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As someone who bikes on 17th street regularly, cyclists rarely stop completely. Most treat it as a yield (myself included) because it's a pain to start+stop at

As someone who bikes on 17th street regularly, cyclists rarely stop completely. Most treat it as a yield (myself included) because it's a pain to start+stop at every stop sign. But it's on the rider to make sure you're on the same page as the other drivers at the intersection, which some bikers don't and just blow through it without checking.

EchoAce 3y ago
Same, I take the wiggle all the time and definitely bully cars into letting me keep going :/
- blastro 3y ago
  It's just what's done
nerdponx 3y ago
Harder to do when the driver of the vehicle is not a human being you can make eye contact with, and the human operator isn't interested in maintaining safe and attentive authority over the vehicle that they are responsible for.
- undersuit 3y ago
  I feel like I'm the only person in my town without tinted windows. I never see other drivers faes whether I'm driving, biking, or walking.
  - SllX 3y ago
    Is your town in California? Cuz that would be hella illegal for their front windows and windshields to be tinted to the point you can’t even see their faces. https://www.californiacarlaws.com/window-tint/ https://www.californiacarlaws.com/window-tint/
    - nerdponx 3y ago
      It's somewhere between "moderately" and "hella" illegal just about everywhere in the northeast, but people still do it all the time.
    - tossedacct 3y ago
      It’s barely enforced, and I believe that in most major California cities they can’t pull you over for it now, but can give you a ticket if there’s another reason for the stop. The majority of cars I see that are under ~5 years old on California roads have illegal tint.
- this15testingg 3y ago
  If cyclists go through without coming to a complete stop (like 99% of drivers, complete stop means the wheels are not turning and the speedometer says "0") and gets hit, the cyclist/pedestrian dies. If a car ignores signals, the cyclist/pedestrian still dies. These are not the same modes of traffic, and forcing everyone on earth to bend to the behaviors of the most dangerous mode of transportation is insanity.
FireBeyond 3y ago
> Most treat it as a yield (myself included) because it's a pain to start+stop at every stop sign. Sure. It's a pain for cars to start and stop at every stop sign too. So?
- babl-yc 3y ago
  I drive and bike. It's more annoying on a bike to come to a complete stop.
  - FireBeyond 3y ago
    I find plenty of rules of the road annoying, whether I'm in a car, on a bicycle or pedestrian. This "Oh, well, it's annoying so we don't do that" is BS.
    - peter422 3y ago
      I used to yield at stop signs early on while cycling, but after I was hit by a car who ran a stop sign, I switched to coming to a complete stop at every stop sign, ensuring no cars were about to run their stop signs, then going. Self preservation is more important than maintaining a little bit of momentum. A fun bonus for this method is it seems to annoy the cars behind you even more when you actually come to complete stops, even though all drivers complain that cyclists don’t stop at stop signs.
    - watwut 3y ago
      Very very few drivers respect speed limits to the T or the whole bunch "slow down when you do not see around" rules. So, majority of drivers can stuff themselves when they suddenly demand absolute perfect compliance from non-drivers.
  - babelfish 3y ago
    If someone can't follow traffic laws, they shouldn't be on the road (regardless of mode of transportation)
    - 3y ago
userbinator 3y ago
But it's on the rider to make sure you're on the same page as the other drivers at the intersection, which some bikers don't and just blow through it without checking. I've seen this behaviour a lot. Several times I (walking) came up to a 4-way stop, stopped there briefly to see the cars in the other direction slow and stop, and then started to cross and nearly got hit by a cyclist who seemed to have not seen the stop sign at all.
insane_dreamer 3y ago
If you choose to blow through the stop sign because it "looks safe", you should bear the full responsibility for that decision. (I say this as an avid cyclist who sometimes blows through stop signs.)
- smt88 3y ago
  > you should bear the full responsibility for that decision That's not fair to pedestrians or other cyclists who can be injured by your decision to break the law and ignore their safety.
  - huytersd 3y ago
    To clarify, the cyclist is the one breaking the law here.
    - smt88 3y ago
      I understand that. That's why I said they're a danger to pedestrians and cyclists, not cars.
- _dain_ 3y ago
  >avid cyclist Why do I only see this phrase when someone is blaming cyclists? I bike everywhere but I'm not an "avid cyclist", it's just a tool for getting around. What is there to be "avid" about? I suspect it's from people who think of cycling primarily as a sport or pastime, not a practical mode of transport. >If you choose to blow through the stop sign because it "looks safe", you should bear the full responsibility for that decision This is the "you're holding it wrong" mindset, where something doesn't work right, and people are blamed for not contorting themselves around it. If it looks safe, but isn't safe, then that's a problem with the road, not the people who use it. It should be redesigned. 4-way stop signs are stupid, there are better alternatives like roundabouts. UK and Europe have hardly any stop signs.
  - insane_dreamer 3y ago
    by that I meant that I cycle regularly (both for sport and transport); in other words, I'm not criticizing cyclists from the sidelines

