Bike Path Stop Signs
Question
Jeanne asked: Is it required that you stop at the posted stop signs on the bike paths if no one is coming? Is this considered a moving violation? Some of the stop signs on the path off Hwy 70 do not have a road that goes anywhere.
Answer
My apologies the delay, but I have been out of touch for a few days.
Bicyclists are operating vehicles and must comply with traffic control devices wherever they are. Running a stop sign is a moving violation.
Please see the posts in the “Bike Paths” tag, and particularly this one:
If no one is coming, not even a law enforcement vehicle, and the crossed “road” does not access any developed property (e.g., it’s a driveway stub for an undeveloped property), there’s an excellent chance you will not receive a citation for failure to obey a STOP sign if you fail to stop at the sign. In fact, if it’s a driveway stub, or seldom used driveway access to a locked maintenance gate, or similar almost never used driveway, there’s a pretty good chance you will not receive a citation for failure to stop even if a LE vehicle is somewhere nearby on the parallel highway. Law enforcement isn’t equipped to try to enforce every law; they have to pick their battles. In Florida in 2011, the average number of bicycle and pedestrian citations issued per county was 242–about two citations every three days. (The citation statistics published by the DHSMV don’t give a breakdown of the bicycle and pedestrian subtotals.)
Nevertheless, it’s important to scan for traffic at path-road crossings on low-volume roads, unless it ‘s indeed quite obvious the crossed “road” doesn’t go anywhere and is never used. If a cyclist following the path collided with a driver in the road, and the crossing had STOP signs for path riders on the approaches, then it would appear prima facie that the cyclist did not stop and yield to the driver.