Who Actually Stops Completely at a STOP Sign?

Yes..another poll.

Maybe a wake up call to many.

Do you come to a COMPLETE stop at a stop sign (when there is no traffic in the way or cops)- obv you would stop if there is traffic)

Poll Options

  • 1054
    Yes
  • 157
    No

Comments

  • +59

    Those who respect the value of life and the rule of law.

    • +9

      I hereby bestow upon you the title of Ozbargain's Most Virtuous User.

    • +2

      Exactly, like smoking weed is illegal but the rule of law in Australia is to try it at least once (well at least for 75% of the population).

      • +7

        the governments dont want any competition from their cash cow cigarettes

        • +2

          That's not really true. If they legalised weed and controlled it like tobacco and alcohol with taxes and regulations, they might lose some revenue from tobacco but they'd recoup that loss from taxes and licensing revenue on weed.

          • @Trance N Dance: Problem is you can't grow ciagrettes in your backyard…you can grow weed like weeds so people will make their home grown weed and not pay a dime ! Off topic why else have they reduced amount of cigaretttes you can buy and bring through via duty free

            • +1

              @funnysht: Why do you think "you can't grow ciagrettes in your backyard"?

              You definitely can grow your own, but the risk and punishments are far greater because its a federal crime, since you are taking revenue from the ATO. Also you can just buy tobacco anywhere, so no one bothers.

              • @field1985: because you'll have to grow a lot of ciggs a day, whilst weed prob is a lot less to have the same effect ;)

                • @funnysht: you could distil plenty of spirits in a home distillery, but being a federal crime against the taxation office means people home brew instead.

            • @funnysht: You could, but if you've been to any high end dispensary in the US/EU there is still a huge market.

              You can grow your own chickens, some people do but that doesn't mean everyone does it.

      • The natural unwritten law has always been that it's illegal to supply but legal to consume. Bit like pirated software. It's the seeding and uploading that's the illegal component not the downloaders…

        I think any government that tries to go against societies natural customs by making both supply and demand illegal or both uploading and downloading illegal would be a government that would not stand the test of time..

        • +1

          Might wanna tell that to the Singapore government

        • +2

          There aren't enough words to express how wrong this is. It's almost like the drug and copyright infringement equivalent of "sovereign citizens"…

          • @Trance N Dance: You can regulate supply but demand cannot be because unlike supply, demand is not a quantity.

            • @[Deactivated]: Economics 101 principle of supply and demand begs to differ. Supply and demand are related, and one way of regulating demand is by regulating the supply. If you want less people accessing a certain thing tax the living crap out of it and make it more expensive to obtain (eg RTDs and tobacco).

              I'm not sure what you're hinting at but for arguments sake lets just assume demand can't be quantified or given a quantity; it doesn't change the fact, in the eyes of the law, it is illegal if it pertains to illegal activity/goods.

  • +41

    Are you mixing it up with the differently shaped, ‘just slow down a bit’ signs?

    • +8

      I believe those are triangle shaped

  • +28

    Not stopping can be expensive.

    • -1

      It can be expensive stopping too; brake pad wear to stop; petrol required to accelerate back to speed from stop, etc. (I jest)
      I do come to a complete stop at the signs; check for pedestrians, check for cars, check for cops, and go on through. While I strive for the counting '1..2..3..' If I'm stopped for 2.88 seconds due to a quick count and no hazards detected for miles; so be it. Live dangerous!
      In the case I'm the second car in line; I will admit the occasional sub 3-seconds as checks were already performed; usually already invested around 6 seconds at that point; so my additional wait time may be around a further crawl; then stop 2.78 seconds at that point.

  • +33

    Got fined once for this, I deserved it, albeit I almost stopped I was rolling at a walking pace. Since then I have never not stopped ever again. I come to a complete stop and wait 3 seconds, even if it was a random road in the middle of the outback and there was 10 cars behind me waiting to go.

    • Just curious. How did you get the fine? Was there a camera or a patrol vehicle?

      • +8

        There are no cameras for stop signs

      • +8

        Patrol vehicle parked a few spaces down from the intersection.

