They pertain to them under the Highway Robbery category.
If the stop signs are within the parking lot and not leading to a road they are not enforceable.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but they are also not enforceable leading to a public road. The law just requires you to yield to the traffic on the public road, not stop.
I’ve noticed private property stop signs look significantly different than the ones on public roads. The private ones are smaller and cheaper looking. I’ve always treated them as yield signs and never gotten in any trouble.
I asked a cop about this years ago (this was in Texas) and he told me it wasn’t enforceable. Since then I’ve breezed through them, though carefully.
Here is a linky http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/legal-parking-private.aspx You could give a read. Pertains mostly to Iowa though.
Good cite. One of the comments brings up requirements for a stop sign. My understanding is that stop signs and other signs can’t be enforced on public roads without a traffic study to justify them. Should invalidate all the ones in parking lots.
Absolutely not true, at least not universally.
In Michigan, for example:
I’m not going to post cites for all 50 states, but folks who are interested can find them with the google.
The ratio of facts in this thread to people making pronouncements off the top of their head is astonishing. Please provide cites or STFU.
Close. It means “For the love of all that’s holy, do not start a left turn after stopping when there’s an oncoming car!”
IIRC from driver’s ed, you couldn’t stopped at “8-sided”. Any octagon counts as a stop sign, whether it’s missing letters or faded so badly, it’s just a steel plate. Considering the number of red/green color-blind drivers out there, it makes sense.
There are also (more rare) “One Way” and “Three Way” signs around.
I have a “One Way” stop sign in my neighborhood. For years, people stopping at it ignored the “one way” notification and just assumed drivers coming from the other two directions were obliged to stop. (But we aren’t. And we don’t.) Then these people would honk angrily at you when you failed to stop, or, they’d speed out right in front of you, requiring you to slam on your brakes to avoid rear-ending them.
Finally the town put up a bigger sign, next to the stop sign, pointing out that cross traffic does not stop, you idiots. (I’m going from personal memory here.)
Now I want to put up a seven-sided stop sign that in all other ways looks perfectly authentic.
I much prefer the “all way” signs at a T-intersection. Seeing “three way” makes me think “which way doesn’t stop?”
And yeah, something specific if there’s one direction that doesn’t stop.
Yes, exactly. Given that its far more common for the oncoming side to also have a stop sign, its a warning that traffic from that direction will not in fact be stopping as you might have assumed. Its common here in the Berkeley hills for the steep uphill direction to not have to stop, presumably to avoid making people stop and start on a steep hill.
What if I live in the middle of nowhere on 50 acres of land and build a road around my property (but still within the confines). I put a stop sign there. Are you suggesting the police could ticket me for running the stop sign?
The GQ answer is that it varies by state. I know that WV traffic statutes used to read “on the public highways of this state.” It was changed a few years ago after people got DUIs dismissed because they left a restaurant or a bar and had an accident while still within the shopping plaza and therefore had not driven drunk on the “public highways.”
I agree with others in that a traffic study should be done of the property before it can be a traffic offense. A driver shouldn’t be publicly held to the whims of an owner who is not a traffic engineer.
I think the point is moot because I very seldom see people stop at stop signs anywhere.
Drivers stop at Stop signs more often than they give turn signals, which is hardly ever.
Yeah, you’re right. I spent 21 years as a city letter carrier and depended more on my agility than either of those to stay alive.
Gfactor has dealt with this question in Michigan. I’ll PM him.
Hey Roger… were you playing with us or did you really think that you didn’t have to come to a complete stop unless the sign said ALL WAY ??
Here’s a previous thread we did where I cited some cases and stuff: Do I have to stop at private stop signs? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board