To stop or not to stop??

[motorman587]

In Florida, on a motorcycle, a person does not have to put your there feet down to be considered a stop, so with that said how many of you do this, I do this sometimes, look both ways, and just roll through a stop sign??? I try to force myself to stop and place both feet down, I feel like I am cutting myself short if I just do a quick peek.

[biometrics]

I am not sure what the law is in Virginia, but I don't put my feet down if I can help it. I am getting darn good at coming to a complete stop, however momentary that it is, and starting back up again without putting my feet down. I do it to amaze the cagers who are behind me... (How does he do that?)

 

Of course, if it is a four way stop, and other cars are present, I wait my turn like the good citizen that I am!

[motorman587]

I am not sure what the law is in Virginia, but I don't put my feet down if I can help it. I am getting darn good at coming to a complete stop, however momentary that it is, and starting back up again without putting my feet down. I do it to amaze the cagers who are behind me... (How does he do that?)

 

Of course, if it is a four way stop, and other cars are present, I wait my turn like the good citizen that I am!

 

I pretty good too, but I feel like I am hurry myself and with that I feel will cause me to miss a speedier or something else. Just me I guess.

[Albert]

I pretty good too, but I feel like I am hurry myself and with that I feel will cause me to miss a speedier or something else. Just me I guess.

 

That's how I feel too. I've gotten pretty good at holding a "feet up" stop and would almost make it a game sometimes to see just how long (wanna be trials rider I suppose ). I found it was getting too easy to give short shrift to eyeballing traffic. I can't say I'm 100% but I've been trying to force myself to always put a foot down.

[motorman587]

I pretty good too, but I feel like I am hurry myself and with that I feel will cause me to miss a speedier or something else. Just me I guess.

 

That's how I feel too. I've gotten pretty good at holding a "feet up" stop and would almost make it a game sometimes to see just how long (wanna be trials rider I suppose ). I found it was getting too easy to give short shrift to eyeballing traffic. I can't say I'm 100% but I've been trying to force myself to always put a foot down.

 

Cool, I am not the only one, thinking I got this and then bam!!!!! This will force me to do it for the safety reason and not for the cool factor.

[Huzband]

John, if you were observing a four way stop intersection & a rider came up, stopped for an instant but didn't put his feet down, then rode out, would you stop him for running the sign? I've never had it happen to me, but I've read of it.

[Nice n Easy Rider]

I pretty good too, but I feel like I am hurry myself and with that I feel will cause me to miss a speedier or something else. Just me I guess.

 

That's how I feel too. I've gotten pretty good at holding a "feet up" stop and would almost make it a game sometimes to see just how long (wanna be trials rider I suppose ). I found it was getting too easy to give short shrift to eyeballing traffic. I can't say I'm 100% but I've been trying to force myself to always put a foot down.

 

I have to admit that this was my standard MO the last few years. After Quinn's take-out by a non-vigilant cager my trust of cagers has hit an all-time low and I find myself putting the foot down on a regular basis in order to verify that some a**h**e isn't going to be cresting a hill at 60-70 mph just as I start to pull out.

[szurszewski]

While I admit to sometimes doing a feet on the pegs stop, I consider it a bad habit.

 

If you are at your "stop" feet on the pegs, about to go, and you suddenly realize there's something coming (car, pedestrian, whatever) across your path, it is awkward to transition back to putting your feet down, and has caused me a couple of near drops. Planning to stop and remain so is a better, safer approach than expecting that you'll only have to be stopped for a second or so (and while I can stop and restart my RT without putting a foot down, it's certainly not something I can sustain for more than a moment).

 

It's the same thing as being in a car and covering the brake while approaching a yield sign instead of covering the gas. Foot over the brake and mentally planning to stop is a lot safer than foot over the gas and planning to go.

 

Plus, foot over the brake, planning to stop and finding out you don't have to is a nice surprise. Foot over the gas and suddenly realizing you do have to stop is often an, oh shit!

 

 

 

[areyouolsen]

I've started a bad habit of the feet up stop due to a pretty consistent 4 am show time for work, too. I, like everyone else, challenge myself to get better pretty much every time I ride, and this isn't an exception. I do, however, keep the "challenge" up by forcing myself to make a left-right-left head turn before rolling on the throttle again. If, in that time, I need to put a foot (or two) down, well, I guess I gotta.

[motorman587]

John, if you were observing a four way stop intersection & a rider came up, stopped for an instant but didn't put his feet down, then rode out, would you stop him for running the sign? I've never had it happen to me, but I've read of it.

 

On a Harley or BMW??? Just kidding, hell no, would not waste my time.

