jon c. 

People do it to me frequently. I've had cops do it. So I wave and go.

I wish they'd just follow standard right of way convention, but they're trying to be nice and there's a shortage of that these days so I'm not going to fault it.

detroitjim

Have this happen to me a fair amount while out pedaling. A lot of times, those that wave me through end up pulling behind me.

When(If) I have the opportunity I'll tell them "Thanks for being courteous but next time it'll be best if you go on ahead of me"

noimagination

I never said I was counting on it. As I said, the cyclists slow to see if the car is going, then they proceed if it isn't. Does this sometimes result in the driver going anyway? Yes, of course. Usually this results in the driver suddenly braking and the cyclist either braking or swerving around the car, or both (the shouted obscenities on both sides are, of course de rigueur).

And, I didn't say that I think that this is the correct behavior at stop signs, nor that this is the way I proceed at stop signs. I was merely describing the way that the majority of cyclists act in my area.

Unca_Sam

Thanks for clearing that up and gratifying me. I don't always stop, but the situations I choose to roll through never involve other traffic.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sturm und Drang-type drama suitable for posting on A&S.

frogman

Exactly

The cop was jsut being nice. End of story.

Koyote

If a LEO waves me through, that's fine - cop has a legal right (and training) to direct traffic...though I still will make sure, to my own satisfaction, that it's clear.

When civilians wave me through instead of taking their ROW, it irritates me - just follow the friggin' rules, people, and no one will get hurt! But every now and then, a motorist will wave me through while I am hanging out, waiting to turn, in the middle of a busy road, and for that I am grateful.

wphamilton

Let's clear up one thing. Waving is not yielding. It is not any kind of traffic signal. It does not yield the right of way. Waving is not directing traffic.

Waving is someone telling you what they would like you to do. That's all it is.

My policy, the best defensive policy, is to ignore it as much as possible. You can't feasibly ignore traffic cops, but if they're sitting in a crossroad for no particular reason, or playing sneaky-cop following you around, or doing anything else suspicious, it's not a good idea to assume they're intending to be decent. Don't give them a reason to stop you.

livedarklions

I have decided life is too short to insist on waiting when I'm waved through and there is no other vehicle at or near the intersection. I had a few stand-offs where my shaking my head no was not enough for them to get the message, and I'm just not bothering with it anymore. If I really don't think it endangers my safety, I'm not out there to make a point.

gios

Sometimes they just want to get a look at you.

sonhenry

Around here the police station shares a short bit of road with the entrance to the park where lots of road bikers start or finish their rides. Pretty common for the police to wave you through if you meet them at a junction. I'd just assumed that they're in as much of a hurry to get to work as I am...

mr_bill

Not just feasibly, you ought not.

From UVC:

"The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any official traffic-control device applicable thereto placed or held in accordance with the provisions of this code, unless otherwise directed by a police officer...."

Every state has an equivalent.

IF YOU IGNORE this officer, you are an idiot:



-mr. bill

mr_bill

Related, with RARE EXCEPTIONS, NOBODY has the right of way. (In Massachusetts, first responders responding to an emergency with lights and sirens have the right of way, period. Even so, they can't blindly place other people in danger, that includes people in cars, people on foot, people on bikes, etc....)

The rules of the road says when to YIELD the right of way. Other than that, anyone, for any reason, can yield at any time, including for no reason at all.

For those who this fact blows up their minds, just get a life. Please.


-mr. bill

livedarklions

I haven't actually counted, but I would guess that 90% of the time, the offer of courtesy to me poses no hazard whatsoever. I'm not going where there's two lanes, for example, so I can't tell if someone behind them is being screened, but most times this is not the case.

livedarklions

I would ignore the signal only if the cop is signaling me to do something really stupid. In that case, I'll risk the ticket instead of my neck. Can't think of a single instance where that happened to me, so that's definitely a hypothetical.

Daniel4

There's really only two choices you can do:
1) thank him and move on;
2) stand your ground and don't move until you legally have your right-of-way.

wphamilton

If you think this guy is directing traffic, you should probably keep believing that the cop is your feudal lord whose every command you must obey.

You do have to cooperate with lawful orders, but clearly some people don't have any idea what is or isn't a lawful order.

(AT LEAST as relevant as your photo)

wphamilton

I don't interpret it as anything, because I don't pay any attention to it. But waving you through is exactly what they intend.

mr_bill

A police officer operating a vehicle is not a “traffic cop.”

A police officer sleeping in a vehicle is not a “traffic cop.”

I would think this doesn't need to be said, but with "some people...."

G’day.

-mr. bill

njkayaker

I said nothing about what they intended. What they intend is irrelevant and besides the point.

​​​​The issue is when people treat it as meaning that "it's safe to go".

wphamilton

That part is absolutely correct. Treat it exactly as if any other car and driver were sitting there, not moving and may or may not know that you're even there.

That goes for me even more when driving than cycling.

mr_bill

Quiz time.

You are at a stop light going straight.
Does the traffic light turning green mean that it is safe to proceed?
Or does it mean you may proceed if it is safe to do so?

Traffic control devices are not omniscient. And a traffic officer is JUST a traffic control device.


Second, for the ignore all niceholes crowd. Any time you IGNORE something in your environment you are not situationally aware.

But clearly some of you who say you ignore niceholes clearly DON'T IGNORE them, you claim to always stand your ground. This strikes me as cutting off your nose to spite your face, but if it "works" for you....


Third, to the paranoid people who believe that the operator of a police vehicle is only waving you through to set a trap, take it to P&R.

To me, I am always amazed by small moments of grace:

Finally:

Four people riding bikes arrive at four legs of a four way stop simultaneously, all going straight. What next? Literally, you are ALL supposed to stop and yield to one another. If one or more of you doesn't think outside the box, you are all going to be standing at your bikes for the rest of your lives. Anywhere but A&S this is a trivially resolved "conundrum."

-mr. bill

njkayaker

The "yield to one another" isn't correct. There is an existing "right of way" rule to resolve this without "thinking out of the box".

mr_bill

The yield rules deadlock in this case. Everyone is yielding to the person on their right.

-mr. bill

njkayaker

Yes.

Though, the likelihood that people will arrive anywhere like exactly the same time is very, very low.

===================

In any case, sharing the roadways requires some amount of cooperation.


People yield right-of-w​​​​ay fairly regularly. The people here who are upset with it must be upset often.