I’ve seen them called “Stop Lines”, “Balk Line”, etc. The thick line painted on the road at a Stop Sign.
You’re supposed to stop before the line, but a lot of the time there’s a bush or other obstruction so you can’t see any crossing traffic. You have to creep forward until you can see anything.
Is there a reason for this? Is it done on purpose? It makes sense if there’s a crosswalk or something, but I see it a lot where there shouldn’t be any pedestrian activity.
If I had to guess, it’s likely a weirdly written local ordinance… maybe something that had good intent, like ensuring room for crosswalks, but it’s being applied in scenarios that don’t make sense or weren’t considered when the rule was written strictly for compliance reasons. It’s definitely something that varies by city/town.