Biker395 

So this is interesting.

I make a habit of stopping at stop signs. There are lots of reasons. First, it's the law. Second, if I am to occasionally act like a vehicle and take the lane for safety reasons, I think I have an obligation to act like a vehicle at stop signs. Third, and perhaps most importantly, I don't trust myself. Stopping at stop signs means that if I'm mistaken about a car coming, there is at least a hope that someone else is paying attention and my life will be saved in spite of myself. Frankly, I don't trust my decision making to be mistake-proof, and I'd rather not suffer the ultimate price for one if I can help it. A great side benefit is that I actually get more respect from motorists when I stop, strangely enough.

I commute down a street for a couple of miles or so near the beach that has a 4-way stop every couple of blocks or so. And I stop at every stop sign. Frankly, almost no one else does. There are often many people heading to ride out on the peninsula (behind me), and I almost NEVER see any of them stop.

And every other morning or so, I can see another commuter behind me. And even far away, I can see them blow through every single stop sign, not even slowing down. Every time they do that, they pick up 50-75 yards on me, and of course, they eventually catch me.

The funny thing is this ... when they DO catch me, they invariably stop at the stop signs that I stop at. Eventually, I make my left turn and off they go ... rolling the first stop sign, then completely blowing through the others.

So whassup with that? Are they inspired by my good example, embarrassed by their bad example, or just want to make it look like they caught me so quickly without running stop signs?