Always a full stop for stop signs?

[BCKRider]

Stop for sure means "no forward motion" and I lack the skill some of you have to really do that without putting a foot down. But I can slow to a crawl, ready to stop if needed, then keep moving if there is no traffic. I do it often in my closest town and often at 4-way stops in the next closest town when there is no traffic. Riding/driving in unfamliar towns, I obey the law. I also obey the "stop completely" edict when I enter a highway or street from a mall, rest stop, or whatever. In short, this is a law I only break when I am sure there is no chance of an accident.

About a year ago I violated one of those stop signs in the car. You HAD to roll past the stop sign and line to see if there was a vehicle approaching you under the overpass where I was making a left turn. Legally, I should have made the full stop at the line, then crept forward to see if it was safe to make my turn or I needed to stop again. The hidden cop let me off with a warning, which I found surprising - a mis-placed stop line means numerous violaters and revenue. (Here, I always adhere to the letter of the law, and twice more have found cops in place.)

Very close to my home there is a stop sign which virtually everybody treats as a "yield" sign, and rightly so. Good view up the road for approaching traffic on this T-junction. Only a little farther from my home is a "yield" sign with a very short view of traffic. This is another T-junction. I treat it like a small town stop sign.

Just wondered how you treat stop signs in familiar and unfamiliar territory.

[sedanman]

I do a "California Roll" in my neighborhood only. I knoe full well that I should come to a full stop at each one, I just don't. There are 9 of them in the mile from the main road to my front door.

[Rod Sheridan]

I always come to a foot down, complete stop..............Rod.

[greenwald]

I always come to a foot down, complete stop..............Rod.

DITTO.

Here in my town S T O P stands for "Squeal Tires On Pavement!"

[maacova]

I roll through a few signs in my area if I am turning right and I can see a long way. I come to a complete stop at all other times. Not because I am fearful of the law but because I have been caught with a car coming at the last second and me starting my turn than locking brakes. Guess what happened. Down I went. I don't even look, I just stop. Both feet down. Look both ways and go.

Ken Denton

[CarlNH]

Other than the 2 stop signs in our development (rarely any traffic at all) at which I generally come to an "almost stop" before proceeding, I make a complete stop at STOP signs. Mostly, this is for self-preservation as I'm a fairly new rider and tend to err on the side of caution. Also, the local constabulary is always on the lookout for additional revenue

[drew3714]

There's only a few stop signs I feel comfortable not completely stopping at but even then I'm almost stopped and looking several times to make sure no one's coming. Otherwise I stop, foot down and looking for traffic. I'm too paranoid about people on their phones not paying attention and anymore everyone's on their phone.

[rob nye]

I do a pause n go (MSF term) which includes a second at a full stop pretty much every time, except when riding with my recently licensed son, then it's full stop and foot down.

As an aside I use almost every opportunity I get to practice my slow riding skills including u-turns and "slow-racing"

What the practice does is often I can approach an intersection with a four way stop or red light and with proper timing never put a foot down; plus I'm pretty hard to beat at the field events.

FWIW, once I was chatting with Mike Kneebone, President of the Iron Butt Association and he said "I can pick out the good riders by what they do in the parking lot." which after a few years of observation I've come to agree with. Folks that know how to ride keep their feet on the pegs more often, especially at low speeds.

[sjbmw]

Not fully stopping at a stop sign where I live costs $187. I stop.

[rbertalotto]

Reminds me of the joke about the lawyer pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign......

The lawyer suggested that slowing way down, to a near crawl, was the same thing as stopping.......

The police officer started beating the lawyer on the head with his night stick and asked the lawyer if he wanted him to stop or just slow down............

[greenwald]

I do a pause n go (MSF term) which includes a second at a full stop pretty much every time, except when riding with my recently licensed son, then it's full stop and foot down.

As an aside I use almost every opportunity I get to practice my slow riding skills including u-turns and "slow-racing"

What the practice does is often I can approach an intersection with a four way stop or red light and with proper timing never put a foot down; plus I'm pretty hard to beat at the field events.

FWIW, once I was chatting with Mike Kneebone, President of the Iron Butt Association and he said "I can pick out the good riders by what they do in the parking lot." which after a few years of observation I've come to agree with. Folks that know how to ride keep their feet on the pegs more often, especially at low speeds.

Just for the record when we teach "Pause 'n Go" in MSF courses, it's for situations where one might YIELD. For stopping, we teach you to STOP!

[Anyname]

I like to see a full stop. We have had several cars wrecked by knuckleheads who ran stop signs and lights. It was the thrill of a lifetime to look up and see a fast moving, 7 foot tall truck grill six feet from my window. I didn't really expect to survive that one.

[Holly]

I do a "California Roll" in my neighborhood only. I knoe full well that I should come to a full stop at each one, I just don't. There are 9 of them in the mile from the main road to my front door.

LOL, we call it a Quebec Stop. Not going to admit to doing it on occasion, but I did learn to drive in Montreal...

[KenDittrick]

LOL, we call it a Quebec Stop. Not going to admit to doing it on occasion, but I did learn to drive in Montreal...

And at a four-way stop on the corner behind my house the Leos set up almost every Sunday morning to give out 'no stop' performance awards. Motorcyclists who do not put at least one foot down on their stop receive an award - if not, the rolling stop is interpreted as no stop.

Not sure how many are challenging this in court.

[WalterK75]

Full stop; foot down. The first time I simply slowed to almost stationary a school bus blasted through the intersection from behind some bushes. I was able to lock the brakes and stay vertical. Not worth the risk. Full stop; foot down.