[tytek]

Since I happen to have a lot of stop signs in the area where I live, I was interested in how other motorcyclists tackle them.

Many of the stop sign intersections (4 way stop) are in residential areas that offer great visibility in each direction and in situations like that I tend to slow to a near stop and keep my balance with both feet on the pegs as I am looking both ways for oncoming traffic - and then accelerate away without coming to a complete stop.

If it is a two way stop with limited visibility or high speed crossing traffic, I always come to a complete stop and put a foot or two down before looking around me and getting on my way.

What also interests me is how cops look at motorcyclists that do not come to a full stop (foot/feet down) at such intersections... any experience? I know that they do not like cars not coming to a complete stop, but bikes?

Please share your thoughts on this if you don't mind...

 

[tmcgee]

Put a foot down. It's too easy to get tagged.

 

[notacop]

Oh, what is there about STOP that indicates coast through?
I've watched local LEO's nip folks for this kinda thing quite frequently. I tend to a full stop and put the foot or feets down. We have a lot of folks like you who are casual about observing the signs and I don't wanna be a hood ornament.

 

[richw]

I know I can come to a brief complete stop of forward motion then accelerate away without putting a foot down.

If ever tagged i would be happy to show it to a prosecutor...

Oh silly me I forgot a LEO can write any ticket he/she wants anytime without any real question. Then the rest of the tax process takes over

 

[V-Strom Ry]

As often as not, rolling stops where it's reasonable, as in the sort of situations you describe. But only where common sense indicates there's no real danger. And if you get tagged for it by a cop, apparently you weren't as aware of what's going on around you as you thought, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to roll through.

For me, in town this generally means full stops, but out in the sticks where I can see any traffic that might be approaching for hundreds of meters, I'm not bothering to stop or put my foot down.

 

[Bender]

I have been told the law here is 1 foot must be down.. and stopped for 3 seconds minimum. It is not what I always do though.

 

[p38arover]

I have been told the law here is 1 foot must be down.. and stopped for 3 seconds minimum. It is not what I always do though.

I know some riders (admittedly on trials bikes) that can stop for a lot more than 3 seconds without dabbing!

Near me is a stop sign that is almost totally ignored. Most drivers drive through with stopping or even pausing. I am thinking of writing to the traffic authority and police to ask if it can be replaced with a give way sign seeing as nearly no one obeys the stop sign. That might get the law's attention.

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

stop signs

I cheat if no traffic, good vis etc; other times I am scrupulous (high traffic, poor vis, risk of Leo) - it varies

 

[viper522]

STOP means STOP. After you've done that, the meaning changes to Squeal Tires On Pavement! unk:

Honestly, I stop and look left/right/left everywhere I'm not intimately familiar with the local traffic.

 

[rconti]

I have to a drive thru an area with a bunch of moronic fussy busybody residents who demand a new stop sign every time a car fails to stop for someone in a crosswalk. As a result, the arterial looks like a red octagon forest. Somebody should tell the residents that the less-generous commuters just cut thru their neighborhoods because there are no traffic controls on the 25mph residential zone where someone might ACTUALLY get hurt by a vehicle.

On the bicycle: If there's no other vehicle present to claim the right-of-way, I coast and maybe throw a slow signal, but I don't touch the brakes.

On the motorcycle, I usually stand on the front brakes until the bike almost does a stoppie, then I take off. If I'm feeling really generous I'll drag my toe on the ground. These are all clutch-in maneuvers, I slow too much to leave it in gear.

In my car, I try to roll it in 2nd gear at <5mph, to avoid having to put it in 1st.

4-way stops are the tool of satan, pointless traffic controls designed only to waste time, hurt the environment, generate noise pollution, and add wear-and-tear to your vehicle.

4.5 years on this commute, not even a sideways glance from a cop.

 

[blzr78]

the ones with the white border are optional..........

 

[DougInKY]

I have received two tickets over the years for not coming to a complete 3 second stop at stop signs on a motorcycle. In court the last time, I was told that the 3 second stop involved putting both feet on the ground during the stop. I have been pretty careful about rolling through them since and have not got another ticket (35 years and counting). It is just not worth it to me.

 

[MrHaun]

The only time I ever put feet down at a stop sign is if I lose my balance because there are too many cars in the intersection. Other than that I employ the clutch/back brake technique to allow for right of way. I can pretty much stop for a second or two on the Strom without moving.

Most people in my town wave me on with a smile even before I come to a stop. This place is pretty moto-friendly.

Never had a ticket for this.

 

[Mike82ARP]

Being a former LEO I can say the law says you need to come to a complete stop. That being said, some cops will let you slide as long as you slow to a slow crawl before moving along, BUT some puny towns count on traffic fines to bolster their revenue. There you’ll get nailed- just like you’ll see local LEO on the interstates during holiday weekends when any other time they are not to be found in the interstate highways.

Then there’s the rookie who thinks every traffic law needs to be obeyed to the letter.

I’d just stop. It’s better than a $160.00 fine.

 

[hamblinc]

Unless its a really busy intersection, i just keep my balance at stop (technically without putting my feet down)

 

[Scruit]

I've never heard of a stop law that requires you be stopped for a set amount of time, just that you must stop. I'd love for someone to post a law that states you must be stopped for x seconds.

I stop and put one or both feet down. I always stop completely at all stop signs, 100% even in parking lots. I run a dashcam on my bike and car, and I always stick to the driving laws 100% becuase you never know when an incident is going to happen. I've had to hand dashcam footage to the police a couple of times and it's good to hand them footage where I've been a good boy. :beatnik:

 

[Voluhzia-Strom]

Sometimes I don't stop but slow down and put left foot down, same as one would stick one out on a dirt during turns. Well, just tap the ground and move on. With traffic,.I completely stop... Usually...

 

[Gorby]

at 4-way stops..... I usually do the California stop if nobody else is at the intersection. If someone is.... I come to a complete stop. Any other stop sign I come to a full stop. My issue is street lights and not being able to trip it to change. I run them all then time when nobody else is around, mostly at night. I have lots of PA State Trooper buddies and you'd pretty much have to be doing something else wrong for them to ticket you for it. It would have to take a real jerk of a cop to have to pull you over and ticket you just for that.

 

[SittingDuck]

I generally just stop shortly with my feet on the bpegs, and go. if I need to sit there a while, then I'll put a foot down.

I had a cop in montreal pull me over because I didn't have both feet down; I showed him the gov't published guide that says I have to keep my rear brake engaged; he laffed (he was a biker too).

Stop signs are completely ridiculous; no-one really stops at them. a fair government would replace all those abominations with roundabouts (like they did all over europe.

The purpose of a stopsign is to reduce crashes at intersections, NOT to generate revenue for the state, or to slow people down unnecessarily.

 

[redbike72]

The purpose of a stopsign is to reduce crashes at intersections, NOT to generate revenue for the state, or to slow people down unnecessarily.

I think they put stop signs at intersections so they can quickly sort out who will get the blame when the inevitable collisions occur. You can't rely on people to admit their mistakes so the stop sign makes it simpler.... adding cash to general revenue line is an added bonus.