I have always been curious about why they call not stopping at a stop sign long enough a rolling stop, or a California roll (my favorite sushi, btw). I’ve even heard someone call it a Hollywood stop. Now, I have resided in California. And, as I recall, everyone stopped. Or, perhaps I was too busy rolling through a stop sign to even notice.
Apparently, one of the most common traffic tickets issued to California drivers is for the rolling stop. When drivers approach a stop sign, they are supposed to come to a complete stop. Not fully stopping can pose a danger to other drivers as well as to pedestrians. Perhaps that’s why police are cracking down on those of us rollers. After all, if there are no other cars in an intersection, there is no one to completely stop for. So, it’s safe. You actually yielded. But your car didn’t “settle” behind the crosswalk line before you left the stop sign or turned right at a red light.
More police officers are stopping cars that roll through stop signs and red lights without completely stopping. These rolling stop tickets are costly and can jack up your insurance rates by adding points to your driving record. To remove these points, you can attend a defensive driving school. This will likely reduce the traffic fine.
As a driver, you need to know that speeding is not the only common moving violation now. Coasting through a stop sign or red light instead of making a full stop could result in an accident, which is why rolling stop violations are taken very seriously. I see many students in my defensive driving class who fondly refer to their citation as a “no cop, no stop.”
Until next week…
Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist
Rolling Stop – Comedy Defensive Driving School