I live in the country (Elora/Fergus). Often a stop sign is good 6-8 feet behind the white line. Stopping at the sign does not allow me to see left and right to ensure it is safe to cross, so I would have to stop at the line again in order to look left/right. Would you give me a ticket if I rolled through the sign and did a full stop at the line?

The physical location of the stop sign is not necessarily the legally required stopping point. Under section 136(1)(a) of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, a driver approaching a stop sign must stop: “at a marked stop line or, if none, then immediately before entering the nearest crosswalk or, if none, then immediately before entering the intersection.” Depending on what I observed, the possible charges could include: • Disobey stop sign, fail to stop, section 136(1)(a), if the vehicle never came to a complete stop. • Disobey stop sign, stop wrong place, section 136(1)(a), if the driver did stop, but only after passing the legally required stopping point. • Fail to yield to traffic on through highway, section 136(1)(b), if the driver then proceeded without yielding to traffic that was in the intersection or approaching closely enough to constitute an immediate hazard. So yes, if you rolled through the stop line and only stopped farther ahead, I could have charged you with stopping in the wrong place, or possibly issued a warning, depending on the circumstances. If you also interfered with or created a hazard for through traffic, the fail-to-yield offence could apply as well. The proper procedure is to make a complete stop at the legally required location first, then slowly move forward to obtain a better view before proceeding safely.