went out for a ride today... actually, i rode my bike to lunch today. one of the bad habits i've gotten in riding on all these back roads is not coming to a complete stop at stop signs. usually, there isn't much traffic on these two lane roads that i ride. so i've gotten into the habit of slowing down as i approach a stop sign. if i have good visibility and can see there isn't any traffic, i won't come to a complete stop. i'll slow down quite a bit, but then i'll keep going. not a very good habit. i will say, though, i do come to a complete stop if i don't have good visibility at an intersection...
so today i'm out and i approach an intersection i'm familiar with. it's a "T" intersection and i'm coming up the "T" where i have to make a left or a right. after stopping, of course. i do my usual, slow down and look both ways as i approach the stop sign. this particular intersection is fairly open and you can see a fair distance in both directions. i scan to my right and then to my left. from the left, i can see a white jeep cherokee approaching. now like i said, i do slow down enough when i approach these intersections, i just don't come to a complete stop. i decide that the jeep is far enough away that i can safely make a left turn. so i do. as i pass the jeep, i see it's a local police vehicle. it didn't have the lights on top, though. had it had the lights, you can guarantee i would have some to a complete stop!!! as i approached the jeep, it had turned on its right turn signal - turning onto the road i just came off. so i watch my rear-view mirror to determine if it's going to do a u-ey and come after me. it looked like he was slowing down enough to turn around... but he made the right turn and just kept going... whew...
now i don't know if he didn't come after me because he didn't see me come to a rolling stop (is there such a thing??), or if he couldn't quickly make the u-turn because another vehicle approached the stop sign and blocked the intersection. either way, it was a wake up call!!! time to stop the rolling stops and come to a complete stop!!!
ride safe - i'll be riding safer!!!
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