What does the no stopping sign mean?

This sign is posted along the curb ahead of you. How is it stricter than a no parking sign?

It bans stopping at all, including a brief halt to drop someone off

No parking still lets you pause to load or unload. This sign does not, and it goes where a stopped vehicle would block a sightline, a lane or a crossing, so even a few seconds at the curb is the problem it was put there to stop.

You want to let a passenger out and this sign is on the pole above you. What may you do?

Keep moving and find somewhere past the sign to pull over

No stopping means the vehicle may not come to rest here for any reason of your own, not even for the moment it takes somebody to open a door. These signs go up where a stopped vehicle would block sightlines, a bus lane or a moving stream of traffic, so the space has to stay clear.

This sign covers the stretch of curb where you were going to pull in and let a passenger out. What does it require?

Keep going, you may not halt here even to let somebody out

No stopping is stricter than no parking: the vehicle must not come to rest here at all, however briefly. These stretches are the ones where a stopped vehicle would hide a crossing, block a lane or sit on a blind bend. Hazard lights change nothing, because the danger is where the vehicle is, not whether it is noticed.

This sign runs along a stretch of road, and in Quebec it may be lettered ARRÊT INTERDIT. A passenger asks to be let out here. What are you allowed to do?

Nothing, you may not bring the car to a halt along this stretch at all

A no stopping sign is stricter than a no parking sign, because it removes even the brief pause for a passenger or a delivery. Stretches get this treatment where a halted vehicle would hide someone crossing, block a bus lane, or leave a following driver nowhere to go. Carry on to where stopping is allowed and set your passenger down there.

A passenger asks to be dropped beside this sign in Brandon. What is the ordinary rule?

Continue to a place where stopping is allowed

This sign bars an ordinary stop, including a quick drop-off. Traffic control or an emergency may require a stop, but convenience does not.

You plan to pick up a friend beside this sign in Prince Albert. They say they will be at the curb immediately. What is allowed?

Keep moving and arrange a pickup where stopping is permitted

This sign prohibits stopping, including a quick passenger pickup. Hazard lights and a short wait do not create an exception.