NOS88

Yep, while out yesterday I saw a group approaching an intersection with four way stop. The first three riders in the group started to slow down. This was good because cars are notorious for doing a rolling stop at this intersection. The fourth rider, a young woman in her 20's didn't slow down and was going to blow through the intersection. At the last minute she noticed a car doing the rolling stop thing, and quickly swerved to her right running full tilt into a chain link fence. While she hit a spot between two posts that had some give, the impact knocked her off the bike and she and the bike were shot back toward the direction from which they came. (It actually looked like something you might see in a cartoon.) She jumped up, had a trickle of blood running down her leg (chain ring tattoo), was shaken up, but otherwise seemed fine. After checking to see if I could offer assistance I started to pedal away and heard her say, "I guess 'Stop' really does mean stop." I can't make up my mind if she was a quick learner or a slow learner.

maddmaxx 

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Sorry, just can't help it.

Floyd

Quick or slow she did learn something...that may save her life.

John E

We can endlessly debate whether one need to come to a full stop or a very slow California roll, but blowing through a stop sign any faster than walking speed is irresponsible.

bikegeek57

+1 sorry but the chuckles just blurted out. she was one lucky lady there to walk away from that one.

palookabutt

+1. We are vehicles. And vulnerable to boot.

leob1

Regardless if she was going to blow the stop sign, or the car was doing (what we call) a Jersey Slide, in a car v bike contest, the bike always loses. She got off easy.

clancy98

california roll? Jersey Slide? we call it a cleveland steam- oh wait, never mind

Velo Fellow

On an organized century a few years back on farming country roads, I came to a 4 way stop signed intersection with visibility blocked by mostly-grown corn. I slowed way down due to visibility....as I crossed the intersection I saw 2 highway patrol cars, a tarp spread on the side of the road, a mangled bike and a pair of cycling shoes on the road surface. Very sad. Neither cylist nor car had stopped. The rider was killed, the hit and run driver to my knowledge was never caught.

I still blow through country stop signs if I see no one coming. It's a hard habit to break...nobody wants to lose their rhythm of course.

professorbob

On group rides I've been on, there have been multiple times when I've witnessed the whole group flying thru a stop sign or even a yellow-to-red light. I've had a couple of nasty crashes in my time that were always my fault to at least some degree. I'm at an age now where I don't like to hit the ground hard, so now I'm just much more careful.

stapfam

One of the reasons I enjoy off road riding is NO CARS. Plenty of other things to bother about and the most serious I get is trees suddenly jumping out into the middle of the trail.

But we do have a few problems with idiots. On a fast downhill and I saw the rider in front of me throw his bike down and keep himself as low as possible to the ground. He also screamed out---"Every body Stop". His throw down was at 20mph and it was intentional from behind. Some one had stretched and nailed barbed wire across the trail at just above wheel centre height. The rider had seen it just in time.

We could not get the Staples out so strung branches along it to warn others and then found the Forest Ranger. There had been a spate of this in the last couple of weeks and we were advised to take it carefull on the trails in the forest till they caught the offender. They did catch him but I was wary of fast downhills after that.

But those trees that jump out in front of you. Stuart Has a trick on the Tandem of running through low branches and not warning me. He ducks at the last second and I get it full in the face. Thats when I take the pressure out on the next climb and I have even jumped off the Tandem and run past him up a particularly steep climb and told him I am checking for low branches.

Mojo Slim

Several of us in our group are trying to change our group culture a bit to be better about stopping at stop signs. The group tends to roll through at a reduced speed. Four or 5 of us are calling out "stopping" and trying to come to a complete stop. But it's hard. Others are catching on, but it seems like we are always doing intervals trying to catch up with the group that didn't stop.

It's really about the group culture. It is hard to be the only one actually stopping at a rural stop.

maddmaxx 

Unfortunately, that culture will be the first to scream foul when not accorded all of the perceived rights of automobiles on the road.

Rob P.

When it comes to stop signs (even rural ones) I stop. Not because I am any more law abiding that then next guy, but because I KNOW that cars don't stop. The only way I'm not going to be the victim in a car/bike accident is if I keep my eyes open and do whatever it takes to be safe.

This includes stopping at a stop sign where all directions are clear & there isn't any vehicle/pedestrian/cyclist traffic. The other people I ride with do as I do and NO ONE says anything or complains.

Boudicca

That's what I loved about my two-day charity ride last month. They had cops/volunteers at all the stop signs (and traffic lights) halting the traffic and waving the waves of bicycles past.

Awesome.