Here is what I have observed regarding people who roll through stop signs. There are basically two approaches: (1) those who fully intend to stop, and are in the process of stopping, but decide that either the coast is clear and they can safely proceed without fully stopping, or that if they fully stop they will have to wait for another vehicle to go by, and by rolling through they will shorten their wait. (2) those who either because of familiarity with the traffic patterns or the need for speed, approach stop signs with no intent of fully stopping, only braking sufficiently to avoid actual collisions, coasting or even accelerating through the stop sign when there is no danger of collisions with crossing vehicles. This is the gray area argument that many cyclists have. I have found that cyclists who run stop signs are also in one of these same two camps. One can make the case for #1 being generally safe; where cyclists roll through a stop sign, after slowing and checking for any danger from approaching cars. Unfortunately, regularly using the first approach trains the mind to begin to treat stop signs as yield signs. And because most drivers and cyclists treat yield signs as only-yield-if-no-other-car-is-present signs, this means digressing to approach #2, in which stop signs are basically non-existent. This particular driver in the video had absolutely no plan to stop at that stop sign. Did he know he was running a stop sign? He probably never even thought about it. He likely drives this route every day, maybe several times a day, saw no cars coming, and his brain just told him all was clear. Only when he realized that rolling through would likely cause a collision with a cyclist, did he decide to stop. So, if you roll stop signs while fully applying the brake and actually slowing to an almost stop, and then release the brake after all traffic is well clear, I dont agree with your method, but wont berate you for it. On the other hand, if you have done that so many times that you approach stop signs with the INTENT to roll through them without stopping, not only will you get an earful from me, but one of these days, youre going to make a mistake at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and youll pay the price for it.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 16:18:07 +0000
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