I was caught for running a stop sign at speed. The policeman was on a motorcycle, and he had been sent out because of citizen complaints about bicycles not stopping for the sign. He asked me to at least slow down a little I generally stop if there are witnesses, I didn't see the cop since he was on a motorcycle, and just his head was peeking over a hill. I was contrite, and he let me off with a warning. I was going to mention that the real complaints should be about the motorists, who drive twice the speed limit and don't stop for the stop signs either. Then a couple of weeks later, the township put out a warning for cyclists in that area that there was a lot of aggressive driving on that road and to watch out for motorists. And I saw my first traffic stop on that road.

The stop sign is really a traffic calming device, there is very little traffic, and you can see all directions for a long distance without even turning your head. As a result, almost nobody stops for it. It's one of those stop signs where you can really piss off a motorist should you actually come to a complete stop.

I really have no problem with cyclists running stop signs when they can see there is no traffic. Unfortunately, many cyclists don't stop when there is traffic, which drives me insane. There is a dawning recognition that stop signs as traffic calming devices are counter-productive.