        • -1

          woof woof

  • +7

    It is the rules, everyone must adhere to it.

    Not gery area, just black and right.

    Who don't follow the rule get a fine, simple as this.

    I think this may be different story in some Asia countries

    • +2

      Meanwhile, on IndiaBargain:

      "Who here actually stops at a red light? As in a complete stop, letting the pedestrians cross without playing a game of Frogger?"

  • +46

    You're not going to get an accurate answer here. You'll get far better results walking to the nearest stop sign and monitoring motorists for an hour or two.

  • +3

    Another person who can't follow the road rules or thinks they don't apply to them as they are 'special'?

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/542647

  • +2

    I'd be interested to know who stops at a stop sign after the other car stops. For example theres one car in front of you and it stops at a stop sign. That car sees no car and drives off, when you then get to the stop sign I wonder how many stops again?

    • +26

      I do

    • -4

      3 seconds is a bloody long time. I rather they put slowdown and roundabouts signs. Because in 3 seconds another car could be here and to wait for that line of car to have passed will be atleast another 30 seconds. If you're in that queue for the stop sign, You could potentially wait up to 10 mins to get out into the intersection instead of waiting maybe one or two minutes.

      This overall increases unnecessary congestion and vehicle idling. Slow down and roundabouts are much more efficient imo.

      • +3

        Where are you coming up with 3 seconds? You just need to stop your vehicle for a brief moment, check if there's any on-coming vehicles and move on.

    • +1

      Well yes, you would stop again. The crossroad might have been clear when the car in front of you moved off the line, but that doesn't mean it will be clear for you too.

      What if the car in front only just cleared another car already in the crossroad? Or if another car since pulled out of a nearby turn/driveway/kerbside?

      Remember that if you're behind a stop sign, that means whoever is travelling on the cross road is not blocked by any such signs - they are expecting (rightly so) to cruise through without sudden cross traffic.

  • +28

    I do every time since I started driving, but not because of safety reasons, as I believe slowing to a crawl is good enough. I am just afraid to cop hundreds of dollars on a fine just for trying to save 5 seconds of my trip.
    People only care about something when their money is on the front line, and I am proof it works.

    • +11

      I bet about half of the "Yes" voters in this thread actually just slow to a crawl for a second. That's what I see most drivers do.

      I always feel like an idiot coming to a complete actual hard stop, since I seem to be one of the only ones doing it. But I learned the hard way. No more $400 fines for me.

      • That's my observation too. I always stop for the full 3 seconds, and get an earful from anyone else in the car.

        • +3

          It is entirely possible because you are stopping for 3 seconds. Suggest you stop and then drive off if clear, should stop the whining. No need to delay for any time after you stop and check

  • +5

    Maybe a wake up call to many

    No just you. Stop sign means STOP.

  • +3

    I do. Don't like to obey the road rules can always try walking.

    • +1

      there are road rules for walking too…

  • +16

    So many perfect specimens of the human race in this thread.

    I've rolled through stop signs, I knew it was illegal and did it anyway.

    I also take it you all have never broken a single Australian law when no one was looking.

    • +8

      I once Jaywalked, was about 30cm before the actual crossing. I'm so ashamed of myself.

      • +3

        You should probably hand in your licence to walk!

      • +2

        I've contacted the police, an officer will be coming over to arrest you shortly

      • +3

        I once watched an M rated movie without my parents supervision.

        • +6

          Don’t worry, it’s MA 15+ (Mature Accompanied) that requires supervision.

    • +2

      I also admit to jaywalking

    • Welcome to OzBargain…

  • +12

    This poll doesn't seem to reflect driving in real life. Unless all OzBargain-ers live in some utopia where everyone lives perfectly to the letter of the law.

    • +3

      You might be right.
      Or this poll just reflects the % of people who elect to vote in a non compulsory one.

    • +1

      Maybe they're afraid a cop is monitoring this thread and will issue fines to anyone who voted no

      • +1

        Ozbargainers are hypocrites

    • The poll doesn't define "stop".

