Where I live, it seems like 9/10 bicyclists routinely run...stop signs, and they pay no attention to oncoming traffic OR pedestrians.
Part of the problem is that there are plenty of stop signs that appear in areas where traffic is light and you can see a long ways down the road to both sides. Stopping at the stop sign is nothing more than a formality. In a car, it’s fine. It doesn’t cost you much. On a bike, it scrubs off speed that took a lot of energy to achieve and to re-achieve. If there was a “real” reason to stop, that would be different. But for a stop sign where there is OBVIOUSLY nothing to actually stop for, other than the sign, the only logical reason for stopping is that there is a cop around. The reason for the sign is that if there IS traffic approaching, on both roads, it lets everyone know who has the right of way.
And if I had my way, all stop signs would be replaced by yield signs. All of ‘em. Of course, it means the public would need to be “retrained” in the concept that the car approaching from the right at a four way intersection with no signage has the right of way.
“In a car, it’s fine. It doesn’t cost you much. On a bike, it scrubs off speed that took a lot of energy to achieve and to re-achieve. If there was a “real” reason to stop, that would be different. But for a stop sign where there is OBVIOUSLY nothing to actually stop for, other than the sign, the only logical reason for stopping is that there is a cop around.”
The problem is that when people think like this they just get in the habit of rolling through stop signs without even bothering to really look. Then they start rolling through red lights too when they think “it’s clear”. Next thing you know they splatter themselves or somebody else. I can’t count how many times as a pedestrian I was almost run over by bicyclists blazing through stop signs without even bothering to look for someone about to cross the street in front of them, because it was a “quiet area” and they were more worried about losing speed than being safe.