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And here in RI they’ll just run you down in a crosswalk. Even the damned cops do it.
What he’s describing and showing in the video is called a rolling stop. In other words you can be cited.
Then again pedestrians in RI don’t seem to understand traffic rules either. The differences between sidewalks and crosswalks, red lights and green lights, orange hand signal for “stop-don’t cross” or flashing person signaling “walk.” No wonder nobody has any breaks in this state. 😀
That stop sign was born of the same thinking that says if a never-enforced $300 fine for snow covered sidewalk is not working, let’s try a never-enforced $500 fine. Anyone can see there is no cross traffic at all and if no pedestrian is approaching to cross, there is no need to stop. What is warranted is a strictly enforced “Yield to Pedestrians.” Instead we have “Let’s tell them to stop and hope they bother to yield.”
If every driver came to a full stop and then accelerated, that corner wold be a noisier and more polluted place. For what? Happily, almost all drivers did yield decently when a pedestrian approached. It looked like bus drivers behave the worst.
By treating drivers like idiots, stop signs as cheap traffic calming breed disrespect for traffic control in general. If traffic would otherwise approach that corner too fast to properly yield to pedestrians, there should be a neckdown, a raised crosswalk, or both. Well publicized crosswalk stings would do the rest.
The stop sign is really meant to control vehicular traffic at an intersection and since there is no oncoming or crossing traffic, it serves no purpose. It would have been nicer if they narrowed the roadway with bump-outs, used a raised crosswalk and signage to yield to pedestrians. I suppose two stop signs and flashing light was a cheaper solution.
Ok to the people responding to this please notice that stop signs are not just for pedestrians. People on bikes are more at risk because the right hand turn lane will kill you if some one does the aforementioned rolling stop and you are stopped there on your bike. It happens allot. Yes I know the cyclists in the video didn’t even slow down for the most part but it doesn’t make it any less true. Just wanted to share the perspective.
I am all for draconian pedestrian protection measures. In Britain they employ these solid steel columns that pop up out of the road to stop vehicles entering a congestion zone without a proper permit.
Maybe we put them at all the crosswalks. I’d love to see the looks on the faces of drivers who wreck their cars on them.
I’ll use a crosswalk if it’s there. But if not the rules in RI say that if it’s any kind of intersection you have to yield to pedestrians.