I’ve had it mentioned to me on more than one occassion – “That wasn’t a stop.” My response is always the same. “Yes, it was. It was a rolling stop.”

I was born into a life of breezing through two-ways and all-ways and everything in between. Being raised on back country roads lends itself to a slightly wider berth in the interpretation department of vehicular rules and regulations than it does for the average urban Joe.

Here’s the thing, a true rolling stop takes finesse. Some may call it sloppy driving or poor judgement , but I call it art. A real rolling stop is a form that should be celebrated for the Venus de Milo that it is.  It’s not a pause, or a brief moment of looking all ways. It is a stop. If you believe it, the cops will believe it, too.

I should know.

3AM on a dark island road somewhere in Savannah.  I rolled.  Immediately after the turn, the blue lights glowed in the rearview.  I pulled over, knowing full well why I was being pulled over, and admitting so the moment the window went down. The police officer and I had a wonderful chat. I explained the virtues of a rolling stop for a young 20 something female driving home at 3 in the morning on a dark island road in a dangerous city all by her lonesome.  Sold. There was no ticket given, no warning either. I think I may have even received an apology for him possibly scaring me at such an hour in such a desolate area.  In hindsight, that was the only nice cop I ever met during my time in Savannah. Maybe I’ll share my other cop encounters next week.

Anyway, no matter the approach, the key  is to have plausible deniability. Either you witness the indicator brush the top of the 0 mph ever so slightly before moving forward, OR convince yourself the speedometer is broken, OR go the organic route by closing your eyes and feeling the stop in your bones. Though don’t keep your eyes closed. Do like a long blink. Seriously, don’t drive with your eyes closed. Any of these techniques can work, but you have to practice. The best method is to possibly combine all three at a given time. It’s a delicate balance and it’s not for the faint of heart.  I feel very confident in my ability to pull it off, but  few could truly perfect it as I have, but then I also feel 96% of the population that have been granted a license should have it revoked.