What constitutes a legal 'full stop'?

[sawinwa]

Is this a trick question or what? What's hard to understand about the words FULL and STOP? Can't imagine you're gonna get ticketed for not putting a foot down if you're able to balance, at a FULL STOP, for a second or two... just like bicycle riders do all the time.

[driv3rx]

in your car ,rear bumper must come down,(full stop momentum causes front end to dive,full stop rear end will go down)I would imagine same rule on motorcycle,easy enough to do .too expensive to split hairs over.

[Ronbaci]

Originally Posted by UltraClassicElectraGlide

I'm in California and am wondering what constitutes a full, legal stop when stopping at a stop sign or stop light. (It's legal here to make a right-hand turn at a red stoplight as long as you 'stop' before proceeding, unless otherwise posted.)

Must you come to an absolute stop and touch the ground with at least one foot, or can you stop momentarily, using your balance, and not touching the ground with either foot?

Getting back to California, here are two answers from two different motor officers in California:

"There is not a specific law that requires a m/c rider to place their foot on the ground. The only requirement is the vehicle come to a complete stop behind the limit line. I have heard others refer to the 1 foot rule…I’ve never seen anything in writing, at least in California."

"Nothing specific to motorcycles. Your vehicle must come to a "complete stop" behind or at the limit line. You are not required to put one or both feet down, if you can stop briefly while balancing yourself."

So, bottom line here is, there is no law in California that says you have to put your foot (feet) down when you come to a complete stop behind or at the limit line.

Someone said it best earlier though, "It all depends on who is holding the ticket book."

Stay safe!

[100inchhammer]

What I really like reading are all the replies from people who think they know what they're talking about, ie: 1 foot, 2 feet, 1 sec, 2sec, 7sec. C'mon, where do you people come up with this ****? I think the answer from the cop and the CA resident are the most accurate. The bike must not be moving forward.

To the cop from WI, I must say...I think you are possibly the most sensible cop I have heard post. I know another cop, retired now and a good close friend of mine, he was a straight shooter, certainly not a hypocrite. I find very few of you these days, stay that way. I have 3 times as many personal accounts from of cops abusing their authority with some really good and innocent people. And that has stripped me of all my faith in the police being honest and the system as a whole.

[Intrepid175]

Originally Posted by Ronbaci

Getting back to California, here are two answers from two different motor officers in California:

"There is not a specific law that requires a m/c rider to place their foot on the ground. The only requirement is the vehicle come to a complete stop behind the limit line. I have heard others refer to the 1 foot rule…I’ve never seen anything in writing, at least in California."

"Nothing specific to motorcycles. Your vehicle must come to a "complete stop" behind or at the limit line. You are not required to put one or both feet down, if you can stop briefly while balancing yourself."

So, bottom line here is, there is no law in California that says you have to put your foot (feet) down when you come to a complete stop behind or at the limit line.

Someone said it best earlier though, "It all depends on who is holding the ticket book."

Stay safe!

Your last sentence pretty much sums it up. Up until this conversation, I've never heard of the X second rule to be considered a full stop. A "full stop" is exactly that. The wheels quit turning. Doesn't matter how long. If there's no one else in sight, what's the point of sitting there for a couple of seconds? The officers responses you quoted sound right and very reasonable. The only thing I've heard about whether or not you need to put a foot down has been from an officer who spotted a motorcycle appear to go though a stop sign from a block or two away because the rider "didn't" put a foot down. He may well have come to a full stop but the officer couldn't tell it from the angle he was at and made a not unexpected assumption that the rider didn't come to a full stop. It can be taken both ways!

Originally Posted by 100inchhammer

To the cop from WI, I must say...I think you are possibly the most sensible cop I have heard post. I know another cop, retired now and a good close friend of mine, he was a straight shooter, certainly not a hypocrite. I find very few of you these days, stay that way. I have 3 times as many personal accounts from of cops abusing their authority with some really good and innocent people. And that has stripped me of all my faith in the police being honest and the system as a whole.

I think you're being very cynical here. It's very easy to find people willing to put down law enforcement officers. Let's face it, what they do is very often not the most popular of activities, especially for the folks on the wrong side of the law. Those are the ones you alway hear from and rarely from the ones who were helped or outright saved by the actions of law enforcement officers who often lay their lives on the line. Your personal 3:1 against statistics don't surprise me in the least. I also don't give them much credibility without knowing "both" sides of the story!

For the record, I'm a retired fire fighter. I worked with and around our local police virtually every day I was on duty. I got to see first hand what they had to deal with at times from the general public and these were often folks I too would have also described as "good and innocent people!" Take my word for it, some of these "good and innocent" people can be first class AH's given half a chance and the officers that have to deal with them should be nominated for sainthood!

I'm not saying the police are perfect. We all know that's not the case but my experience in 24 year of the fire service as well as my own personal contacts with them as a civilian, I've found them to be courteous and professional. That doesn't mean they're going to be outwardly friendly while doing their jobs. I don't think that's necessarily appropriate but if "you" are polite to the officer, they'll usually be the same to you. The once or twice I thought the officer was being a little more gruff than necessary I just tried to imagine what kind of day they had been having and kept up with the "yes sirs" and "no sirs." We had no significant problems.

These men and women are human beings, just like the rest of us and I don't think it hurts to give them the benefit of the doubt until we've got a lot more information than we usually get when someone starts shouting "police brutality!"

FWIW!
Ride Safe,
Steve R.

[Faast Ed]

Like I said several pages ago,...... This should have been a 2 post thread.

OP asked what constitutes a full stop.
Answer: No forward movement.

Took ten pages to reach that conclusion. Unbeleivable,......





.

[Thundermug]

Originally Posted by Faast Ed

Like I said several pages ago,...... This should have been a 2 post thread.

OP asked what constitutes a full stop.
Answer: No forward movement.

Took ten pages to reach that conclusion. Unbeleivable,......





.

And yet you made it even longer

[Faast Ed]

Originally Posted by Thundermug

And yet you made it even longer

As did you.


What the *** is with this board lately!

[FFeric]

When I stop someone respect and being honest and polite goes a long way. I am not a big tickey guy. But if someone does something that really warrants a ticket that can change things. Such as blowing a stop sign while on the cell and passing a few cars. When someone gets stopped it isnt something I did. They forget that they are the one that did something wrong and put the blame on cops.
When I stop someone I treat them the way I would want my mother treated. Unless they do something to make that change. Like the ome girl talked herself from a warning to a ticket for calling me a F****** a** H***. I wasn't the one who was speeding. People tend to forget that. I also keep int he back of my head that this may be the one police contact this person ever has. I don't want it to be a negative thing. And I know there are some cops out there that are really jerks.
If I wanted to I could write an entire ticket book a day if I really wanted. People over the years have become terrible drivers. Add talking on the phone or texting (my favorite). People are in such a hurry. Just come to a complete stop. How long does it actually take? Be safe.

[Thundermug]

Originally Posted by Faast Ed

As did you.

But I wasn't about it's length, but it sounded as if you were. Anyhoo... let's