You are stopped in a line of vehicles waiting at a stop sign. If there is no cross traffic after the vehicles ahead have passed through the intersection, you:
- May proceed through the intersection without stopping again.
- Must stop again at the stop sign or stop line before proceeding. ✓
- May slowly roll past the stop sign.
- May follow the vehicle directly ahead of you without stopping.
Answer: B. Must stop again at the stop sign or stop line before proceeding.
You must stop again at the stop sign or stop line before proceeding, even if the cars ahead have already gone through.
Why this is the answer
The handbook describes a stop sign as meaning you come to a complete stop, yield to pedestrians and other vehicles, and then go ahead carefully, stopping before the crosswalk, intersection, or sign. It says slowing down does not count, and that this applies to each vehicle that comes to the sign. So the line of traffic ahead clearing the intersection does not excuse you: your own vehicle still has to make its own full stop at the sign or behind the stop line before you move.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. May proceed through the intersection without stopping again. — The stop requirement applies to each vehicle that reaches the sign, so the cars ahead going through does not let you skip your own stop.
- C. May slowly roll past the stop sign. — The handbook says slowing down is not adequate, so rolling slowly past the sign falls short of the complete stop it requires.
- D. May follow the vehicle directly ahead of you without stopping. — Following the car ahead of you without stopping treats the sign as if it applied only to the first vehicle, but the handbook says every vehicle coming to the sign must stop.
Remember it
Treat the stop sign as belonging to your car, not to the car in front of you: every vehicle that reaches it makes its own full stop.