work4bike

I see cyclists all the time going thru stop signs as if they got some universal Right-of-Way as a cyclist. And once in a while I see one not just go thru a stop sign, but simply blow thru it. This happened again yesterday, as I was coming home from my weekly pick-up of yard waste. After stopping at a 3-way stop, I started to roll thru in my 2006 Ford Ranger, when all of a sudden this cyclist comes haulin' ass around a corner where he should have stopped at a stop sign. I didn't see him, because this intersection has tons of hedges that prevent seeing vehicles approaching the stop sign; you can only see the vehicle one it gets very close to the White Line, indicating the stopping point.

If I were one of those drivers that has a heavy foot, I could have easily hit him, but since I don't gun my engine I was able to stop before contact. So what's the cyclist do? He gives me this stupid grin and waves This wasn't just some fool on a bike, he had a nice set up and cycling seemed to be his thing.

mack_turtle

this is a common theme in the cycling world. I treat all stops with the same caution that I would while driving—which is to say—I stop completely and wait until I have the right of way because no one else is crossing, or I make a more casual stop-and-go if nothing is happening.

serious question: is this an American/ western European thing? I've traveled a bit and traffic norms seem very, very lax in some countries and are totally rigid and unquestioned in others. I can't imagine people in Japan blowing stop signs, but in African nations, no one bothers with traffic signs at all.

Litespud

I guess it reflects the national or regional cultural view toward relatively minor rules and regulations in general - trying not to stereotype, but I imagine way more Italians will run a red light than Swedes.
As a driver I stop religiously. As a cyclist I stop/foot down at red lights, at stop signs, I’ll slow to a track stand-adjacent until I see what the traffic situation looks like, then either roll through or foot down

redmandarin

There are certain states in the US that allow an "Idaho stop" for cyclists. I think its a happy medium for safety and efficiency.

work4bike

I'm a proponent of the Idaho Stop, but I've noticed a lot of people do it wrong. I think a lot of people that slow roll thru stop signs believe they're doing a proper Idaho Stop; however, they're not.

Idaho Stop requires cyclists to come to a complete stop when other vehicles are present, not roll thru. You can only roll thru when there are no other vehicles at the stop sign.

The Idaho Stop would fix none of the problems I've seen with cyclists going thru stop signs, especially the one that blew thru and I could have hit. The only people that Idaho Stop law would benefit are those cyclists that actually stop at stop signs when no other vehicles are present.



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mack_turtle

I was riding a road with a popular bike route and approached a four-way stop. I always stop there, just like any rational person should. I've noticed that when I stop in places like this, cars often stop and wait for me to cross when it's not my turn. they wave me across and I have to shout, "no, it's your turn, GO!" and wave them on. one day, a woman rode up behind me and said, "go faster so we can cross at the same time. I slowed down and stopped while she blew through the sign, causing a few cars to stop to avoid hitting her. I shouted behind her "that's a stop sign, idiot!" but she thought it was funny.

I think this is part of the larger epidemic that is the American sense of no consequences—physical and legal.

justtrying

I am always prepared to make a full stop at stop signs. If I get to an intersection, by that I mean ones on side roads no multi lane ones, I will go through it if no cars are present. Quite often if there is only 1 car there they will wave me through and I give a wave and a thank you and keep going

Bmach

It was all your fault you, you pick up truck driver!!!

I-Like-To-Bike

What makes you think that someone who you think, presumably by appearance alone, is a person whose "thing" is cycling (whatever that means) and has a "nice set up", is likely to be more or less foolish than anyone else riding a bicycle?

work4bike

It's probably just a local thing, but I see a lot of people that ride a bike that normally wouldn't if they had the money or those that ride just for something to do, but clearly it's not something they do in a way in which they're cognizant of the fact that they are operating a vehicle with the same legal responsibilities of all other vehicles on the roadway and are subject to the same laws. These people do the craziest things that I've witnessed, they are not cyclists, they're fools on a bike.

work4bike

I haul a lot of yard waste every week

rydabent

For every cyclist that doesnt stop for a stop sign, there must be 10 million drivers that dont.

Most of the driving offender blow thru a right turn on red AFTER STOPPING.

Gresp15C

The crimes of drivers and cyclists tend to be crimes of convenience and opportunity. For cars, it's speeding, rolling through stop signs, and not paying attention. For most cyclists, speeding is not an option, but blowing through stop signs and taking questionable shortcuts are.

DrIsotope

I've seen many a bicycle roll through an intersection without making a pause of any kind. Not nearly as many times as I've seen someone in a Suburban or a Dodge Charger or an <insert vehicle here> do it, though.

