at stop sign shift down to first or not ???

Message

Media Weasel · Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:30 pm

blues2cruise wrote:I drive professionally and I also instruct driver training. It is such a habit for me to stop at stop signs and stop for red lights.

Around here the favourite pastime seems to be how many cars can we get through the red light before the green light traffic starts honking at us.

Vancouver traffic is *ughly*, but from personal experience, it ain't anywhere near as bad as Boston or Montreal.

Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:27 pm

Media Weasel wrote:
blues2cruise wrote:I drive professionally and I also instruct driver training. It is such a habit for me to stop at stop signs and stop for red lights.

Around here the favourite pastime seems to be how many cars can we get through the red light before the green light traffic starts honking at us.
Vancouver traffic is *ughly*, but from personal experience, it ain't anywhere near as bad as Boston or Montreal.

I am so glad to hear there are other places worse than here.

Flipper · #43 Unread post by **Flipper** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:51 pm

I shift down to first, use the rear brake, give a little throttle in the friction zone and try to "hang" at the stop sign for a few seconds at about 1mph
without wiggling.

I'm always working at getting a longer hang time.
Personal challange I guess.

Flipper

qwerty · #44 Unread post by **qwerty** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:50 pm

1st or 2nd depends on how your bike is geared. Stock gearing on my bike was so low I often started off in 2nd, anyway.

I stop at every single stop sign and red light, even when turning right on red. The only time I don't stop is if the right turn lane has a yield sign. It's not a big deal in the Bronco since the back bumper is a 6-inch steel pipe with a Class III hitch receiver welded underneath. I do worry about rearenders in the S10 since it is dropped 4/5 and on the bikes. I've been bumped a couple times. The woman who hit the Bronco totalled her car. The guy who hit the S10 was driving an Escalade and did $10,200 in damage to the bed, topper, and the back of the cab.

Nibblet99 · Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:35 am

blues2cruise wrote:We have a few roundabouts here now, but the problem with them is that there is no instruction given to motorists on how to navigate them.

Suddenly one day, there will be a roundabout where there was a 4-way stop before.

See, now I did get instruction, but this one will still give me a headache
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q ... 005375&t=k

Oh and theres this piece of "creativity" in Swindon too
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en ... iwloc=addr

#46 Unread post by **Kal** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:55 am

Is that one of the magic roundabouts?

Keyoke was saying you're hving problems with the Beast, something about welding to the exhaust?

CajunBass · Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:06 pm

I come to a dead stop, foot down, wheels not turning at EVERY stop sign.

Those of you who say you ride a bike differently than you drive your car. Why? The same laws apply. I ride and drive the same way. I don't want to be hit, or hit anything, no matter how many wheels are under me.

ofblong · #48 Unread post by **ofblong** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:08 pm

CajunBass wrote:I come to a dead stop, foot down, wheels not turning at EVERY stop sign.

Those of you who say you ride a bike differently than you drive your car. Why? The same laws apply. I ride and drive the same way. I don't want to be hit, or hit anything, no matter how many wheels are under me.

because people dont see a motorcycle but they sure as hell see my mini van. Hell when riding with my dad people actually pull over because of those 35's on his truck with like 8" of lift on an f350. Honestly I stop on my bike because im new to it still and I need to learn the clutch better. Meaning get better at takeoff etc. Dont need to do that with my minivan.

Fast Eddy B · Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:33 am

Sounds like it's been answered, but I have to weigh in.

In the UK, the rolling stop (Michigan, California, Taxi, etc) is the norm, and legal. Throw in roundabouts and you have to get good at getting down to first OR second, depending on speed.

In Canada (like the US) stop signs mean stop, and fines can convince you of this quickly. And the best skill I've found for these are block shifts (more than one gear all the way to first) followed by a left foot tap-and-go.

Legally suspect, and depends on time and place.

#50 Unread post by **Kal** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:19 pm

Going to disagree with you here Eddy.

Rolling stops are fine at Giveways as long as there is nothing that has right of way over you but at the much rarer STOP junctions we have to stop properly.

Not doing so will fail a driving test and you can be pulled by Police Officers for it.