For all you bike enthusiasts:

[Kumbaya]

Why is stopping at stops signs such a chore?
I can understand remote stop signs where you slow and ensure it's safe and then glide through.  I do the same thing in my car.

I am talking in densely packed city intersections.  This is not an isolated incident, I have seen multiple examples of this just this week.  On Monday one woman glided through rush hour traffic with a sense of entitlement, then had to stop so suddenly (because the car she thought was going to yield to her gliding through didn't - slightly a dick move, but I cheered in solidarity from my SUV) she actually did a weird almost figure 8 maneuver in the middle of a 4 way stop while we all watched an waited and smirked at her.

Explain.

[ctjim]

1. It's not a chore. It's a bit of a pain to stop and then restart, if you're an idiot and in a "big" gear.
2. Some people are assholes. Some of them ride bikes and glide through stop signs, and some drive cars and glide through stop signs.

[ihop]

Uncle Fred and ctjim are correct.

[tenacious1]

Ditto. It makes riding a bike less safe for everyone since the cars on the road don't know what to expect. I would really like it if the police gave them tickets more often.

[onawhim]

It is a pain to clip in and clip out if I am being honest.  I do not want to risk doing the tip over at a stoplight.  I do not bike anymore because it was just too stressful for me on the road.

[ihop]

It is a pain to clip in and clip out if I am being honest.  I do not want to risk doing the tip over at a stoplight.  I do not bike anymore because it was just too stressful for me on the road.

I have never been good at clipping in and out.  And doing it around traffic or at a stop sign or on an incline or...or... makes me more nervous.  I do recognize that weakness and don't ride much at all, especially in traffic!

[cgraz]

I stink at clipping in and out, too...stops in traffic and left turns stress me right the eff out. But I still observe the signals. In group rides, we'll often start through a stop sign with the first person doing a bit of a rolling stop and then we all go through and call "clear" or "car" to those behind us, so they can either roll through or full stop. But in traffic, I observe the rules just like any other vehicle, so the other vehicles know what to expect from me...unless they are jackasses who shout things like "get out of the road!"

It should also be noted that I freaking hate it when cars try to be "nice" and stop to let me go when I have a stop sign and they don't. Chances are by then I've committed to unclipping and stopping, and it's not easy for me to just change that plan on the fly, clip back in quickly after seeing and registering they're letting me go, and continue on. So then they get all irritated about it because I'm taking too long, and that's why I usually get all shouty, drop a dozen or so f-bombs as I'm struggling to clip back in quickly, and tell them to just effing go and not do me any freaking favors! (I may or may not have actually done that in front of a toddler on a recent ride. My friends all apologized on my behalf and told the poor mother that I have some kind of cycling-induced tourettes.)

Seriously, just do what's expected people. Bikes, cars, runners. Follow the rules. Nothing extra.

[Cool Foot Luke]

Why is stopping at stops signs such a chore?
I can understand remote stop signs where you slow and ensure it's safe and then glide through.  I do the same thing in my car.

I am talking in densely packed city intersections.  This is not an isolated incident, I have seen multiple examples of this just this week.  On Monday one woman glided through rush hour traffic with a sense of entitlement, then had to stop so suddenly (because the car she thought was going to yield to her gliding through didn't - slightly a dick move, but I cheered in solidarity from my SUV) she actually did a weird almost figure 8 maneuver in the middle of a 4 way stop while we all watched an waited and smirked at her.

Explain.

Sometime actually try riding a bike with the intention of getting somewhere, and you'll understand.

Nearly every stop sign falls under the category of "remote stop signs." If it's truly a "dense city intersection" it's probably signalized. Your anecdote is just that, an anecdote, and even them she wasn't putting anyone else in danger.

And bicyclists sit much higher than you, are more maneuverable, and have no blind spots, and are generally incapable of injuring any other road users, so it doesn't make any sense to think that you should be able to roll through the same stops that they do.

