Continued from Part 3
The personal upshot…
I have decided that stop signs that are installed solely to slow traffic do not apply to me. I’m already going less than the speed limit, about 15 mph, and I don’t need to be slowed down, so the purpose of the stop sign does not apply. Instead, the correct behavior is to slow, look, and proceed when it is safe. I will follow the standard yielding rules, as they apply. This behavior is codified in the “Idaho stop law” (Idaho Statutes | Streetsblog). Though I know it is against the law in California, it is the rational and safe behavior.
I am much less sure about safe bicyclist behavior at red lights. The Idaho stop law allows bicyclist to proceed after they have stopped and there is no conflicting traffic. I’m still thinking about this one.
Getting Around Sacramento 
3 responses to “What are stop signs for? Part 4”
Related post on alternatives to stop signs.
[…] also true some to many motor vehicle drivers run stop signs. To refer back to my earlier posts on stop signs, stop signs are installed largely to reduce vehicle speeds and to get drivers to take turns at […]
[…] the traffic moves slowly on these streets, sometimes below the posted speed. Since I’m now treating stop signs as yield signs, the more frequent stop signs on these streets don’t slow me down very much, there are few […]