Is my stopping dangerous when Idaho Stop is de facto but not legal? I've been bike commuting in the East Bay Area of California (5mi/day, plus public transport) for a few weeks now.

I recently attended an in-class safety course, where I learned the fine for not stopping at a stop sign is $250, AND a point on your drivers license (some people were there to remove this point, so people do get cited).

Since then, I've been mostly obeying the stopping laws.  But, another takeaway of that class was the importance of predictability.

I feel like stopping puts me in danger when I seem to be the only one to do it.  If no one expects me to stop, I am worried about bikes and cars not properly anticipating it, and my being involved in a collision.  I know, it wouldn't be my fault legally, but it sort of is my fault because I'm knowingly being unpredictable by stopping, yet do it anyway.  And of course, it doesn't matter who was right, I don't want anyone to get hurt!

My plan is just to continue to stop, per the law, but I thought I'd check with you all.  I don't have enough experience to know whether this is a valid concern.

Thanks!

(Idaho Stop: Treating stop signs as yields, and less pertinent to this question, stop lights as stop signs.)
When it comes to stop signs, I live by some simple rules:


If it's a multi-way stop and there's another car waiting or just arriving, I stop. 
If I can't clearly see or judge what I'm riding into, I stop. 
If it doesn't feel right for some reason, I stop. 
If there's a cop there (or a history of cops), I stop. 


I don't necessarily clip out and put my foot down, but I stop. These rules have worked for me pretty well. But one thing I've never worried about is my safety, when I stop. I've easily ridden 100,000 miles on the roads, including the East Bay, in all kinds of conditions. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I felt less safe stopping than not stopping. There are plenty of things out there to worry about, but that isn't one of them.