I’ve seen them called “Stop Lines”, “Balk Line”, etc. The thick line painted on the road at a Stop Sign.
You’re supposed to stop before the line, but a lot of the time there’s a bush or other obstruction so you can’t see any crossing traffic. You have to creep forward until you can see anything.
Is there a reason for this? Is it done on purpose? It makes sense if there’s a crosswalk or something, but I see it a lot where there shouldn’t be any pedestrian activity.
I see it a lot where there shouldn’t be any pedestrian activity.
This is a carbrained perspective. If an intersection is designed for cars to the exclusion of other uses, then others are unlikely to use it, which perpetuates car dependency. Even if all cars were electrified, car dependency would still be a massive problem in the US.
I guess my thought process is if they placed the line a tad further forward where you can see crossing traffic, including pedestrians, more people would actually stop at the designated spot. The way I see it most often now is people ignore the line completely (boy who cried wolf effect maybe), further endangering pedestrians.
Regulatory measures shouldn’t be relaxed because people aren’t following them, they should be enforced better. Of course how to do that in many situations such as this is the question. Other things are similar, like group speeding or smart phone use while driving.
Others had pointed the reasons, I wanted to add that you have to stop at the line, and if something obstructs your sight (at stop signs, not traffic lights) you have to go a bit forward and stop again.
Speaking of obstructing your sight, I’ve been test driving a lot bc I’m looking for my midlife crisis car rn. I’ve never had a shorter car before and I’m looking at maybe a Porsche rn which sits low.
The amount of bushes placed where you need to see oncoming traffic is stupid. Also all the blackout tinted windows that keep you from seeing traffic in front. I’m second guessing owning a shorter car
That’s a good thing in a way because it’d mean if you adhere to road rules, then you’d have to crawl extra slow and stop more often around these areas, and Porsche etc drivers are the ones specifically where that is often a necessity due to how difficult their cars can be to spot.
Pick up a Toyota Land Cruiser instead?
For stoplights, the stop line being comically far back is often so buses and trucks have room to make a big turn without colliding with your vehicle. If you’re at an intersection where the stop line is in an absurd place, it’s usually better to stop there rather than stopping wherever and running the risk of finding out why it is that you were supposed to stop way back.
For stop signs, I have no idea. Maybe it means the traffic engineer was drunk that day or something; IDK.
Because each state has different regulations for what’s acceptable for road design, and a lot of them are lousy.
My favorite trend is the “right turn on ramp” where you’re angled in such a way that you can’t turn your head far enough to see oncoming traffic, and you can’t see it in your rear view mirrors either. And if you are sideswiped or rear ended, you’re going to break your neck from straining to see if the coast is clear.
Your mirrors are set wrong then.
No there’s literally no angle you can set your mirrors and still see. And if you find an angle you can see at that mirror will be useless 99% of the time you’re driving
I don’t think it’s that they’re so far back, it’s just that no one does any upkeep on the corners of those intersections/turns.
For instance in my city there are plenty of stop signs on corners where there may be a large overgrown bush blocking the view of traffic (or even the sidewalk, if there is one) or something like that. Sometimes it’s just genuinely set up terribly.
Usually it’s just upkeep and maintenance not being kept up with.
I’ve driven a lot in the US (around a dozen different states) and Europe (most of the western continent), they are way further back in the US. As far as I can tell, this is because visibility in junctions is generally much better in the US. Also, the lack of roundabouts is frustrating, but right on red is awesome.
