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How many stop at a stop sign............???
- Thread starter motorman587
- Start date
osbornk
Old man in the mountains
I don't know if it is because I worked insurance claims for 30+ years or because I once (in the late 70s) pulled out in front of a car I knew wasn't there because I didn't see it but I stop, put my foot down and look both ways again before I pull out even if I am "sure" there is nothing coming. I worked so many claims where the driver or rider pulled out because they were sure nothing was coming. Anyway, does a second or two really matter? I remember years ago when people complained about the time it took to put on a seat belt.
lmo1131
New member
Stop sign?!?! Pffft! You all aren't going to allow an inanimate hunk of painted sheet metal rules your lives. ... .are you?
I always practice my "trials" skills at stop signs just for the helluvit. When I was in high school a buddy of mine used to make cigarette money betting folks at the local shopping enter that he couldn't sit on his bicycle for five minutes without putting his feet down. Most people got tired of waiting for him after only two or three minutes and paid him his quarter. He could do the same thing on his 175 Yamaha. If I have a little downhill incline I can creep it for quite while at a stop light but I'm sure it isn't "several" minutes.
I haven't tried it in a parking lot for a long time, but there is a technique where by you can "balance" the bike using the torque of the engine, slipping the clutch, and shifting body weight. Personally, I can't do it, and I have better uses for clutch lining.
I always practice my "trials" skills at stop signs just for the helluvit. When I was in high school a buddy of mine used to make cigarette money betting folks at the local shopping enter that he couldn't sit on his bicycle for five minutes without putting his feet down. Most people got tired of waiting for him after only two or three minutes and paid him his quarter. He could do the same thing on his 175 Yamaha. If I have a little downhill incline I can creep it for quite while at a stop light but I'm sure it isn't "several" minutes.
I haven't tried it in a parking lot for a long time, but there is a technique where by you can "balance" the bike using the torque of the engine, slipping the clutch, and shifting body weight. Personally, I can't do it, and I have better uses for clutch lining.
motorman587
New member
I like this. Very good point. Thanks for sharing.......
We often pull up two by two at a stop sign and at signals. Take off and return to single file. Once again common sense dictates when/where this works.
Have done it in front of LEO's enough times if it was an issue figured I would have had a chat by now.
We have also been behind a few LEO Motors ahead of us...so we were just following the example
And rolling thru a STOP doesn't happen unless I am at the intersection( or one like it) in North by Northwest Cary Grant got strafed at
. Even then it's still a stop-n-go.In rural areas I almost never put a foot down unless the road junction is at such an oblique angle that it necessitates an extreme neck turn. Balancing a stopped bike for a couple seconds is no big deal and that's my norm in such places. Exceptions are places where vegetation obsures part of the view.
In town with lots of visual clutter is a different story. Many more places "require" some extra time to assess what's around.
However, my "time to assess" seems to be 3-4X faster than an average driver based on what I observe in traffic. That probably comes from all the time I've spent on tracks at speed- my brain just became wired to make assessmets quickly because everything happens so much faster at track speeds. Track time also teaches "selective vision"- seeing what matters in your field of vision and not wasting brain processing power on the rest / irrelevant stuff...
Given that the consequences of being T-boned by a cage are potentially lethal, it is obviously unwise to take risks- kiddings one's self about a clear road could be a 1 time mistake...
In town with lots of visual clutter is a different story. Many more places "require" some extra time to assess what's around.
However, my "time to assess" seems to be 3-4X faster than an average driver based on what I observe in traffic. That probably comes from all the time I've spent on tracks at speed- my brain just became wired to make assessmets quickly because everything happens so much faster at track speeds. Track time also teaches "selective vision"- seeing what matters in your field of vision and not wasting brain processing power on the rest / irrelevant stuff...
