Context: Sleepy neighborhood. Early morning before the work rush. Just you and one car you see turn on their blinker that's going to get to the intersection after you. Not a moment or two after you, but well after you, like… you'll be clearing the intersection by the time they stop.
I got honked at and yelled at for not stopping.
Yes, I act like a car if the timing of it makes it necessary to do so, but in this case, I'm not stopping and waiting on the car so I can start again once the car waits for me anyway, especially when we aren't crossing paths.
by BrianLevre
32 Comments
depends on signage
I only blow stop signs when I’m the only one on the road. If a car is going to see me run the stop sign, even if it means no interaction between us, I always slow to a stop/lightly roll the stop sign. It’s not worth giving another random driver ammunition about ‘those damn cyclists are always running stop signs!’.
If you ignored the stop sign then you were in the wrong.
There are many T intersections like that on my commute.
I check for trafic, pedestrians and slow down and pass.
If you had a stop sign then you were incorrect. Sometimes I’ll be incorrect if it is safer for me to do so.
If you didn’t care that you were incorrect then don’t let it bother you. You aren’t going to change that drivers mind because they probably won’t see your post. Just go about your day and don’t give a shit what they think.
When I have questions like this I stop and ask which of us is more likely to ride away after a crash.
The softie in the car is overreacting
I have a few intersections like this on my rides. They’ve all got bike lanes so I feel no shame in continuing through the red, in my bike lane, regardless of cars. If a car were to hit me they’d be out of their lane no matter the color of the traffic light.
Does your state have the Idaho stop? If so you were legal. If not you were still right. As long as the cyclist is safe I’m on their side.
However, was it worth it? If you can anticipate motorist emotions, I recommend just chillaxing. It lessens my anxiety anyway.
I would only run that stop sign if there were no other vehicles in sight. If there’s a car in the vicinity of that intersection I’m stopping (at the very least, a rolling stop) 100% of the time.
It’s safe until it’s not.
I’d do the same, I don’t see the problem
https://i.redd.it/ahmsjgi2ro7f1.gif
The critical question is what state are you in?
If you slowed and treated it as a yield and live in: ID, DE, AR, OR, WA, UT, ND, OK, CO, D.C., MN, AK, or NM you did nothing illegal or wrong and the driver is uneducated on the driving laws of your state.
If you don’t live in those states or district then you broke the law and should follow road laws.
His blinkers were turned on for right turn? How fast were you going? Sounds like a “Karen is overreacting” for me.
In Washington state there are those “T” intersections with signs that say bicycles do not need to stop and people still honk and yell. Some people just hate cyclist
The right answer is never trust the blinker. I would have been dead multiple times if I did.
I don’t know if you have an Idaho stop law where you live, but I do and I definitely would have done what you did.
You’re fine. Drivers are triggered by everything we do, legal or not, and road rules were designed for cars, not us. Keep yourself safe and keep doing you.
I do this all the time.
How often do cars stop at stop signs in your area?
I am NOT stopping at an intersection like this 10/10 times. You did nothing wrong OP.
Person is turning right, there is almost a better chance of them hitting you if you stop at the sign. You are not slowing them down in any way.
If they were waiting to turn left and you blew through the sign, that would be a dick move. But even then unless you’re going at a crawling pace it’s a maximum 3 second delay for the car.
Lots of comments overreacting in this thread. If you find a way to die in this situation, you earned it lol
Per local (to me) state law bicycles can treat stop signs as yield signs and stop lights can be treated as stop signs. This would have been perfectly legal in my state and I would have done the same thing.
Don’t fully run stop signs, it’s why people hate us. Plus when you were looking left and paying attention to that car and predicting what it’s gonna do, were you 110% sure that a pedestrian wasn’t about to step out into that marked crosswalk from your right side? Just be safe, and not a “rules for thee not for me” kinda person.
Technically, one should stop, and a bike is a vehicle, so you’re legally obligated to do so. Would you have blown through in a car?
I agree with the folks on here saying that they would stop or significantly slow in the presence of other vehicles.
That said, I’d also bet the car that honked didn’t come to a complete stop either. No one, and I mean no one, comes to a full stop where I am, especially when making a right turn.
I would agree that you’re fine to roll that stop sign. Fully stopping at every stop sign in a sleepy neighborhood would be ridiculous on a bike. But there is a big difference between blowing a stop sign without slowing versus coming up slowly and proceeding like it’s a yield.
The same drivers that honk at a cyclist for doing this would do a rolling stop in this situation 90% of the time and the other driver at the intersection wouldn’t think twice. Some commenters pointed out that you’re giving some proof to their belief that cyclists don’t follow traffic laws. Maybe that’s true. But we (especially in America) have just accepted that drivers are breaking the law every time they drive — speeding, rolling stops, not yielding to a cross walk. Of course all of that is 100x more dangerous than a cyclist rolling a stop sign. Some people just have a weird reaction when cyclists don’t ride how they want them to. I’m kind of done worrying about it. Ride safe, use your best judgement, be careful around pedestrians, and enjoy the ride.
You gotta yell “IDAHO!!!” as you go through, then you would’ve been fine.
I don’t stop either
Must be a road bike.. get off the road
I think you’re fine.
I think the driver overreacted.
You didn’t mention if the driver fully stopped. You probably didn’t even notice. Not saying I expect them to stop, as I sometimes roll thru right turns when driving and it’s clear.
To those that use the ambassador excuse, as if drivers rage at cyclists for not following rules, why are people not outraged at all the driver who speed, and break many other traffic laws. Pedestrians are struck and injured or killed because of drivers and it’s usually chalked up as an accident. But a cyclist rolling thru a stop when it is clearly safe to do so and it’s looked at as encouraging the rage of drivers and making all cyclists look bad? C’mon.
Yeah, providing you’re sure the car’s not turning to your lane, you’re good. My general rule is as long as I’m not endangering myself or any pedestrians, and I’m not inconveniencing any drivers or causing them to have to brake or swerve suddenly, I’m gone. I’ve done my time as a law abiding cyclist, and I had one too many incidents of abuse and threats from drivers for waiting properly at lights and junctions and such.
I always stop at stop signs, no matter what. Bike lane? Still stop. Only one on the road at 4 am? I will still stop no matter what. You have to remember that not only is it illegal to not stop in most places, but you are literally not protected by anything, so even if you think you’re good, it takes only a single mistake or a drunk driver/etc to alter your life forever. It isn’t worth it.
Plus, bikers ignoring traffic laws is one of the reasons we get so much hate.