# Do I have to stop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873 "2009-10-15T04:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/21 "2009-10-15T18:11:54Z")
[quote=“sevenwood, post:20, topic:513873”] _I’m a little confused here. Is there anything stopping the local municipality from (with the owner’s permission, of course) putting a municipal stop sign on private property if in their opinion it’s dangerous not to stop when entering the public street from that property, and wouldn’t that be an enforcable stop sign?_ [QUOTE] Depends on the state you live in but there are laws in most states that make enforcement of traffic laws (such as DUI’s) enforceable anywhere within the boundries of the state. People have been arrested for DUI in there own driveway. Most likely the insurance companies would force some sort of action on the property owners (by means of higher rates) who had a danagerous intersection problem before the state would come in. Either that or they would get sued by someone who was injured due to thier negligance to a dangerous situation. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/22 "2009-10-16T04:32:27Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > I would think that whether or not there is a stop sign before entering the public road, you still have to yield right of way to the traffic on the street. They’re not turning, you are, so they have the right of way. I think the stop sign is just a formality to get the boneheads who don’t realize this to stop before merging. This is the crux of my query, right here. It was just a curiousity thing. I was leaving Costco the other day, and when I stopped before leaving the parking lot, I wondered “hmmmmm if I didn’t stop, could a cop give me a ticket?” I’m fully cognizant of the fact that any accident I was involved in, were I not to yield to oncoming traffic, would be my fault. And I would expect that the police would cite me for my poor judgement. The question was, tho, is not stopping, in and of itself, a ticketable offense. It seems that in most jurisdictions it would be. FTR, I’m in the habit of stopping at every stop sign, yellow light and red light I come to. Operating a vehicle is an expensive enough habit as it is; I don’t need to make it more expensive by being lax in my responsibilities. ETA: Thanks for all the responses! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/23 "2009-10-16T16:10:18Z")
There’s an ordinance in St. Louis, Mo. that sets the speed limit in “public” parking lots at 15 mph, unless a lower limit is posted. (Public is definied as one that customers can park in, as opposed to one that only owners/employees can enter. It doesn’t mean public property.) IANAL but it’s \*my inference \*that if a municipality can set (and presumably enforce) a speed limit, then it could enforce other traffic laws as well. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/24 "2009-10-16T16:46:56Z")
If you make an exception just because the stop sign is on private property (regardless of the law within your area), you are setting yourself up with a bad mindset. Treat every stop sign for what it is or the next one you decide to ignore may be your last. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/25 "2009-10-16T16:58:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yep, the charge would be theft of municipal property.😉 People can buy them, you know. My brother has in his garage a full-sized red with white border\* stop sign with red and white solar-powered LEDs mounted on it. It was an experiment to see how visible such would be and whether anybody would be interested in buying one. \*Means optional stop. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873/26 "2009-10-16T17:55:44Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > People can buy them, you know. Ignorance fought! Cool thing to know. Many of my friends have them; they were all obtained via alternate routes of acquisition, however.😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-stop/513873.md?page=1)