Stop line

How to read it

The MUTCD defines stop lines as solid white lines across the approach lanes at the point where the stop is intended or required. They may be used with a stop sign, a Stop Here for Pedestrians sign or another device that requires a stop, should be used at traffic signals, and are not used where drivers only have to yield. The Manual's guidance is 12 to 24 inches wide, at least 4 feet before the nearest crosswalk line. Where there is no marked crosswalk, it sits at the desired stopping point, no more than 30 feet and no less than 4 feet from the edge of the road being crossed. California's handbook calls it a limit line, and Pennsylvania's manual a white top bar.

Also searched as: limit line, stop bar.

Where the stop is made

The state manuals describe the same point with different words. Pennsylvania's says to stop before the front of the vehicle reaches the first painted line, and Florida's before any part of the vehicle crosses the line. California's says that where there is no limit line the stop comes before the crosswalk, and where there is no crosswalk, before entering the intersection; Michigan's says the same of a road with neither stop line nor crosswalk. Michigan's manual explains why the line is there: it keeps the vehicle out of the way of pedestrians and cross traffic.

Staggered stop lines

The MUTCD allows stop lines to be staggered lane by lane, so one lane stops farther back than the next. It says this can improve drivers' view of pedestrians, give turning vehicles better sight distance and leave more room for left turns.

Look-alikes

A yield line is a row of triangles, used where drivers yield; the MUTCD doesn't allow a stop line there, or a yield line where a stop is required. The two parallel lines of a transverse crosswalk mark where pedestrians cross, behind which the stop line sits.