Preparing to stop
Coming to a complete stop
Final word
Preparing to stop
Making a proper and legal stop whether at a red light, stop sign or otherwise will always start as soon as you know that you will need to stop. The moment that you notice that you are approaching a redlight or stop sign you should begin the process of stopping by taking your foot off of the acceleration if you have not already done so. After that, you need to gently ease into pressing your brake so that you do not stop too far ahead of your intended stopping destination and/or that you do not stop too suddenly.
If you do stop too far ahead of your intended stopping destination, your stop might not be considered to be at the correct position, and you can technically receive a ticket for that. If your stop is too sudden, you can easily cause an accident and end up with a serious injury if you are hit hard enough from behind. Finally, if you are going to turn after you stop, turn your appropriate turn signal on as soon as you begin the process of coming to a stop.
Coming to a complete stop
Once you have safely and correctly come to a stop, you must ensure that you make a complete stop. At a redlight this will be very easy – you must remain stopped as long as the light remains red. If you are turning left after the light changes green, you will obviously need to remain stopped until oncoming traffic has cleared, and it is safe to turn.
Coming to a complete and legal stop at a stop sign will seem less clear. Many people will “roll” through stop signs which means they will just slow down considerably and check both ways. Doing this is illegal and can easily result in you receiving a ticket. However, even if you do stop completely and you start driving again too soon, you can still technically get a ticket. So, to simplify it as much as possible, a complete stop will mean both stopping so that your vehicle’s forward motion stops completely to the point that your car will rock back slightly. Then, you must also remain stopped at the stop sign for no less than three full seconds.
Final word
Stopping both correctly and legally in Alaska will go a long way in terms of helping you to avoid getting any unnecessary tickets and/or getting into easily avoidable accidents. As soon as you see that you are approaching a redlight or stop sign, you must begin the process of stopping. Do your best to avoid stopping completely too far before a redlight or stop sign as well as stopping too abruptly. Once you have finally stopped completely, remain stopped at a redlight until it turns green and at a stop sign for at least three full seconds.