The notion that everyone should follow the exact same rules is just convenient and lazy, not rational by any stretch of the imagination.

[Run Amok]

CFL, I hear ya. I do commute densly packed city streets every day on my way to/from work. There are bikes, pedestrians, cars, buses, commercial trucks, etc. And, like someone up thread said, when everyone follows the rules it just works best. As a driver, I can best plan for how to maneuver if I know what the bike is going to do. THEY may not have any blind spots and be way more maneuvrable than me, but I can't get in their head. I'm totally guessing what they're planning to do.

In a chaotic environment, one player ignoring the rules does, actually make the whole situation more risky for everyone.

Sure, they can't hurt anyone else- but if they're not following the rules and I hit and kill them... that's a pretty life changing event for everyone involved. I have no desire to run over a biker-- beyond the obvious that it sucks a lot for the biker (and his/her friends/family) it also potentially means I lose my job, my livelihood, has a major impact on my kid (for whom I'm the only parent), and so forth. So, I think it's very short sighted to suggest that the only one at risk here is the biker.

And, actually, a biker hitting a pedestrian at speed is no picnic for the pedestrian.

[Kumbaya]

Road Rage + Roid Rage + Annoying Cyclists = Epic Meltdown

I could only get through 48 seconds of that but what does that have to do with my stop sign question?

[Kumbaya]

It is a pain to clip in and clip out if I am being honest.  I do not want to risk doing the tip over at a stoplight.  I do not bike anymore because it was just too stressful for me on the road.

I quit riding my bike in Chicago 10 years ago because I almost got hit. I bought a bike rack for our car (two cars ago) so I could take the bikes to the lake and ride there but even riding on the bike / running path became unfun with all the traffic. I rode once in NYC and that was enough for me.  The bikes sat there for the 2 years we lived there.

[Mrtambourineman]

Hey Barry - I think its laziness generally.  Its nice to be able to carry your momentum through an intersection rather than stopping.  If you have clipless pedals or straps its even nicer to be able to avoid unclipping.  I must admit I'm guilty of it at 4 way stops on quiet streets/roads where I have good visibility.  I am also tempted to do it when I am clearly going to be the first vehicle at a 4 way intersection because I feel it reduces the likelihood of confusion and makes it much more efficient for the motorists if they don't need to wait for me to get clipped in and accelerate to cruising speed. I certainly don't do it at intersections controlled by lights.   I have to say, locally, when I do yield to motorists at intersections that don't have signal lights I find there is a lot of confusion about who has the right of way.  Many times I'm waved through by motorists who I'm trying to yield to who clearly have the right-of-way.  So I suppose you'd classify me as one of those arrogant, entitled jerks.  I have been doing this since 1987 for transportation and was only struck once and in that case the motorist was clearly in the wrong.   

[Cool Foot Luke]

I must admit I'm guilty of it at 4 way stops on quiet streets/roads where I have good visibility.  I am also tempted to do it when I am clearly going to be the first vehicle at a 4 way intersection because I feel it reduces the likelihood of confusion and makes it much more efficient for the motorists if they don't need to wait for me to get clipped in and accelerate to cruising speed. I certainly don't do it at intersections controlled by lights.   I have to say, locally, when I do yield to motorists at intersections that don't have signal lights I find there is a lot of confusion about who has the right of way.  Many times I'm waved through by motorists who I'm trying to yield to who clearly have the right-of-way.  So I suppose you'd classify me as one of those arrogant, entitled jerks.

This is pretty much exactly how I do it. I follow the spirit, though not the letter of the law and it's hard to explain without showing you, but I'm pretty respectful of motorists and they generally seem to get along with me. The only times that I get yelled at are when I'm actually doing something perfectly safe and legal that motorists just don't understand...For example, taking the lane when there's insufficient room to safely pass me in the lane (or there's a long line of parked cars) or stop to the left of where right-turning vehicles would go at a stoplight.

