LogFAQs > #944851958

I imagine it varies a bit from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally, bikes are required to obey all applicable traffic laws, including coming to a complete stop at stop signs. In practice, I personally end up doing rolling stops pretty frequently because it's kind of a pain to come to a complete stop on a bike, and the fact that I'm going relatively slowly and have no blind spots means I can pretty comfortably be certain that nobody is coming without having to fully stop. That is against the letter of the law, but it at least follows the spirit of it in that I do not ignore stop signs and I do yield right of way appropriately whenever I encounter one (I come to a complete stop if I can't go right away when I get there). You may be seeing cyclists doing that, in which case, it's probably altogether legal, but it is safe and I'd say that's okay.

Now, the ones that ignore stop signs and blow through them, cutting off people that have right of way? They're just terrible and don't belong on the road and give competent ones a bad name. Treat them accordingly.

LinkPizza posted...

Depends on if they are on the road or not. If they're on the sidewalk, I don't think the same rules apply. But on the road, they do...

I've never lived anywhere where bikes are even allowed on the sidewalk, though that very frequently gets ignored. If they are on the sidewalk, the expectation is that they dismount and walk across crosswalks according to the rules that govern pedestrians, so while it's not technically wrong to say they don't have to obey stop signs, they still are not permitted to ignore the intersection entirely and zip out with no regard for oncoming traffic (for obvious reasons).

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