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Stop distance to stop sign or light

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jhervati

Junior Member
I received a citation for not stopping at a stop sign. Without giving all the details, a car in front of me obstructed traffic in such a way that I came to a complete stop half a car-length before the stop line on the pavement. When the car in front of me cleared the intersection, I proceeded to cross from where I was at without stopping again exactly at the line.

The charge was dismissed because the officer didn't show.

Do ordinances specify how close to the stop line you must stop? Obviously, you can't stop 100 feet before the line and then proceed through the intersection without stopping again. But what about six inches? 12? 2 feet? 10 feet?

This has relevance to red-light violation cameras which can detect vehicles not stopping in some range before and after the stop line (in cases of legal right turns on red). The camera does not know if the vehicle stopped in front of it's trigger range. If a vehicle stops just before triggering the camera, and then proceeds to make a right turn, it would be an improper citation unless the camera takes this into account.
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
I received a citation for not stopping at a stop sign. Without giving all the details, a car in front of me obstructed traffic in such a way that I came to a complete stop half a car-length before the stop line on the pavement. When the car in front of me cleared the intersection, I proceeded to cross from where I was at without stopping again exactly at the line.

The charge was dismissed because the officer didn't show.

Do ordinances specify how close to the stop line you must stop? Obviously, you can't stop 100 feet before the line and then proceed through the intersection without stopping again. But what about six inches? 12? 2 feet? 10 feet?
What state was this in and what code section were you charged with?

Proceeding logically, if you consider stopping a half a car length back as stopping at the limit line, then - in theory - everyone in the conga line of stopped vehicles could proceed through a stop sign because they stopped before the limit line. It doesn't work that way. You should have stopped again at or just before the limit line. Unless your state specifies that 10' or so before the limit line is sufficient, you almost certainly did not properly stop. But, since we do not know what state you are in or the section you are charged with, we cannot say for sure.
 

Maestro64

Member
As the ask above what State, however, most all laws usually follow the uniform requirement set by the Federal Government, and no where does it specify a distance. They usually says you must stop "before" the stop line or that the front of the car can not past the stop line when stopping. I have not seen where it say you must stop exactly at the stop line.

It is pretty clear that you can not go over or beyond the line, so stopping at some distance 'before" is subjective. The only question is where exactly was the car which was in front of you. Going to CdwJava's point, if he was in the intersection and not blocking the stop line and you were 10 ft back form the line and stopped then proceed once the intersection was clear, then you meet the standard of the law. Now if the other vehicle stop right in front of you over the stop line and you just followed them into the intersection once they began moving, then you rolled through the intersection without the property stop.

Did the drive who obstructed the intersection where they cited since that is generally not allowed.
 

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