Safety and Stop Signs

As a Los Angeles native, I’ve had plenty of practice rolling through stop signs in a car without being cited for a traffic violation. My dad would often wag his finger and caution me about using the California Roll whenever he was in the passenger seat, yet from behind the wheel he acted as if he was piloting a B-2 stealth bomber the way he darted around street corners and glided past empty intersections. The roll isn’t on our DMV test, it’s hardwired into our DNA. A bad habit - nay, a technique - passed down to us from generation-to-generation and mastered on the sprawling, steaming asphalt of Los Angeles. But there’s no way to justify not stopping at a stop sign when driving a car. In an automobile, you’re big, fast, and often not paying attention. When you’re on a bike, you’re small, fleet, and hyperaware of your surroundings. A recent article in Slate examines why different laws might be in order for bicyclists who share the road with their four-wheeled counterparts. [Stop Means Stop: How do we get bikers to obey traffic laws? Slate.com]