EchoAce 3y ago

Same, I take the wiggle all the time and definitely bully cars into letting me keep going :/

blastro 3y ago
It's just what's done

nerdponx 3y ago

Harder to do when the driver of the vehicle is not a human being you can make eye contact with, and the human operator isn't interested in maintaining safe and attentive authority over the vehicle that they are responsible for.

undersuit 3y ago
I feel like I'm the only person in my town without tinted windows. I never see other drivers faes whether I'm driving, biking, or walking.
- SllX 3y ago
  Is your town in California? Cuz that would be hella illegal for their front windows and windshields to be tinted to the point you can’t even see their faces. https://www.californiacarlaws.com/window-tint/ https://www.californiacarlaws.com/window-tint/
  - nerdponx 3y ago
    It's somewhere between "moderately" and "hella" illegal just about everywhere in the northeast, but people still do it all the time.
  - tossedacct 3y ago
    It’s barely enforced, and I believe that in most major California cities they can’t pull you over for it now, but can give you a ticket if there’s another reason for the stop. The majority of cars I see that are under ~5 years old on California roads have illegal tint.
this15testingg 3y ago
If cyclists go through without coming to a complete stop (like 99% of drivers, complete stop means the wheels are not turning and the speedometer says "0") and gets hit, the cyclist/pedestrian dies. If a car ignores signals, the cyclist/pedestrian still dies. These are not the same modes of traffic, and forcing everyone on earth to bend to the behaviors of the most dangerous mode of transportation is insanity.

FireBeyond 3y ago

> Most treat it as a yield (myself included) because it's a pain to start+stop at every stop sign. Sure. It's a pain for cars to start and stop at every stop sign too. So?

babl-yc 3y ago
I drive and bike. It's more annoying on a bike to come to a complete stop.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  I find plenty of rules of the road annoying, whether I'm in a car, on a bicycle or pedestrian. This "Oh, well, it's annoying so we don't do that" is BS.
  - peter422 3y ago
    I used to yield at stop signs early on while cycling, but after I was hit by a car who ran a stop sign, I switched to coming to a complete stop at every stop sign, ensuring no cars were about to run their stop signs, then going. Self preservation is more important than maintaining a little bit of momentum. A fun bonus for this method is it seems to annoy the cars behind you even more when you actually come to complete stops, even though all drivers complain that cyclists don’t stop at stop signs.
  - watwut 3y ago
    Very very few drivers respect speed limits to the T or the whole bunch "slow down when you do not see around" rules. So, majority of drivers can stuff themselves when they suddenly demand absolute perfect compliance from non-drivers.
- babelfish 3y ago
  If someone can't follow traffic laws, they shouldn't be on the road (regardless of mode of transportation)
  - 3y ago

userbinator 3y ago

But it's on the rider to make sure you're on the same page as the other drivers at the intersection, which some bikers don't and just blow through it without checking. I've seen this behaviour a lot. Several times I (walking) came up to a 4-way stop, stopped there briefly to see the cars in the other direction slow and stop, and then started to cross and nearly got hit by a cyclist who seemed to have not seen the stop sign at all.

insane_dreamer 3y ago

If you choose to blow through the stop sign because it "looks safe", you should bear the full responsibility for that decision. (I say this as an avid cyclist who sometimes blows through stop signs.)

smt88 3y ago
> you should bear the full responsibility for that decision That's not fair to pedestrians or other cyclists who can be injured by your decision to break the law and ignore their safety.
- huytersd 3y ago
  To clarify, the cyclist is the one breaking the law here.
  - smt88 3y ago
    I understand that. That's why I said they're a danger to pedestrians and cyclists, not cars.
_dain_ 3y ago
>avid cyclist Why do I only see this phrase when someone is blaming cyclists? I bike everywhere but I'm not an "avid cyclist", it's just a tool for getting around. What is there to be "avid" about? I suspect it's from people who think of cycling primarily as a sport or pastime, not a practical mode of transport. >If you choose to blow through the stop sign because it "looks safe", you should bear the full responsibility for that decision This is the "you're holding it wrong" mindset, where something doesn't work right, and people are blamed for not contorting themselves around it. If it looks safe, but isn't safe, then that's a problem with the road, not the people who use it. It should be redesigned. 4-way stop signs are stupid, there are better alternatives like roundabouts. UK and Europe have hardly any stop signs.
- insane_dreamer 3y ago
  by that I meant that I cycle regularly (both for sport and transport); in other words, I'm not criticizing cyclists from the sidelines