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Stop BEFORE the Stop Sign!!!  A rant by: Anonymous Here's a quick test. You're driving and you come to a stop sign. If you were to look down, you'd see a stop sign, then a sidewalk, maybe some grass, then the cross street. So, the stop sign is maybe 25 feet away from the cross street. Where do you stop? It's not really all that hard, people. You have to stop BEFORE the stop sign, regardless of where the intersection actually meets. Don't keep on moving because you can't see. If you can't see clearly, stop at the stop sign, then slowly move out. I've seen a lot of idiots move right on past the stop sign because it wasn't at the end of the road. Meanwhile a kid riding their bike on the sidewalk almost gets creamed. The stop sign is where it is for a reason. Pay attention! << Back Add a Comment Comments ( Add a Comment ) Anonymous says: 2006-07-01 09:08:36 Submitter here and I don't know who Ross Duley is. My name is Mike and I'm tired of watching half-witted drivers in town fly past stop signs simply because they're not at the end of the road. Some drivers think "Well, I can't see up the road so I have to move past the stop sign." That's fine, but STOP at the stop sign first, then pull up to where you can see. Any driver not stopping at a stop sign regardless of the reason is guilty of a traffic violation. All it takes is hitting one pedestrian, kid on a bike, etc. and you'll never forget what I'm saying. Grumpy says: 2006-07-01 11:44:16 You should read the drivers handbook. The location of the stop sign has nothing to do with where you have to stop. A stop sign is an instruction, not a location. Here are the rules: Stop before the painted line. If there is no stop line, stop before the sidewalk. If there are no lines or sidewalk, stop before the intersection. Those are the rules YOU are supposed to know. Anonymous says: 2006-07-02 15:16:08 What are you talking about, Grumpy? How does what the submitter posted go against what you're saying? Show me where in any driver's handbook it says you don't have until AFTER the stop sign? No where! And obviously if there isn't a stop sign you still have an obligation to stop to make sure the way is clear before proceeding. 99% of the time unless someone made a big mistake in the City Works department, the stop sign is located at the painted line, which is before a crossing sidewalk. Therefore, as the poster wrote, you stop before the stop sign. Grumpy says: 2006-07-03 10:48:17 Anonymous, read my post again. There are plenty of intersections where thare are no lines OR sidewalks. Signs are routinely set back from the intersection itself (to avoid being hit by snowploughs I suspect). You are perfectly entitled to pass the sign and stop "before the intersection" just as the traffic act(and the handbook) reads. Anonymous says: 2006-07-03 22:11:22 You tell me one intersection in this city where I am allowed to continue past a stop sign. Grumpy says: 2006-07-04 08:12:03 Here is a perfect example: West bound Elizabeth at DeBourmont (Windsor Park area). No sidewalk, no line and the sign is about 15 feet back of the intersection. Because of trees you have to pull up to the intersection to look for traffic. There are others. Anonymous says: 2006-07-04 11:53:33 You still have to stop at the stop sign. There is nowhere that I can find that says in any rule book or driver's manual, "If you come to a stop sign and it doesn't make any sense to you, feel free to ignore." I agree the stop as you describe it doesn't make a lot of sense, but regardless, you MUST stop at the stop sign, then advance as far as necessary for you to make sure it's safe to go and then proceed into the intersection. Doing anything else is a violation of the Highway Traffic Act. 85 Except when otherwise directed by a peace officer, every person shall obey the instructions or directions on, or conveyed by means of, an applicable traffic control device. 239(1) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with or obey (c) an order, direction or requirement of a peace officer, a traffic authority, the traffic board, the transport board or another authority or person (ii) indicated or conveyed by a traffic control device; is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $2,000. Grumpy says: 2006-07-04 12:45:04 \"...every person shall obey the instructions or directions on, or conveyed by means of, an applicable traffic control device.\" You just confirmed exactly what I wrote. The sign is an INSTRUCTION to stop, not the LOCATION where to do so. From the drivers handbook: \"At a stop sign, you must come to a complete stop at the appropriate places illustrated below\". Notice it says \"places\", meaning the three possibilities I spelled out in my original post. Anonymous says: 2006-07-04 16:44:08 i think the anon posters obviously don\'t know how to drive and should be less crazy about stop signs. maybe they need to retake their drivers test Anonymous says: 2006-07-04 16:55:06 here\\\'s according to mpi: At a stop sign, you must come to a complete stop at the appropriate places illustrated below. Before proceeding from a stopped position, you must check and yield the right-of-way to pedestrians wanting to cross the street. When pedestrians are clear, you may then slowly move forward for a better view of traffic and, when safe to do so, you may then proceed to turn or cross the street. The following illustrations indicate the correct places for stopping. Four-way Stop Signs At an intersection controlled by a four-way stop sign, the vehicle that stops first should go first. After stopping and yielding to any pedestrians wanting to cross, roll slowly forward to show your intent to proceed. If two or more vehicles stop at the same time, the vehicle on the left should yield to the vehicle on the right. Stop before the stop line. Where there is no stop line, stop just before the sidewalk. If there is no stop line or sidewalk at the intersection, stop just before the intersecting