[motorman587]

John, if you were observing a four way stop intersection & a rider came up, stopped for an instant but didn't put his feet down, then rode out, would you stop him for running the sign? I've never had it happen to me, but I've read of it.

 

On a Harley or BMW??? Just kidding, hell no, would not waste my time.

 

Found this on another motorcycle site and it was written by motorman4life, it's how i see it also:

I have known some cops that made a practice of citing riders that did not touch a foot at a stop sign or prior to making a right on a red. If I am aware of this, I make it a point to "educate" them, as I can easily stop and hold the bike up for 3 to 5 seconds to demonstrate that their "no foot down" requirement is NOT defacto evidence of a violation.

 

So, to answer your question.. as mentioned above, a stop is a cessation of forward movement. When done properly, a true stop occurs the instant BEFORE the front-end of a vehicle "bounces back" (which some refer to as "recovery" of the suspension). As you roll forward and slow, the aggressiveness of your braking will result in a compression of the front end. If you are braking gradually, the compression will be minimal. If you brake aggressively, the compression (and potential recovery) will be more significant. Again, the STOP occurs the instant BEFORE the recovery (bounce) happens.

 

The problem is, many drivers (and even more riders) will stab the brakes as they are slowing to cause the front end to compress.. they usually look to see it is clear, then they accelerate rapidly, causing the front end to pop up.. in what could be called a "faux stop" as they are inducing a pseudo-recovery, when in fact, they may have never actually stopped at all.. the wheels were rolling the whole time and never stopped moving at all. Nice stunt.. try putting a foot down while doing THAT! That is where the "foot down" expectation comes from among many officers.

 

I hope this answers your question.

 

I don't write many Hollywood stop type tickets as I am more a "spirit of the law" kinda guy and as long as drivers/riders are making an effort and checking that it is clear before proceeding, I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know enough locations in my jurisdiction where people regularly make NO ATTEMPT to even slow down and those are easy enough to write. I try to focus my efforts more on failure to yield violations and outright reckless drivers whenever possible.

 

[RTJohn]

Depends on the stop and traffic. Usually I stop and put my feet down, but if no one's around I'll keep my feet up and then pull through. I spoke with a LEO a while back. He said that if you don't put your feet down, you haven't stopped and could be cited. One of the things I look for are vigilant LEO's!

[motorman587]

Depends on the stop and traffic. Usually I stop and put my feet down, but if no one's around I'll keep my feet up and then pull through. I spoke with a LEO a while back. He said that if you don't put your feet down, you haven't stopped and could be cited. One of the things I look for are vigilant LEO's!

 

But in the statue does not say you have to put feet/foot down. You have to cease movement is what the definition is in Florida is. And I know a lot of riders that can stop without putting feet/foot. I guess my point to me is that I get lazy and do the hurry up look and that to me needs to stop. I need to stop, put a foot down and double check traffic, period..

[tallman]

Hard to cease movement with the Earth spinning at thousands of miles per hour.

 

I do all of the above.

Track stand.

One foot.

Two foot.

 

Sometimes I get off and clean the windshield.

[Matts_12GS]

Hard to cease movement with the Earth spinning at thousands of miles per hour.

 

I do all of the above.

Track stand.

One foot.

Two foot.

 

Sometimes I get off and clean the windshield.

 

 

I'll agree with Tim and say, it depends...

 

 

[upflying]

A stop means "cessation of movement" in Calif. If you can do this feet up, that's fine. In fact, I try to make stops feet up to keep my riding skills sharp.

[Rex R]

Hard to cease movement with the Earth spinning at thousands of miles per hour.

 

 

I'm not sure if he ever rode a motorcycle, but perhaps Albert E can explain it:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity

 

 

There will be a test tomorrow

 

[pedro cerveza]

Hard to pay attention to cross traffic when you are concentrating on your form.

I don't have any numbers to back this up but I would guess a lot of riders are taken out but cagers in too much of a hurry to make a complete stop. They roll through, not really seeing whats going on and end up killing or hurting US. My karmic contribution to road safety is to always make a complete stop no matter what I am driving, take a couple of seconds to access the cross traffic and then proceed.

[motorman587]

Hard to cease movement with the Earth spinning at thousands of miles per hour.

 

 

I'm not sure if he ever rode a motorcycle, but perhaps Albert E can explain it:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity

 

 

 

 

There will be a test tomorrow

 

So really there is never a true "stop"?

