Quote Originally Posted by MALcontent View Post
Oh, boy, you've hit on one of my pet issues! Under the law we are vehicles and subject to the same laws as motorists. And of course that means stopping at stop signs. I used to be a bike advocate and let me tell you that people's willingness to improve facilities and treatment of cyclists is significantly hampered by their perception that bicyclists are a bunch of law breakers. It has also been my experience that drivers are more aggressive and confrontational on the road when they see behavior they think is contrary to the law (I would add riding to the left of the white line and riding two abreast to this group, though in fact this behavior is usually permitted under the law. Motorists just don't know it). I stop at almost every stop sign and hope you all will too!
Good points. I generally stop just as I would in my car. The exception is situations such as this one residential street on my route to the grocery store, where it's a through street but has a few stop signs that are basically there to prevent people from blasting through the neighborhood. There, I slow way down and roll through rather than coming to a full stop and having to dismount--it's just easier and I'm not creating any kind of hazard by doing so.