# stop signs



## wchane (Aug 8, 2006)

for a stoplight there's no question, you halt until the light turns green before you are able to proceed, however what's the roadie etiquette for stop signs or should i say what to cops look for?

do you:

1. slow down enough so you can see there is no conflicting traffic then go?

2. come to a complete stop and clip out before you proceed?

3. come to a complete stop, but doing the balance act is fine?

i was riding through blaney ave (a neighborhood street in cupertino) this morning and a shirff officer was behind me on a motorcycle, he was moving suspiciously slow so i wasn't sure what he was looking for. there is a stop sign roughly every 2-3 blocks on this street and i just did the balance act at most of them or slowed almost to a complete stop. i think i speak for most when i say i hate to unclip if it's not necessary.

so what's the call? i assume full stop, but are they looking for a toe touch too?


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

If there is absolutely no other traffic at a 4-way stop intersection, most cops will let you go if you break cadence, slow down, and carefully look both ways. For your own saftey, you need to be a lot more careful if there is any visible traffic (including pedestrians) or the stop is only 2-way (your way stops but the other way does not). Obviously, if there have been citizen complaints about a particular intersection or if there is a history of accidents, then the cops will not be so lenient. Also, if the cop is having a slow day or a bad day, who knows.


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## MayGirl (May 12, 2006)

*Ask the cop next time*

It's always good to hear it from the ones patroling the routes you normally find yourself out on.

I did in Palo Alto and the cop said that you should do a full stop but you do not have to put a foot down. Upon further questioning, similar to what was said above, he said rolling slowly is often permitted but that's solely dependent on the cop/mood/conditions/planets in line with the moon. But he said stopping is stopping, foot down or track stand.

Speaking of which, people really need to observe the signs out in Woodside. First, because the cops are really cracking down on it (so watch out); second, because, as a resident who drives in the area it's really freaking awful. I love cycling but some of the idiots out on Canada really make the gripes my neighbors have about cyclists carry more and more weight. It's not just a few bad apples, either. It's pretty much the norm -- from the pros to the elderly. Ack. Sorry for the rant.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> If there is absolutely no other traffic at a 4-way stop intersection, most cops will let you go if you break cadence, slow down, and carefully look both ways.


As mentioned, I suspect it depends a lot on the community, but that is essentially what a cop in Foster City told after he pulled me over. I was a complete idiot...I was on a personal best 40-mile ride and blew through that last 4-way stop before my home at about 30 mph. I of course had never done that before. Not making an excuse, but you can see in all directions at this very low traffic intersection. I was completely expecting a ticket, which I deserved. He was extemely courteous, explained the dangers without it being a lecture, and recommended I at least do what is described. Lesson learned, and he didn't ticket me.

As for Woodside, I've taken to nearly dismounting and kissing the limit line at stop signs there.


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## MayGirl (May 12, 2006)

Dr_John said:


> As for Woodside, I've taken to nearly dismounting and kissing the limit line at stop signs there.


Sweet. Just watch out for the piles of horse crap before sucking face with the line!


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

I don't bother to clip out if I don't have to. I'm pretty good about balance and trackstands, so as long as I reasonably stop, that's enough for me. I've done it plenty of times in front of cops. There is no law that says you have to clip out or put your foot down.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

I was riding around my neighborhood a few months ago and I noticed a patrol car pacing a cyclist as they were approaching a stopsign. I didn't pay attention to whether or not he stopped the guy or not or if the guy stopped for the stopsign as I was going the other way.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and this time I was the rider with the patrol car pacing me. I could hear him behind me and cars usually fly by so I thought it was strange that someone was pacing me. I usually stop for stopsigns anyway (trackstand, no unclipping, clear, go) so I did here and the cop finally passed me and went on his merry way.