      Observing the way most people actually drive on the roads, it's obvious that most of the people claiming they ALWAYS stop are counting a "rolling stop" (slowing to a crawl for a second but not locking the brakes to a complete standstill) as a stop.

  • +1

    This one is definitely situational for me and most people.
    If there is traffic coming you generally have to come to a complete stop, if there are police behind me is the only other time I come to a complete stop, I tend to treat them more as give way signs.

  • +6

    If it's one of those intersections that you can see a country mile in each direction before you even get to the intersection I do a quick check for cops & roll right on through.

    I do the same at the traffic lights near our house that were recently changed to remove the filter turn…..if it's all clear and no one around I go.

  • -2

    Any law-abiding citizens.

  • +3

    Depends on where it is and what visibility is like, sometimes I'll come to a stop, sometimes I'll roll through.

  • +3

    In many cases, what they need to do is put the solid white line further into the intersection or stop cars/trucks from being allowed to park so close to the intersection (I know 10 metres is already illegal) as they obstruct your view, regardless of if you came to a complete stop or not.

  • +4

    I stop but only because I'm paranoid about getting fined.

    Whenever I get parking fines, I think about all the money I saved on OzBargain having gone to waste.

  • +1

    Theres some sort of guideline where stop signs can ONLY be placed at proven high risk spots, normally an incredibly good idea to stop

    You can spot the ones that roll through stop signs from a mile away

    • +2

      In WA crash rates at an intersection are not warrants for STOP control at an intersection. It's all based on the site distance available.

      In saying that many intersections have STOP control when they should be Give Way as there are no issues with the sight distance at the intersection. The reason for this is STOP control was the default treatment in the past for all intersections regardless of the sight distance.

      AS1742.2 details when STOP control is warranted - https://imgur.com/SdW2vLN

      Diagram showing how sight distance is determined - https://imgur.com/a/PMTElLD

  • +1

    I do because you're supposed to, but it doesn't mean that everyone else I see does it.

  • +4

    Another thread should be who uses their turn signals prior to actually changing lanes or when proposing to turn. No one in Melbourne seems to know what that is.

  • +1

    I am told by a HK colleague that there are no stop 🛑 signs in Chinese intersections or junction.

    Can anyone verify that?

    • I am told by a HK colleague that the Chinese road toll per registered vehicle is double that of Australia’s.

      Can anyone verify that?

    • Never seen them there from memory, although there are way more traffic lights everywhere. Also on smaller intersections there is sometimes a solid line on the ground which no pays attention to.
      Also a hell of a lot of low speed collisions at little intersections there so don’t know whats worse haha.

    • +1

      unrelated to HK, but in St Petersburg city area, there's 4 way intersections with no signs and no traffic lights, you just go when you want and hope for the best.
      I guess this is common in smaller towns but it blew my mind in the middle of a city of 5 million.

  • -1

    Yes because I'm not an idiot.

  • +3

    I stop every time. My wife was T boned at 60 because an idiot didn’t stop at the STOP sign. 60/hr does a lot of damage, car was written off and she was hurt. It’s STOP for a reason.

  • -1

    Well, there is no complete rest for energy as Albert Einstein stated back in the day. Unless you can prove your car has zero mass then how could anyone truthfully say they have come to a state of complete rest at a stop sign?

    • +1

      In relation to the surroundings

      • -1

        Relative to the centre you mean? Not the surroundings… In the dead centre of the surrounding cosmos lies the quantum universe which is completely at rest would you believe :)

        • +1

          It didn't work, we still think you're stupid…

  • Yes, especially out in the country. Cops are red hot on impatient people and some cow cockies drive without their headlights on, so it pays to stop and have a good look. Mildura.

  • Generally yes.

    There are exceptions. There is a stop sign near my place that is dangerous to come to a complete stop. If you do, there isn't enough time to complete the turn should a vehicle come around the blind corner due to poor traction (uphill and loose gravel) and distance from corner.

  • +3

    Nothing can actually stop unless it is at zero kelvin.

    • +4

      I’m sure Kelvin already knows that.

