smasha

as noted recently in another thread, a lot of people here are quick to point out "i always stop at stop signs".

when i'm driving a car/van/truck, i ALWAYS do a full stop at stop signs. when i'm on a bike, not always.

the thing is, if i get rear-ended in a car in that situation it's unlikely to be any worse than filling out some forms. if i get rear-ended on a bike in that same situation, it could be pretty bad.

aside from cross-traffic (this includes pedestrians!), i think the biggest influence on whether or not i full-stop at a stop sign is the whether or not there's any traffic behind me, and what "vibe" i get from the driver behind me.

your thoughts...

GrouchoWretch

In a car, I stop.

On a bike, I just make sure I CAN stop if I need to or should.

Stop signs, red lights, and all that stuff were not designed with bicycles in mind.

I respect right of way. Beyond that, I don't yield when there's no one there to yield to.

I'm sure it's been argued 100000 times on BF. Now someone will come along and clutch their pearls over the lawless ways of some cyclists.

chrismorg

I do not understand the issue ??? I have been riding for many years and have always stopped ....but when i stop i am always to the right side of the lane and never have i stopped taking up the whole lane.
i am wondering if this might be your issue .....the fact that if are stopping in the middle of the lane forcing those behind you to wait until you pick up speed again

Notso_fastLane

Same here. At stop signs.

I stop at red lights. I always give them a minute or so to change, or one full cycle, whichever. If there's traffic, I'll get off and go push the crosswalk button to get it to change, otherwise, I'll go when it's safe to do so. There are some lights around here I have to do the same on my motorcycle.

Chris516

Outside of the town, I live in, when I come upon a STOP sign, I first check to see if there is any cross-traffic. Then I look to see if there is any traffic intending to make a left turn. If there are neither, I still come to a full stop, then go.

In the town I live in(pop. 500, hamlet of surrounding city), there are only STOP signs. So if no cross/oncoming traffic is coming, I briefly stop, then continue.

JoeyBike

GW...you are saving me a lot of time here. +1

Matariki

Same here. Momentum is precious and should not be wasted for unnecessary reasons.

Wil Davis

Whatever vehicle which I'm in control of, I stop (always). That's all…

- Wil

dynodonn 

Depends on the intersection, quiet neighborhood, no cars, I'll do an "Idaho stop", but if traffic is moderate to heavy, I'll make a complete stop. When I do make a complete stop, I try to be sure that I make an obvious hand stop signal to the motorist behind me, since motorists are conditioned to a brake light. There are times that I'm not able to signal a complete or nearly complete stopping action, and I've seen quite a few motorists apply their brakes at the last second in my rear cam videos.

kmv2

Knowing my field of vision is severely restricted in the cage, I stop:


Knowing I can actually see what's around me on the bike and stopping is not always necessary, I do a full stop only to make a good example to motorists. a bike rolling through as far to the right as possible just boils their blood, a bike taking the lane and stopping probably boils it just as much. Is me stopping advocacy or being a ******bag, I dunno.. lol , probably the latter.

ohhh yeah hand signed of course. dont want to end up on the hood when he decides to roll the stop.

sbattey

I always slow down, if there are any cars I come to a complete stop. Tacoma drivers are idiots and I live down the street from a college.