I've been trying to go out to Canada Road to ride on Sundays and we usually do not stop at the stopsigns as we head southbound towards Woodside Road from 92. These are usually three-way stops and any traffic we encounter will not interfere with us nor will we interfere with them unless they swing into the bike lane. Going the other way is a different story: I guess we will stop at all stopsigns from now on.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

And what about those silly T-stop signs? The ones where you got the uninterrupted line where you have to stop but there's no way any traffic is going on your bike lane. There's a lot of these on Stelling.

Has anyone gotten a ticket blowing through these? I always slow down, when in Cupertino!

From McClellan last year, I made a right turn to Stelling without stopping or slowing down (since it was clear). A Cupertino cop saw me and promptly gave me a ticket. Grrrrrr. $130 but no point on the driving record.

francois


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## bustamove (Aug 12, 2004)

francois said:


> And what about those silly T-stop signs? The ones where you got the uninterrupted line where you have to stop but there's no way any traffic is going on your bike lane. There's a lot of these on Stelling.


Sometimes there are limit lines at T-intersections. The one that comes to mind is where San Antonio Road intersects Foothill Expressway. If you are riding on Foothill in the direction towards Cupertino, there is a limit line. And I have heard stories where cyclists are ticketed for riding through the red light.

I suppose if there is no limit line and the lane is uninterrupted, it could be okay to keep rolling and not worry about the stop sign. But don't test my theory because I would not want to be responsible for your next ticket :blush2:


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

At many T-intersections, turning traffic will swing wide through the shoulder. If you are running the red light when you get hit, you (or your heirs) are not going to get much sympathy from a judge.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Cyclists and bad behavior (from KRON)*
http://www.kron.com
click on People behaving badly on bikes
** 
francois
*


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

francois said:


> And what about those silly T-stop signs? The ones where you got the uninterrupted line where you have to stop but there's no way any traffic is going on your bike lane. There's a lot of these on Stelling.
> 
> Has anyone gotten a ticket blowing through these? I always slow down, when in Cupertino!
> 
> ...


On Stelling, I always slow way down at the stop signs (yes, even that silly one at Waterford) - since the fuzz likes to hide out on the side streets. I've not gotten ticket in Cupertino, but got stopped in Los Altos on Mirimonte Ave for "Not coming to a complete stop", I slowed down to about 1 MPH, since I saw him watching me, but never put my foot down. All this at 6:20AM on a dark winter commute, yeehaa.


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## singlespeed.org (Feb 14, 2006)

wchane said:


> for a stoplight there's no question, you halt until the light turns green before you are able to proceed, however what's the roadie etiquette for stop signs or should i say what to cops look for?


I can't say what the roadie etiquette is (as it seems to span the entire gamut of what you can do - I have seen cyclists do some stupid and dangerous things, and then turn around and yell at cars for percieved injustices...).

What I do:
- if any vehicles around, I make a full stop. Usually a trackstand.
- if no one around (basically if I don't think I will be seen), I will run it. But usually only after slowing down a lot anyway (so I have time to scope out whether I will be seen). I know this is illegal, and possibly will get a ticket for it one of these days. Pay to play, I guess.


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## wchane (Aug 8, 2006)

singlespeed.org said:


> I can't say what the roadie etiquette is (as it seems to span the entire gamut of what you can do - I have seen cyclists do some stupid and dangerous things, and then turn around and yell at cars for percieved injustices...).
> 
> What I do:
> - if any vehicles around, I make a full stop. Usually a trackstand.
> - if no one around (basically if I don't think I will be seen), I will run it. But usually only after slowing down a lot anyway (so I have time to scope out whether I will be seen). I know this is illegal, and possibly will get a ticket for it one of these days. Pay to play, I guess.


this is also my usual behavior but with the recent ticket posts i'm becoming paranoid. my usual ride incorporates stelling rd, mccallen, and foothill expressway and was paced by a motorcycle cop the other day. i just waited at the stop sign for him to roll on by. 

i don't need any more tickets, have enough with the car as it is.


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