highway. Anonymous says: 2006-07-04 19:03:42 Grumpy, your interpretation doesn't make a bit of sense. An "instruction" rather than a "location"? So, I see a stop sign, but it's just telling me that I should stop, well, somewhere. Maybe before the sidewalk, maybe as soon as the stop sign comes into view. If I was to take your interpretation I could drive right past a stop sign into the kid on a bike because as we all know most sidewalks are well before the intersecting road. I have to agree with the previous anonymous poster's comment: come to a full stop at the stop sign. Grumpy says: 2006-07-05 08:27:11 I taught driver education for seven years and during that time I had quite a few slow students just like you. The rules I've quoted are not mine, they are from the highway traffic act. Your last post shows you are having trouble understanding some perfectly clear and simple instructions. I'm going to try and explain this again in the hope you will finally get it: there is no maybe in this you MUST do the following: Is there a painted stop line? If yes stop there. No line? Is there a sidewalk? If yes, stop there. No line or sidewalk? Then stop before the intersection. Perhaps you can read this out loud, or get someone else to read it for you, then hopefully you can understand a section of the HTA that you are REQUIRED to know before driving a car. Anonymous says: 2006-07-05 10:52:33 Grumpy, this rant is about stop SIGNs. Your last post doesn't even contain the word 'sign'. Are you telling me that as a driving instructor you would let a person drive past a stop sign? If no, you wouldn't, then we're in agreement with what the submitter wrote in the first place. If you're saying yes, you would instruct a person to drive past a stop sign regardless where it was, then you're an idiot. BigB says: 2006-07-06 07:34:18 Sounds like we are arguining for the sake of arguement on this one. Who gives a ship. If you stop for the stop sign you are doing a great job already. I know ppl that blow stop signs w/o even noticing it. Chances are you do too. And then there are those 16yrold know-it-all's that think they dont need to stop for anything. To me and the traffic cops that patrol our streets, who really cares if you stop a little past the line. As long as you stop you are in good shape. When a driver sees a pedestrean at a crosswalk they will stop before the walk. But if there is no one there, what is the harm of them stopping just before the intersection!? Anonymous says: 2006-07-06 07:55:22 BigB, the "harm" is that people get used to stopping past the stop sign, which is usually located at a place so as to avoid colliding with crossing pedestrian traffic. This usually means bikes, too, although of course no one rides bikes illegally on the sidewalk, do they?? ;) If people get used to blowing past the sign and instead stopping at the road's edge, what's to stop them from hitting a kid? Too often because of people's landscaping it's hard to see what's coming along a sidewalk until they're right in the road. If they're coming from the right, I might not see the person until it's too late if I'm not stopped. So that's my problem, as is the nonchalant attitude of "so what, it's only the law - everyone breaks it". You're right. And the courts these days are going pretty lenient on vehicular manslaughter, so why should I care what you do. But let me know where you drive and I'll be sure to remember you won't necessarily be stopping simply because there is a stop sign. BigB says: 2006-07-06 11:19:44 All you have to do is hit one kid and lesson learned for 100's of ppl. Wasn't the rule that you have to walk your bike across when ur crossing a sidewalk? if you are biking on a sidewalk and get hit you probably deserve it... FreedomFries says: 2006-07-06 13:02:02 When i was a child I was flying down a sidewalk on my BMX and a car came out from a back lane which was blocked by fences on either side. I put a good dent in his fender and flew across his hood. I could have auditioned for dukes of hazard with a move like that. Anyways, I didn't get hurt, I was in the wrong for biking on the sidewalk, and even if i did get hurt i wouldn't in anyway hold the driver responsible. Pedestrians, bikes and anything else that is smaller than a car should yeild to cars under the law of "common sense", you will get hurt otherwise. Anonymous says: 2006-07-06 23:35:34 FreedomFries... while my motto is "the law of physics will almost always beat the Highway Traffic Act", the law remains that pedestrians have the right of way. Bikes on the other hand are treated more like vehicles, which is why you're not supposed to be on the sidewalk, so this discussion should be a moot point with regard to bikes. Good to hear that you weren't hurt too bad from your accident! Btw, I think most kids have at least one "OMG" story from their own childhood. It's a wonder most of us survive to become adults! BigB says: 2006-07-10 16:45:41 Pedestrians hit by motor vehicles has dropped drastic ever since they started inforcing drinking and driving laws. Once again taking the pleasures away for seasoned alcoholics! RedS024 says: 2008-03-04 21:31:41 Being from Transcona, this can be a bit confusing for me. Stop signs here are merely a suggestion, not a requirement! I have to keep reminding myself when I'm outside the "hood", that you folks drive wierd. And what idiot puts a stop sign 25 feet from the intersection. You stop behind the sign and by the time you get to the intersection 10 cars have gone through going the other way and they honk at you like you're supposed to stop, again?! Just roll through it, talking on your cell and drinking your Timmies and the whole world stops for you! Nope, Transcona drivers rule!!! |
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I think we all know who this is ............ in case you could not figure it ou tfor yourself it was rossduley who wrote this (the samw loser who filmed his subjects and made his kids write down licence plates) have fun with this one!!!