Given that the consequences of being T-boned by a cage are potentially lethal, it is obviously unwise to take risks- kiddings one's self about a clear road could be a 1 time mistake...
gch71
Smoooooth at 430
MMMM, used to do the slow approach, balance thing and go...until last week. I was approaching a four way stop intersection with no other traffic approaching I stopped (in my car) but not really long enough, glanced left/right and proceeded through, then had too stomp on the brakes because another car just blasted through the intersection at 40 mph.... he never saw the stop sign just kept on going. Made me think If I'd done what I usually do when on my airhead I would've been a speed bump, now I make it a point to look and pay attention, sometimes, I believe when we are in a hurry we see only what we want to see and not completely process the situation. Just my .02....
bikerfish1100
New member
To all who roll through stop signs(in/on anything with wheels!) may you have a bad hair day-or worse!Rant over...
Failing to put a foot down is not automatically "roll(ing) through a stop sign". it may very well be a "failure to touch a foot to ground while fully stopped". There is a difference.
Does helmet hair constitute a bad hair day, or is that a special category all it's own?
Bud
It is what it is.
"STOP" is a pretty unambiguous word. I might not need to put a foot down if sight lines are clear as I approach the sign, but the rotational speed of my wheels reaches zero before I proceed. Most of the time I can balance long enough to check traffic in both directions without touching down. I'm not aware of any laws requiring touchdown; that might be awkward for car drivers.
+1
To all who roll through stop signs(in/on anything with wheels!) may you have a bad hair day-or worse!
I agree with kantuckid. I REALLY dislike the people that roll through stop signs, especially in our neighborhood, with all the pedestrians and children.
I ALWAYS stop at stop signs. I just don't always put my foot down.
marchyman
Cam Killer
I agree, but... I also agree with what greenwald said: "While I can produce such a stop in perfect balance, too much attention is focused on that 'skill' and not on situational awareness." On city streets or in heavy traffic I'll almost always put my foot down. Lonely country roads are another matter.
Besides, there are better ways to practice your balance:
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7DXRheCvqVA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Besides, there are better ways to practice your balance:
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7DXRheCvqVA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The situational awareness should ALWAYS come FIRST. THEN, based on that situation, you decide feet up or down. ALWAYS leave the option to put a foot (or both) down should the initial situation change.
It's pretty dumb to first decide "I'm not going to put my feet down at the next intersection" and then once you are almost stopped acess the situation. That's Bassackwards!
22600
rsbeemer
Stop signs ??
Here in Taiwan there are no stop signs; it's who ever gets into the intersection first that has right-of-way. Of course you can have right of way and still be dead.
The larger intersections have signal lights but when you get a green light to go, you usually have to wait until at least three cars fly through the red light in order to proceed safely.
Bottom line here is that I always come to a complete stop and look both ways before I proceed. I believe in Texas you have to come to a compete stop or pay the price if caught.
DW
Here in Taiwan there are no stop signs; it's who ever gets into the intersection first that has right-of-way. Of course you can have right of way and still be dead.
The larger intersections have signal lights but when you get a green light to go, you usually have to wait until at least three cars fly through the red light in order to proceed safely.
Bottom line here is that I always come to a complete stop and look both ways before I proceed. I believe in Texas you have to come to a compete stop or pay the price if caught.
DW
When I was a kid in Idaho we called the "rolling stop" a "California stop". Now that I live in California, I know why. Still, the only time I've been pulled over on a bike was when I slowly rolled through a rural intersection and got popped by a county sheriff's deputy (no ticket, just a stern warning). Do I still roll through the occasional intersection? Yep. So do the cops, and everyone else, I notice. I also notice that lots of drivers exceed the posted speed limits. That seems pretty unambiguous, too...we have these speedometers for a reason, but traffic laws are kind of like the Pirate Code and punctuation rules it seems, more like guidelines. If you don't cause a wreck, or get caught, it's all good. California, the "no-harm-no-foul" state.
Guilty as charged. When in the car, I dilligently stop, completely stop, at all stop signs. On the bikes, I do not. Especially at right turns, I almost always "roll through" if there is no traffic and I can see it. That's the key issue: I have to clearly see if something is coming or not. As far as the laws in our State are concerned, I don't even know if you have to touch down for a stop to be valid.