I don't come to a complete stop at every stop sign, and I jump lights all the time. Because I'm a grown up, and I am capable of both making my own decisions, and living with the consequences of those decisions.

I've never once wondered how it's affecting the mental state of some random member of the cross-traffic.

Drillium Dude 

All the more reason for us to be "better safe than sorry" and stop, huh?

DD

Leisesturm

Might I observe that 'only' around 800 plus-ish cyclists were killed last year in any kind of collision with cars vs 40,000 plus-ish fatal car/car collisions. I have NEVER heard of a scofflaw cyclist being nailed, dead to rights, while committing a flagrant violation of a stop sign. When cyclists are hit they are proceeding on a green light or otherwise have right of way. I'm tired of these BS threads about cyclists 'blowing stop signs'. Well, duh, I'm not claiming they don't. What I don't believe is that they didn't scan and know that they were safe before doing it. I don't expect to change any minds but at least this thread is going to have some push back from the cyclist side, as it should, in a cycling forum!

alo

In Australia there are no four-way stops. One road always has right of way. Australia got rid of four-way stops around the 1970s. Someone in America should be smart enough to think this through and change the rules.

alo

When I cycle, being safe is more important than obeying the rules. Where I live in Australia, it is legal to ride on the footpath/sidewalk. If I was in a place where it was not legal, but the road was dangerous, I might ride on the footpath/sidewalk anyway. As a cyclist I give way to everybody, pedestrians and vehicles. If I am on a street with no traffic, I may not stop completely at a stop sign. But if vehicles are coming, even if there is no stop sign, I give way to them.

Then in S E Asia, it is completely different again. People ignore road rules. There are a ridiculous amount road accidents. The way I ride is half like they do, but more safety conscious than them. There are a lot of differences in the way they drive and ride. You need to ride a lot like them so you are not unpredictable in terms of how they think. I will mention one example. People pull out from side roads or parking spaces without even looking if traffic is coming. Anyone coming is forced to slow down or stop. Everyone knows that everyone else does this. So if someone sees someone else approaching on a side road, they sound their horn. That tells them, I am not stopping so you have to stop. So you have a culture where drivers are continually on their horn, to compensate for other drivers not looking. The attitude of drivers and riders results in madness on the roads. Traffic has to go much slower. Another example. People never get booked for drink driving here. I have seen police drink several beers, and ride motor bikes home drunk. Nobody cares. It is a different world.

Gyro

I can't think of a single one anywhere where I live.

work4bike

We do have a few 3 and 4-way stops around here that just don't make any sense. But I'm a real cyclists, so I don't really have to deal with those, since I'm normally out on the real roads...........

JoeyBike

He disobeyed the universal laws of running stop signs and red lights:

1. If you CAN'T SEE, you CAN'T GO.
2. If you are NOT SURE, you CAN'T GO.

Obey these two laws and you can run all the lights and stop signs you want to.

Leisesturm

But did he really? We only have the o.p.'s word for it. Word that is suspect IMO because they have a cager mentality even though they use the fact that they may have owned a bicycle once, maybe even know how to ride one, they use their insider status to attempt changing what they see as a scofflaw culture. To a cager every intersection looks like cyclist anarchy. In reality ... nothing of the sort. In my younger days I ... oh man ... even in middle age ... in NYC ... you run more lights and stop signs than you stop for. Here in PDX the cagers go ballistic if they see a cyclist blow a light. I don't do it nearly as much here. It's just not worth it. But the drivers here still think all cyclists do is run red lights. Nope. Cyclists here are ANGELS compared to what I've seen and known back east.

mdarnton

Exactly. I do sort of what I now know is an Idaho stop, since I try to do most of my riding on back streets and there's rarely anyone else, but I notice that when I'm on big streets with stop signs my hesitation roll-through, which looks fast on a bike, is actually slower than most motorists rolling stop. . . . and most motorists are not making full stops. In that context, cars complaining about bikes is really the pot calling out the kettle.

And when I really do stop because I'm not the only one, usually it's just an unnecessary mess, because everyone is waiting for me.

Maybe it's just a Chicago thing.

Paul Barnard

I doubt "blowing" through stops is as common or as wanton as is often described. If it was, we'd read of more crashes and fatalities. As it is, I very rarely here of a collision where the cyclist has blown through a stop. I suspect someone somewhere has watched me roll a stop and thought I "blew" it.

JoeyBike

I only assumed because the OP mentioned that he might have hit the cyclist had he launched into his right-of-way instead of doing the right thing - LOOK BOTH WAYS before proceeding into an intersection even if you have right-of-way. I try not to put myself in a position where i have to depend on motorists seeing me and reacting at any time. If the OP truly could have hozed the cyclist, then the cyclist messed up.