[Kumbaya]

http://nypost.com/2014/09/18/cyclist-slams-into-pedestrian-in-central-park/

[Cool Foot Luke]

According to the article, the cyclist had time to see her and yell to get out of the way; which is ALSO enough time to get off your aerobars, sit up & hit the brakes ... skid out & crash your bike if you have to, but don't run anyone over

True, and he should have, although he probably had the green light. However, it's interesting that the article comments are out looking for blood (and the DA probably will be, too), when most motorists that kill pedestrians, even when it is THEIR fault (as it is, most of the time, at least according to California collision data), don't even get a citation.

[Cool Foot Luke]

They should blame Strava; Strava kills

http://www.strava.com/athletes/3168825

If he was actually going for the Strava leaderboard, that would be enough evidence for me as a transportation safety professional, to recommend disabling the Strava leaderboard in urban areas. It was also implicated in a crash in San Francisco a while back - while that's only two incidents, bicycle-pedestrian fatalities are so incredibly rare that it would account for a significant percentage of fatal injuries.

[Chasing Amy]

I had a terrifying moment a few weekends ago when I almost hit a cyclist.  I was at a two way stop sign, no vehicle traffic coming from the other street and started to accelerate through the intersection. I saw a cyclist approaching the stop sign, but I had the right of way and assumed (stupidly, I suppose) that he would stop.  No, he flew past the stop sign and I slammed on my brakes and hit my horn.  He skidded to a stop and bumped into the front of my car cursing and screaming at me.

My adrenaline still starts pumping when I remember how close I was to killing him. 

[Kumbaya]

The ST Thread, in case you're interested [CFL, I shared your comment from here, if that's OK]

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=5256556

Sounds like a bunch of whiners.
"We are at the bottom of the heap in CP"

[Cool Foot Luke]

They're right tho. If he'd been in a car, even if he didn't have the light it would all be a "tragic accident"

[Mrtambourineman]

They should blame Strava; Strava kills

http://www.strava.com/athletes/3168825

Strava is cool, but I seriously question the sensibility of having Strava segments in busy urban areas with controlled intersections.  Just promotes jerky behaviour. 

[Mrtambourineman]

This is pretty much exactly how I do it. I follow the spirit, though not the letter of the law and it's hard to explain without showing you, but I'm pretty respectful of motorists and they generally seem to get along with me. The only times that I get yelled at are when I'm actually doing something perfectly safe and legal that motorists just don't understand...For example, taking the lane when there's insufficient room to safely pass me in the lane (or there's a long line of parked cars) or stop to the left of where right-turning vehicles would go at a stoplight.

It is hard to get across how a rolling stop can be very safe.  I also modify my behaviour in the winter because I can't see inside vehicles to determine if the motorist is paying attention to me.  I don't pull into an intersection unless I can see the whites of their eyes. 

[rocketgirl]

It is hard to get across how a rolling stop can be very safe.  I also modify my behaviour in the winter because I can't see inside vehicles to determine if the motorist is paying attention to me.  I don't pull into an intersection unless I can see the whites of their eyes. 

Well basically you roll your bike to pedestrian pace.  So you have 99% of the visibility (depending on intersection) that you have if you were stopped and 100% what you would have if you were on a walk and just looked both ways while you were still walking.  If I'm in a neighborhood on my bike, and nobody else is anywhere near the stop signs, no, I'm not getting out of my pedals and to a complete stop.  Obviously, if you're someplace busy with other people approaching or at the 4-way stop signs or who have through way while you have a stop sign, you stop if you don't have a death wish.  If you're blowing through stop signs in traffic, you're an idiot.  No running lights.  No passing cars on the right.  Not just because it's wrong but because it makes you invisible and/or unexpected - two things that are dangerous to your health as a cyclist.

[Mrtambourineman]

No

It's not

http://drunkcyclist.com/2012/11/14/strava-system-that-records-all-vain-activity/

Nuh unh!