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.
I don’t think it’s that they’re so far back, it’s just that no one does any upkeep on the corners of those intersections/turns.
For instance in my city there are plenty of stop signs on corners where there may be a large overgrown bush blocking the view of traffic (or even the sidewalk, if there is one) or something like that. Sometimes it’s just genuinely set up terribly.
Usually it’s just upkeep and maintenance not being kept up with.
I’ve driven a lot in the US (around a dozen different states) and Europe (most of the western continent), they are way further back in the US. As far as I can tell, this is because visibility in junctions is generally much better in the US. Also, the lack of roundabouts is frustrating, but right on red is awesome.