Anyone know? They sure do that a lot in my city. Frankly, I must be the only one that stops for stop signs.
*Many bikers don’t even know they are supposed to follow traffic laws.
*Many get away with it legally (no tickets).
- And no injuries (relatively and pereceptively to bikers)
…neither makes it right, but both do reinforce the bikers’ idea that it’s okay to do it.
Maybe you should try asking one.
OK, my real answer: Because they are breaking the law. Bicyclists don’t get special immunity from stopping at stop signs. I don’t know why all the cyclists in your hometown do it; maybe they just don’t realize the law applies to them, or maybe they’re just in a hurry. Who knows?
Why not?
If there’s noone around, why should you stop. Especially if you won’t get a ticket.
I know I do it routinely when biking in and around my area. It’s heavily populated with a bunch of stop signs at every block intersection.
If I were to come to a complete stop at each and every stop sign, I’d never get anywhere.
So I go through 'em.
In my area it’s also not that busy. If it were, I’d be stopping more.
Just consider it a “No cop? no stop. Nobody around? No harm.”
It’s not anything I do in a car, though. Then again, I don’t particularily stop at those, either. I do the rolling stop.
why? because they are stupid bitch-ass punks. i agree that it is ok when no one is around, but most bikers do it whenever they want to. a lot of bikers piss me off, so to any bikers that read this: start making a better name for yourselves and set good examples.
Yikers, preview is your friend Chris.
If that were hard to follow, this might help.
I run right through them when noone’s around. I simply don’t see the point in stopping and looking around for oncoming traffic at that point. On a bike, I’m well aware of someone coming the other direction long before I get to the intersection.
Now, if I come up to an intersection with a car at it, of course I stop.
Times like those, interestingly enough, I’m usually waved to go through, ahead of the car.
And, like I said above, it’s a pain to constantly start and stop at every stop sign, or intersection. Especially when it’s not a busy one to begin with.
I blow right through 'em.
I ride my bike like I drive my car, but I am very familiar with the OP’s phenomenon. Bugs the living shit out of me, actually. You ride on the road, you follow the road’s rules is my opinion. Just so happens that the law agress with me, a startlingly rare event. 
I knew two friends growing up who had a habit of running stop signs. A cop stopped them and they ended up having to do some community service for it (washing cop cars) 
One word: momentum.
Another word: Brakes.
I was slammed into by a bicycle messenger several years ago in DC. I was LEGALLY crossing an intersection that he wanted to blow through. He was really moving, blowing his whistle to get our attention and, while I thought that I’d stepped out of his way, he swerved right into me. I was literally run over by his front tire.
He, his bike and I were all thrown to the pavement.
(Luckily, people in DC have little tolerance for anything that slows down their commute, so NO ONE stopped to help!)
Took us both a few seconds to get back to our feet. I checked to make sure I was allright… a few scrapes is all.
I asked to make sure the messenger was okay as he was trying to pick up his bike. When he said that he was…
I hit him.
Hard.
Right in the middle of the chest.
I felt his breath shoot out of his mouth.
After he hit the ground, I tossed his bike to the curb, and walked away.
I looked back after I’d walked about a half-block, and he was gone.
But I’m hoping he was a bit wiser.
They do it because they have no licence to lose, no insurance to foul up and if involved in an accident with (say) a car, many people tend to blame the driver.
Also many seem to believe that they don’t have to obey the rules of the road , that the rule apply only to other people, these are the same kind of cyclists who can’t be bothered with lights because lights arern’t cool enough to be seen on their bikes and who regularly ride on the footpath (often at high speed) because the pedestrians will get out of the way to avoid getting hurt.
My technique to deal with such cyclists is to carry a golfing umbrella which, in the case of disputed passage, I tend to carry at approximately cyclist’s eye height with the point at a range beyond the diameter of the front wheel, a signal that “you hurt me and I’ll hurt you worse”.
Walrus
(Who can’t stand some cyclists)
Rant Over - Apologies to all sensible cyclists
Right on, GrizzRich!
Much as I detest violence, some of these city cyclists NEED to have their asses handed to them before they realize that the law applies to them as well.
Here in NYC I have been nearly hit by cyclists more times that I can count. It is an almost daily occurance.
Cyclist here. For the record, I stop.
A real cyclist (you know, spiffy matching outfit & helmet 
) usually obeys the rules of the road just like a car. Motivation? Self preservation.
Reasons for a real cyclist not to stop at the light:
- no one is coming & no officer is around…no one cares
- to be a wise ass (many cyclists are young males who think they own the road…i.e., they know the driver will be blamed for an accident even if the cyclist was to blame…so, the car will probably let the cyclist through…ok, that’s dumb, but there it is.)
- A cyclist’s feet are attached to the pedals…it’s a PITA to unhook & rehook (ok, it’s not too bad, but it does slow you down when you’re trying to go fast)
- It’s a PITA to ruin all the great momentum you had going.
