Can we rely on strategy of crossing with a car from the stop sign on the parallel street beside us?

Photo shows a stick figure on a corner, facing to cross a 2-lane street that has no stop sign or traffic signal. In the street beside the figure is a car at a stop sign, waiting to cross the same street.

NO! This strategy, sometimes described as "crossing with a blocker car," is one of several unreliable strategies that have been developed and used over the years, Another unreliable stategy is to assume you'll hear approaching vehicles with a warning time that is as long as you can hear the reciding vehicles.

The unreliable strategy of crossing with a car that is at a stop sign on the parallel street (as shown in the photo to the right) been shown to be unreliable, and could actually increase the risk of crossing because it:

does not assure enough clearance time to cross, nor does it provide any "buffer;"
can make it difficult for drivers to see you;
can make it more difficult or impossible to hear the traffic on the street being crossed.

If you want to read more about this strategy and experiments that indicate that it is unreliable, you can click here (this takes you outside of the Self-Study Guide).

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