[MT Wallet]

I have to admit I'm getting a little sloppy with my stops. I'm not using the turn signal as much and am doing the feet up roll. I justify this for 2 reasons. Firstly, we have a lot of wide open space with long distance visibility out here and secondly the population and thus vehicle density is low. If I can see 1/4 to perhaps 1/2 mile or more its no problem. I generally do a foot down full stop in town. If I learned anything from the "X" files it was trust no one.

 

 

[Oldironken]

My default mode is a complete stop in the car and at least one foot down on the bike. When I find myself rolling a stop I am also cutting other corners, which means I'm getting sloppy. Stopping smoothly means I'm thinking about what I am doing and paying attention. I was cited once for rolling a stop on my bike when I was 16, I learned that I hate giving money to the city because I'm impatient.

[szurszewski]

My default mode is a complete stop in the car and at least one foot down on the bike. When I find myself rolling a stop I am also cutting other corners, which means I'm getting sloppy. Stopping smoothly means I'm thinking about what I am doing and paying attention. I was cited once for rolling a stop on my bike when I was 16, I learned that I hate giving money to the city because I'm impatient.

 

+1 to all of that.

[Daddoz777]

Not coming to a complete stop is an outward expression of an inward thought process that assumes there is no cross traffic, while instead we should assume there is. In our heads we have already decided to go. This is gambling and eventually it could really bite. Am I guilty? Hopefully less and less.

[Kathy R]

In Florida, on a motorcycle, a person does not have to put your there feet down to be considered a stop, so with that said how many of you do this, I do this sometimes, look both ways, and just roll through a stop sign??? I try to force myself to stop and place both feet down, I feel like I am cutting myself short if I just do a quick peek.

 

I first began doing this on the 02 RT. I could only tippy toe anyway, and that proved to present it's own set of problems. As I became more *one with the bike* I found more opportunities for stopping without putting my feet down. It became a game to see how long I could stop and balance there. Of course not putting my feet down never occurred at the expense of my safety, but on a wide open view stop it was appropriate and still is. The only thing I notice now is that those appropriate opportunities seem to be less frequent. It seems my brain requires more time and so I need to sit longer. Ahh, youth!

[Fubar]

Well, if the stop is going to be a pure, "stop and go" moment AND I can clearly see any oncoming &/or intersecting traffic PRIOR to the requisite stop, I will nearly always do it feet up. Hell, even I have some semblance of balance, at least enough for a sub-second stop. But I do actually stop. I rarely, and only under extreme conditions, roll a stop. During torrential downpours on curved stops or if some moron is riding my ass are the only ones that come to mind.

If I know I will have to be there any longer than a second, I drop one foot after completing the stop.

At red lights, stop signs with a line, et cetera, I drop both and will stand if I've been in the saddle more than 30-45 minutes.

[Oldironken]

Location is everything... Were I live and ride i'm either dealing with traffic congestion and distracted drivers, or twisty hilly roads with limited sight lines because of trees growing right up to the edge of the road. So, it is prudent to really stop, and wait. At the same time I've ridden in places like North Dakota where you can see a long way in every direction, I think in those cases I would relax my standards a bit.

[Groanup]

Man, I think you guys have got me all screwed up now...

I used to put my feet down all the time, but after reading this thread, I've started trying NOT to... (to my surprise, I'm actually pretty good at it!)

[Kathy R]

I got thinking about this and realized I did this on my bicycle as a kid, so it's nothing new.

 

LONG ago I was riding my first bike, a Harley, in a charity ride. Yes, one of those. Anyway, it was many miles with all the stop lights and stop signs controlled by LEOs who let us all through without stopping. But as you know, a super large group of bikes in a row will always lead to stops anyway. When we got to the end of the ride I stopped and put my kickstand down. The guy who had been riding behind me pulled up and said, "I watched, and you never put your feet down!".

 

 

I think it's always been a sport.

[Lighthiker90]

Man, I think you guys have got me all screwed up now...

I used to put my feet down all the time, but after reading this thread, I've started trying NOT to... (to my surprise, I'm actually pretty good at it!)

 

After reading this I admit to trying as well. I'm okay with it as long as I remember to keep my head up. It's amazing how long the bike will stay upright.

[Huzband]

I got thinking about this and realized I did this on my bicycle as a kid, so it's nothing new.

 

LONG ago I was riding my first bike, a Harley, in a charity ride. Yes, one of those. Anyway, it was many miles with all the stop lights and stop signs controlled by LEOs who let us all through without stopping. But as you know, a super large group of bikes in a row will always lead to stops anyway. When we got to the end of the ride I stopped and put my kickstand down. The guy who had been riding behind me pulled up and said, "I watched, and you never put your feet down!".

 

 

I think it's always been a sport.

 

As an old school trials rider, it's always been sport for me.

