Here is an article written way back when I was a bike messenger. The advice holds up.
Here it is again: that big red and white octagonal nuisance, emblazoned with all-caps authority—STOP. A dumb, symbolic sentinel, powerless to make us obey. Its influence lies only in its ability to make us scan for real power: Are the police nearby?
If a bike messenger runs a stop sign in the middle of the city and no one sees it, did it really happen?
I like to think the stop sign is more than just a legal trigger. It’s a reminder that we live in a civilization—and that for our society to function, maybe some of us should occasionally stop and consider its meaning.
I’m a firm believer in the necessity of the humble stop sign. But I also choose to ignore or respect its authority selectively. There are two situations where I’ll decisively obey.
First: when I might be in view of a police officer. No question—I come to a complete stop, put a foot down, and proceed only when it’s safe, just as prescribed in the holy text known as the California Driver Handbook. A stop sign ticket on a bike is painful, embarrassing, and expensive.
Second: when there’s other traffic. In this case, the rules laid out in state law are surprisingly reasonable and effective. Unfortunately, a lot of people—both drivers and especially cyclists—ignore the basic etiquette that makes a four-way intersection a logical, manageable social agreement.
Here’s a quick refresher from the California DMV website:
“At intersections without STOP or YIELD signs, slow down and be ready to stop. Yield to vehicles already in the intersection or just entering it. Also yield to the car which arrives first, or to the car on your right if it reaches the intersection at the same time as you do.
[…]
When there are STOP signs at all corners, stop first, then follow the above rules.”
Common sense, right? You’d think. But what I see in practice is a daily display of disregard for personal safety and an utter lack of respect for others. It’s like cutting in line at a movie theater—something most of us wouldn’t do—but many people treat intersections like they’re above the rules.
Drivers usually follow the order of operations—at least when others are around. Cyclists, on the other hand, are often the worst offenders.
I regularly watch cyclists blast through busy intersections without slowing, without yielding, and with zero regard for logic or courtesy. One of the worst examples I see is at 17th and Harrison in San Francisco. That four-way stop might as well be invisible to many riders.
As a bike messenger, you learn that the easiest and safest way to navigate the city is to treat traffic like a river. There’s a flow to it, and you have to respect it—but you can also use it to your advantage. Messengers aren’t just fast because they’re athletic. They’re fast because they understand how to read the flow and move with it.
At a four-way intersection, the goal is to move as many people through as efficiently and safely as possible. Blasting through without consideration ruins that flow. It confuses people, frustrates drivers, and damages the reputation of cyclists.
If you force a driver to hit the brakes just to avoid you—even if you weren’t technically in danger—you’ve failed. You’ve disrupted the flow.
Think of a four-way stop as a dynamic negotiation. Sometimes you may need to come to a complete stop—rare, but it happens. If a car across from you is signaling a left turn into your path, stop. It’s the courteous thing to do. Not much flow to work with in that moment.
If the intersection is totally clear, no cars in sight—go. You are the flow.
But when the river is raging, you can harness it. Timing is everything.
Approaching a busy intersection, you can use the flow of traffic to glide through cleanly and respectfully. Time your entry so that you ride alongside a car already moving through in your direction, whose turn it is to go. Maintain a safe distance, and voila—you’ve moved through the intersection smoothly, logically, and without disturbing a thing. If you hadn’t been there, everything would’ve gone the same.
Of course, this requires awareness: no cars turning across your path, no pedestrians, no cops. Use common sense. This isn’t rocket science.
So why do so many cyclists ride like they’re above it all?
Are they clueless? I wonder. Maybe they’ve seen experienced riders do it and just mimic the behavior without understanding the dynamics. Or maybe it’s entitlement. They’re rebelling against car culture, saving the planet, so who cares if they bend a rule or two? Or maybe they just do it because they can get away with it.
Whatever the reason, the result is always the same: disrupted flow, disrespected space, and frustrated people.
Final note: Running a stop sign is illegal and shouldn’t be attempted by anyone. But if you’re going to do it anyway, do it well