Discouraging motorists from stopping at an intersection when they have the right-of-way Where I live, bicycles are widely accepted in traffic; motorists are on balance considerate and careful around us. But on an almost daily basis, I run into motorists who are too "polite" at intersections. They stop and try to wave me through when I have no right to be in the intersection and, in some cases, when it would actually be dangerous for me to enter.

Two examples come up most frequently:


At a four-way side street intersection, where I am at a stop sign and the motorist has no sign or signal of any kind. Usually the only vehicles visible are myself and the car. I usually try to wave them through instead, and give them a friendly "thank you, anyways" wave and a smile.
Crossing a busy three-lane one-way road, where I have a stop sign and am not moving, feet on the ground. Motorists in the lane closest to me like to stop -- with traffic now stopping behind them and streaming along beside -- and try to wave me past. Here I often pretend to not be paying attention, but usually have to resort to a vigorous "keep on going" wave, with the same "thanks" as they eventually give up.


I run into other configurations as well,* but the core issue remains the same: it's far easier, and often much safer, for them to just continue and allow me to move through the intersection after them.† When I'm stopped and the car is moving, it will be out of my way a lot faster than I can get moving and past. I really do appreciate their consideration, but in the broader picture, I'd prefer they just continue in their right of way as if I were another motorist.

Ignoring the stopped car has only mixed results. Are there any other tactics I can employ to indicate that I'm perfectly happy waiting, and keep these well-intentioned people from stopping in the first place, moving on their way and out of mine?



*One that causes genuine confusion is dual-purpose marked crossings, where the same sign indicates the presence of bikes and pedestrians. The latter should be yielded to here.

†In some cases I think they're even committing traffic violations.
This is not strictly a bicycling issue. Do-gooders who ignore the rules and want to give the right of way all the time are also irritating to other drivers. They are not necessarily safer drivers, because "scared" is not exactly the same thing as "safe". There isn't anything you can do; just take cautious advantage of the right of way and keep going. The most aggravating of the lot are those who act as enablers aggressive drivers, like those who cut in to get ahead of dozens of cars in a traffic jam.

It's not really appropriate to enter into anecdotes, but I'm compelled to give one anyway. Once (while driving, not cycling), I stopped at a stop sign in the middle of a residential neighborhood (properly, I might add; a full stop behind the painted line).  Another driver was going cross-wise, not herself facing any stop sign and thus having the right of way. This driver stopped, motioning me to proceed. I shook my head and pointed at the stop sign to indicate that I'm simply following the rules and expect everyone to do the same. She simply refused to budge, so I turned off my engine and engaged the parking brake.  I cannot remember who first yielded (or should we say, "unyielded", if you will), but I do remember that minutes passed. I remained calm and maintained an amused smile while she appeared to become angry.

Some of these do-gooders are, evidently, quite vehement about pushing their viewpoint that the rules of the road are not entirely satisfactory and should entirely be ignored in their entirety (and perhaps not even known at all) in favor of some inefficient ad-hoc social protocol.

In my experience as a driver with several hundred thousand km under my belt, you better just do what they want you to do, otherwise minutes will be wasted like in the above social experiment that I don't care to repeat. However, make eye contact with a driver before jumping in front of their car, and do not waffle; if you're given the right away, take it swiftly.