      • … and he's OK ;)

  • +3

    I do, always.
    Even if I can see all clear before reaching the STOP sign, even if someone seemingly impatient or aggressive is driving behind me. Because-
    1. Its a law.
    2. The STOP signs have been put there instead of give way sign for a valid calculated reason by road engineers, not by a fluke.
    3. It adds to your ‘muscle memory’ to always stop at STOP sign because if you disregard the sign once and feel ok about it, you may mistakenly disregard it at a place where it is absolutely important for safety and then be involved in some fine or worst in an accident.

  • +6

    My problem with stop signs, maybe it's different here in WA, is that they are placed everywhere, even if you have 100m of visibility in every direction. Completely redundent.

    When stop signs are placed appropriately, around virtually blind corners in residential areas, you have to stop anyway just so you have time to check both ways, no one's gonna just roll through a corner where you can't see oncoming traffic till the last second.

    So why do stop signs even exist for the most part, I see them everywhere and only occasionally NEED to stop because of the actual road requirements, not because some bureaucrat, who's never seen the intersection before, says that I have to.

    I'm all for stop signs when required, as a prompt to stop and check, but give way signs need to be used a lot more.

    Alright, I'm ready for the negs, I dare to question the government's primary source of revenue!

    • +1

      I'm with you. There's a stop sign near a train intersection near my place. All it does is give the cars coming off the intersection right of way. But when the barrier is down and you're not crossing the train line, the stop sign is basically redundant. It's so dumb to have it there but some council planner thought it was a good idea for "safety".

  • +3

    It depends…

    If there is limited visibility, a dangerous intersection or a high speed intersection then yes I will always stop.

    However, if the visibility is ok, I can see no traffic then yeah I will roll through that intersection. I guess I am partly worried that the person behind me will also see the clear intersection and also roll through it and if I am stopped then there is a risk of that person hitting me. Being hit from behind on a number of occasions and being a rider I am paranoid about other people's inn-attention. So I just try to minimise risk and sometimes that means I am not always 100% obeying a road rule.

  • +1

    Stop signs can only be placed in certain conditions however some councils just go a bit heavy handed because they ran out of give way signs.

    A friend got fined for going through a stop sign but took it to court and cited the standards applicable to placement of a stop sign and it was deemed that the stop sign was illegally placed.

    Also if you were approaching a stop sign and a massive truck was behind you doing 100kmh and showing no signs of stopping, would you be thinking "law says stop so I must stop"?

  • +1

    I'm more concerned about how many people are stopping (unnecessarily) at give way signs and roundabouts, I'm guessing these are probably the ones that aren't stopping at stop signs. In answer to your question I don't always come to a complete stop due to having an (I believe) unnecessary one near where I live, but I do try to.

  • +3

    I do 60% of the time, All the time.

  • I was the dedicated driver for my mates, early hours of the morning, very few cars on the road.

    My mate said "Dude, you don't have to stop at this time of night when there no cars around!"

    I was dumbfounded.

  • Yes your funnysht

  • It depends on the context.
    If it's a blind stop, or the streets in question are even slightly busy, or you're crossing more than just one other road user's path, then yeah.
    If it's a stop sign and you're turning left and there's a clear view, then yeah, I confess that I roll.

  • +1

    Always, even when it appears pointless. I respect the contents of my wallet more than the couple of seconds I would save by not stopping. Hence why I am on Ozbargain

  • Every time.

    I just don't even think about it and just follow the road rules automatically. (unless I am making a conscious decision not to for some very specific reason)

  • +1

    I like to approach at max speed, stop for a literal microsecond, and then rocket off at max acceleration.

    Always stop at a stop sign…

    • +1

      This is me too haha

  • -1

    Yes always, I don't like paying a moron tax.

  • OP is in for a big surprise, by the way he framed the question.

    Guess you don't bother stopping huh? Too cool to stop? 😎😎😎

  • Of course, that's why it's called a stop sign instead of a slow down sign.

  • Safer to roll through some intersections than stop especially if your ride is slow to take off. Don't expect that to work if the coppers pull me up though.
    In our area we used to regularly see police cars lurking around at corners but haven't seen one for many years.

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