or safer, when I'm riding in places I haven't ridden a dozen times before. The point I made above is a horrible one, because I know this intersection well, having ridden it thousands of times. But you don't know it. I didn't tell you about the huge pot hole I avoid without thinking; or that I don't do this when it's dark, where I may only see the headlights that were on, and not the others that were drunkenly off, and so on. Is the sun low and blinding me or the drivers?

The only advice that's useful to a forum of strangers is to obey the law, and even then your going to get hit sometimes. I haven't been hit in decades, but that just means I'm lucky. No doubt my luck is increased with experience (my own and what I learn from others) and that experience is very subjective to your experience, your location, your experience with that locaion, the time of day.... My point is that safety first; obeying the law is second; when you don't have tried and true experience with the situation, obeying the law is your best bet for safety.

 

Yeah, the best advice is to obey the law, no question about that Lee, but at the same time we are here to talk about our personal experience and also to know how things work in another countries.