[Kathy R]

I got thinking about this and realized I did this on my bicycle as a kid, so it's nothing new.

 

LONG ago I was riding my first bike, a Harley, in a charity ride. Yes, one of those. Anyway, it was many miles with all the stop lights and stop signs controlled by LEOs who let us all through without stopping. But as you know, a super large group of bikes in a row will always lead to stops anyway. When we got to the end of the ride I stopped and put my kickstand down. The guy who had been riding behind me pulled up and said, "I watched, and you never put your feet down!".

 

 

I think it's always been a sport.

 

As an old school trials rider, it's always been sport for me.

 

I regret not discovering that I would enjoy Trial riding at a much younger age. Oh, to be 12 and know what I know now! Likely I'd be getting my knees replaced about now

[CuriousBikeRider]

Padawan learner here: so if I wanted to learn this little trick of stopping without putting a foot down, what advice would you offer to encourage success.

faster braking? slower braking? trail (rear) brake only?

 

What's the best practices for this bad habit?

 

Curious

[Boffin]

Padawan learner here: so if I wanted to learn this little trick of stopping without putting a foot down, what advice would you offer to encourage success.

faster braking? slower braking? trail (rear) brake only?

 

What's the best practices for this bad habit?

 

Curious

 

Smooth stop,keep the brakes on at the stop and most important of all - keep your head up, look straight ahead at the horizon. Looking left and right quickly is ok providing you keep your head up and level. It is all about not looking down or close to you.

 

Andy

[DaveTheAffable]

Smooth stop,keep the brakes on at the stop and most important of all - keep your head up, look straight ahead at the horizon. Looking left and right quickly is ok providing you keep your head up and level. It is all about not looking down or close to you.

 

Andy

Oh... good. It's nice to know that looking left and right quickly at a stop is "OK" when trying to master the technique to avoid the inconvenience of putting a foot down.

 

I'm not beating you up Andy 'cause I KNOW that's not what you meant. You are a safety conscious guy.

 

But unfortunately, as some have pointed out, the focusing on this technique may cause some riders to not focus on the most important things.

 

I'm a foot down guy unless I intentionally roll thru. Yep. I've done that in rural wide open settings. But when I "stop", I also look down briefly as I approach, or complete my stop and put my foot down. Oil? Wet paint? Nails, screws or other debris in road that fell off the back of the last truck that rabbited away?

 

YMMV

[upflying]

Padawan learner here: so if I wanted to learn this little trick of stopping without putting a foot down, what advice would you offer to encourage success.

faster braking? slower braking? trail (rear) brake only?

 

What's the best practices for this bad habit?

 

Curious

 

and most important of all - keep your head up, look straight ahead at the horizon.

Andy

This advice also applies to low speed, full lock U-turns.

"Look down, go down".

[motorman587]

Padawan learner here: so if I wanted to learn this little trick of stopping without putting a foot down, what advice would you offer to encourage success.

faster braking? slower braking? trail (rear) brake only?

 

What's the best practices for this bad habit?

 

Curious

 

What we use to do, and at times I will do it too now for fun, is play the "don't put your foot down game" at traffic lights. As the light turn reds or you roll up to red light, try to keep your feet on the foot pegs as long as possible. Please use common sense here, wouldn't do it at rush hour traffic, or a passenger, raining, etc............. We do this to practice doing the slow ride at police motorcycle rodeo.

[John in VA]

Is it considered a full stop if the rider puts his foot down while the bike rolls through the stop? I see cruiser guys do this all the time on my commute. I stop fully for a couple of seconds without a foot down -- unless I actually see a cop in the vicinity, then I touch a toe down.

[dirtrider]

Morning John

 

That is a very good (& interesting) question.

 

Like some of the others posting here I have been riding long enough to be able to come to a complete stop for 3-5 seconds with feet on the pegs. Can also easily look both ways while stopped that way.

 

Back a few years ago I was stopped twice in couple of months time frame for failing to come to a complete stop as I didn't put my feet down. Not the same LEO but both were young & out to change the world.

 

In both cases I talked the LEO into letting me go without a ticked but the second one I almost got the ticket until I demonstrated that I could actually stop & sit still with both feet up. Pain in the a$$ for me & I think the LEO also learned something he didn't know before.

 

In any case, seeing as those two traffic stops came close together & cost me a lot of time & aggregation I changed my riding habits to usually stop feet up as usual but quickly touch a foot (or toe) to the ground just before ride off.

 

Unfortunately most car drivers in my area treat stop signs as yield signs so a full stop with a soccer mom cage behind you can get a motorcycle rider rear ended.