- Bicycle brakes are not the greatest invention. Going downhill, it can take longer to brake than for a car.
That’s all that comes to mind for the moment.
The answer for joe-shmoe-on-a-bike is that the person does not realize that they are supposed to follow the same rules of the road as cars.
Oh yeah…bike couriers. They’re just insane.
Perhaps because in some states it’s legal? Some states explicitly allow bicyclists to treat Stop signs as yield signs.
Which states, emarkp? (Not that I don’t believe you, I’m just curious.)
Because they’re assholes?
And I don’t buy this “when no one’s around” crap, either. I’ve been nearly smucked on more than one occasion by some jerk who either went through a light, stop sign, or around a blind corner, because “there was no one around”.
Can anyone recommend a good spoke-poking object?
In California, it behooves a bicyclist to stop at stop signs and lights
Here is the relevant section from the California Vehicle Code
So, unless you’re a cop on a bike, you better stop at the light.
Of course, the Downtown L.A. bike messengers have no such compunction and since the area has a few hilly areas you often see cyclists blowing through intersections (with red lights and all) at full speed. And they use the sidewalk.
But pedestrians are an endangered species in California.
If there are witnesses around, poking the spokes will probably get you an assault charge and civil action. Take advantage of the fact that a bicycle is fairly precariously balanced, especially if the rider has clipin pedals (like most of the hotshots). A little nudge will send them down hard and you can explain that you “fended off” a rider who bore down on you. Besides, if you can send them flying with a little fend-off push, that means you’re actually in danger and not going out of your way to be mean.
BTW, I don’t want anyone to think my “momentum” comment was meant to excuse this action. That’s why most riders do it, too lazy to get back up to speed, but it doesn’t make it okay.
Another BTW, I believe that it’s illegal for bicycles to even be in the street in Colorado. They have a law about non-vehicles that’s intended to keep cross-country skiers off the roads. I’ve been riding in traffic, even passing cars, and had a police officer tell me to get on the sidewalk. How’s that for a public menace?
First I would like to point out that most cyclist who bike more than once a month must know that they are supposed to follow the same laws as someone driving a gas – guzzling – environmental – danger - to - society SIV (socially irresponsible vehicle, AKA an SUV).
But that’s irrelevant because most bicyclists do not choose to go through or not go through a stop sign based on the law.
Ok. I live in New York City and I bike to and from work everyday.
Let me tell I don’t have this problem because there are so few stop signs in Manhattan, just traffic lights. But I go through red lights daily. There are many reasons.
- Bicycles are much easier to control than cars. Thus even though it may be kind of hard to brake every once in a while (when going down big hills) bikes can stop, turn, or speed up quick and faster than cars. Also the field of vision is a lot better on a bike than it is in a car. When I am slowing down to a light or stop sign it is much easier for me to turn my head and see other people, bikes, cars, trucks, etc.
- It’s easy.
- I will not get a ticket. And if I do, so what. If I go though 10 lights a day and I get a ticket once in my life, that’s no big deal. Even if its once a year that’s only 1 out of 365 days when I go through 10 lights a day. Those are odds I can easily deal with.
I am not condoning going through stop signs while cutting off cars or hitting pedestrians and to assume that I do is idiotic.
When you say that a bike messenger hit you and then you on the message board talk you are stereotyping.
Even though I break laws that are designed for cars but apply to me, I am still a responsible bicyclist.
Bicyclists have a lot to deal with from the auto world everyday when they try and commute. I am not saying that all motorists are irresponsible, just as you would not say that all bicyclists are trying to hit you. But I am saying that the streets are not friendly to bicycles. There are very few bike lanes and where they do exist trucks, cars and especially taxis often impede them. In addition, bicyclists have to worry about being “doored” by someone getting out of their vehicle. Not to mention that most bridges do not allow bikes on to their main arteries and do not provide sufficient lanes for bikes elsewhere.
By the way, the other day I hit a pedestrian. Or rather I should say that the pedestrian hit me. I was biking in bike lane when someone ran into the street. They were not looking and I crashed into them. They were not in a cross walk and we were not near the intersection. Should carry a mace and swing it all pedestrians from now on, as you are to suggest you would do to all bikes now?
here in UK it’s amazing how many of the buggers dont have any lights at night. when i’m driving and i see a cyclist without lights on, i deliberately try to scare them by cutting them up etc. good fun.
There is a big difference between slowing down to go through a clear intersection and blasting through a busy one. I have done the former, as a cyclist I just wanted to second a few of the reasons already mentioned.
A cyclist has a much clearer field of view and is higher than most motorists.
Getting ‘clipped in’ to the peddles can be a pain, particularly if you are not good at it or in a hurry. Trying to get through an intersection and clipping in at the same time is way more dangerous than rolling through a stop sign when it is clear.
When you only generate 1/2 a horsepower you do not want to give up all your speed.
But if I don’t stop then I can’t show off my trackstand
Continue with the cyclist bashing if you must…