Question regarding coming to a stop at stop signs.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 6, 2018
Messages
60
Location
FLORIDA
I just wanted other people's opinion and perhaps experience on this.
Let's assume I'm in traffic coming up to a stop sign. There's bound to be someone whose car stops after the white marking, or someone that stops at the white marking but inches up until they're completely passed it.
The situation I'm referring to then involves my car stopped behind the white line but another car is stopped after it. Technically, I have come to my stop. Is it reasonable to assume I am able to go immediately once the way has cleared or must I then do another "move up an inch and stop again" kind of number since I didn't come up to a clear stop sign the first time?
 
You must stop at the white line, then move through when clear and appropriate. Each car must stop at the white line.
 
Last edited:
You inch up to the stop line and stop. Basically you must give other cars/pedestrians enough time to execute their turn at the intersection. By stopping at the line you're telling others it's their turn.
 
Technically-unless you stop at the white line, you've not stopped for the stop sign.

All of the "inching up" and other hypothetical moves are irrelevant. "Technically" won't hold up in court, or for a traffic cop, or for your fellow drivers.

Stop at the line.

See if it's clear.

Then go.

That's it.
 
If you drive 5-10 mph below the speed limit and have a 20-car train behind you through a major thoroughfare, you simply roll through the stop sign/red light and proceed to keep moving at your turtle-like speed....cause you are a safe driver.
 
Or you slowly roll across the white line, confusing the other motorists because no one is sure what youre going to do.
 
Technically, that would seem like two cars going through stop sign in one "turn."

Imagine this is a four-way stop, where drivers take turns going in the order that they stopped.

A car to the left or right stops at the intersection about the same time you did, and they expect it to be their turn after the car in front of you leaves.

That means somebody's going to have to hit their brakes in the middle of the intersection. At the very least, the other driver might give you a number one salute for sneaking through behind the first car.

I look at your last point, coming up to a clear stop sign, as having more weight than where a car stops in relation to the line.
 
Stop sign enforcement? What's that? Here, it's only speeding, illegal passing, red lights, seat belts, dead registration and causing accidents. Anything else is fine.

Seriously, I'd be surprised to hear of anyone ticketed in this situation, much less convicted.
 
Originally Posted by MrMoody
Stop sign enforcement? What's that? Here, it's only speeding, illegal passing, red lights, seat belts, dead registration and causing accidents. Anything else is fine.

Seriously, I'd be surprised to hear of anyone ticketed in this situation, much less convicted.

Never happened to me, but I know people who have been ticketed for rolling stop sign infractions.
 
Perhaps it varies by area, but at 4-way stops, you to yield to the vehicle to your right. A car that's short or beyond the white line is irrelevant to me. At a two way stop, who was ever there longest goes.
 
I don't think people are understanding the OP's scenario.

I have experienced that situation many times, OP. As long as you have stopped at the marked stopping point, yield the right of way to qualifying cars/pedestrians/bikes/whatever, you have satisfied the law and may proceed.
 
(depending on your state traffic laws, which can be different state-to-state)

If the car in front of you stops above the white line "AND" at the exact same time you stop just a smidge behind (or at) the white line, you-both can proceed from that stop sign at the same time, provided no other cars are at the other three corners.

If there are 1-2-3 cars at those other three corners, you (who are 2nd in line) cannot proceed at the same time as the car in front of you. Two vehicles cannot proceed from the same stop sign simultaneously, 'IF' other cars are on 1-2-3 of those corners.
 
Your post is not clear to me. If you stopped once you do not need to stop again.
Cars behind you have no bearing.
Heck, in CA all ya gotta do is a slow roll up to the stop sign and proceed if it is safe to do so.

Now school bus stop signs are another matter.
 
Technically when you stop inches of feet before the stop bar (the white line as it's called in traffic engineering) then when it's your turn or when the way is clear you can proceed to go, not inch forward only to stop again as that may cause the driver behind you to think you're going and may rear end you not knowing you were going to stop again.
 
My favorite is when you get to the line 1-2 seconds ahead of a cross traffic person, who proceeds to slam on their brakes 1-1 1/2 car lengths short of the line, thinking they get to go ahead. Wrong!
 
Originally Posted by anndel
Technically when you stop inches of feet before the stop bar (the white line as it's called in traffic engineering) then when it's your turn or when the way is clear you can proceed to go, not inch forward only to stop again as that may cause the driver behind you to think you're going and may rear end you not knowing you were going to stop again.


BINGO!

And it would also confuse drivers across from you on when you're really going to go as you stutter up to the line multiple times to tag it just right.

It's idiocracy to have to inch up to the line after you've already stopped within inches or even several feet of it. There's no law stating the exact measurement. And if there were, we'd all be getting out of cars with tape measures multiple times to ensure we are within the lawful "specifications." Imagine having to open your car door to check the closeness to the line....because none of us can consistently get to within 1" of the line by eye-balling it from inside the car. Do you stop at the car's front bumper projection, or some portion of the front wheel projection, or where the rubber first touches the road? What if one of your tires is 2" away and the other one is 1" away? If you go over the line you have to back up and try again. Sheesh.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by 64bawagon
Or you slowly roll across the white line, confusing the other motorists because no one is sure what you're going to do.


Oh, I like that one. Just like signalling right and turning left. I had my signal on ... Whatever you can do to confuse the enemy
laugh.gif
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Uphill_Both_Ways
But officer, science teaches us that nothing truly stops.


Science actually teaches us via Sir Isaac Newton that objects at rest, remain at rest until they are acted upon by an outside force. Now if we want to reference all motion with respect to the sun or other planetary bodies, then everything we know on earth is in relative motion to unearthly objects. For safety applications, our motor vehicles at rest vs. other nearby objects on earth is close enough. With brakes applied at the white line (frictional forces plus gravity) the car comes to a rest when the wheel is observed to be stationary. Now if running through flood waters or during hurricane winds, the car might not come to rest at the stop sign.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top