Why do people roll through stop signs?

[stomp]

I find it very frustrating when people do the I stopped when the guy ahead of me stopped, so I can go without stopping because he went... or the slow moving stop sign mover who just slows down and rolls through at about 5 mph...

then there is the worst... i'm driving on this parking lot entrance with a lot of shrubs on the main way, and some jerk off to the side accelerating through this stop sign comes within 2 inches of hitting me broadside... after that, nothing happened, but i went to just check where he was and what he would have saw: a stop sign, a stop ahead thing on the road, and a stop line on the road, and plain sight of me coming in... yet this didn't trigger anything with this guy. I guess I should have been more assertive in the sense that i saw him rolling up kind of quickly but said to myself -- he has a stop sign.

On another note... do you stop at those line stops, where its just on the road in a parking lot for example where it just says STOP on the street? so many people just go through those i've noticed, maybe slowing for an instance if another person is turning in or something.

 

[Whisper]

The only time I'll roll through a stop sign is when it's 3 o'clock in the morning and there are obviously no cars in the immediately vicinity, or the entire parking lot for that matter. In my mind stop signs just become a novelty at that point, though if there are other cars around then you really shouldn't roll through, even if you're absolutely sure that the other person is turning right while you're going straight. But so long as you don't hit anyone I guess you're doing fine.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

I dont' roll through them, but sometimes I don't "come to a complete and total stop" before going again. If no one's at the intersection but me, I'll probably slow down to an incredibly slow crawl (like 6"/sec or something) then go. But if there are people there, I'll completely stop.






I've only blown two stop signs. They were both in the dead of night with no one around. It was Viper GTS's egging me on that made me decide to do it, though. Blame it on him. One was on the edge of town, the other was way the hell out in the middle of nowhere. Kinda close to where he lives.


But I'm fairly good with my driving habbits and common sense.

 

[Moonbeam]

People are mush too self important to stop at stop signs. I tore the side off one of the last car that tried that with me. I even warned her with my horn, that I wasn't going to yield my turn. She figured the guy in front of her stopped for her. Wrong. I told her that maybe nest time she should wait her turn. That was the one where two days before I was looking at the turn signal that got busted and thought, 16 years and that thing has never been broken, even toough it's rather delicate and sticks out real far. Maybe that women had a date with fate and isn't going to die in a run through she had been scheduled for sometime in the future.

 

[FlashG]

stomp,

Don't assume that a stop sign or light is going to actually work. You don't know what?s going on in the other drivers head.

IMHO,
It's better to wait and see what they actually do than be dead right. Drive defensibly if you know what I mean.

 

[ThurzNite]

I'm not sure if many are aware, but these rolling stops are commonly called "California Roll". I have no idea where the heck that came from, but I've heard it several times...Even cops use the term. Strange...
Jay

 

[Tominator]

IMHO, if you do not stop at the line, everytime, no matter that you might believe you are alone, you are an IDIOT! I drive over 150,000 miles a year. I could bore you with many stories of accidents and near accidents caused by someone that never saw the other vehicle when the person at fault was looking right at the other before impact! I get the same stupid excuses for not using turn signals and seatbelts....idiots!

 

[Raspewtin]

I'll be honest. If I'm feeling like a jerk, I may pause, or not stop at all. It also depends how much traffic there is. Frankly, I feel stupid stopping, when no cars are in sight. Usually though, I'll stop, esp. in a crowded parking lot. I watch out for my car, and never get worked up if others don't stop. My life's too short to let others decide if I'm going to have a good day.

 

[Croton]

i always stop at stop signs....well, after I got a ticket for running a stop sign....

 

[KEV1N]

Please stop at stop signs. A month ago a lady in a Ranger Pickup slammed right into the side of my old Civic and completely totalled it. I didn't have a stop sign and she did, but I guess she wasn't paying attention. I got the money for the car, but she got her insurance premium doubled. Most importantly I wasn't hurt. A few seconds to stop at a sign can save a lot of trouble.

 

[DarkKnight113]

I always stop at stop signs. It's for your safety and the safety of others that the stop signs are there, and you never know when a cop might be lurking around!

 

[Viper GTS]

I've only run one or two stop signs ever, an those are ones that are a good 10 miles out of town on straight sections of road. Easy 1 mile visibility in either direction, so there was no danger. As a general rule, though I always come to a complete stop.

I'd also like to remind FFM of the after-effects of his running the stop sign in town. He drove for six blocks shaking with fear, with me laughing hysterically.



Viper GTS

 

[Zucchini]

Well its pretty obvious, stopping when an intersection is pretty clear and your lines of sight are not obstructed is not necessary for safety. Its just a technicality I'm not saying that i drive through stops without even slowing down. If the intersection is safe and i can easily see down the other roads, then i just slow down to 5mph or so. If the intersection is full of other cars, or you don't have a clear view, then yes, you stop.

 

[yakko]

The only stop lines and stop signs that I ignore are in parking lots and then only when there is no one around.On the road I stop for everthing I use my signal and I wear my seat belt.

 

[Topher]

Don't know if it's still true, but many moons ago, in the state of Massachusetts, there was some weird law that allowed you to go through a stop sign if the car in front of you stopped AND there were no other cars at the other junctions of the intersection. (Actually, I believe if you were two cars behind the guy who stopped it was still legal.) Anyone from MA know if it's still a law?

I haven't stopped at a stop sign in over a year and a half. (Haven't driven in that long either)