Older article, but still relevant.
Idaho stops have been shown to reduce cyclist injuries and fatalities: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/2023/07/13/the-idaho-stop-a-step-forward-for-safety#:~:text=According to the U.S. National,fell by 23 per cent.
Idaho stops work by making stop signs equivalent to yields and red lights equivalent to stop signs for cyclists. You still don’t run the traffic signal, but because the threat profile of a bike is different from that of a car, it does make sense that traffic rules should be different…
That is a good point. Also on a bike you have no pillar blindspots, and sit up high, it is easy to see if the way is actuallu clear, rather than a car where you have to stick the nose into traffic to see if the way is clear at some intersections. it makes sense to treat stop as a yield.
Recumbent bike enters the chat…
Lol. I know some people like those, but they seem wobbly, and so low slung that cars are just going to sideswipe you
Not only is it safer, but it makes cycling more appealing because you wont be stuck at a red light for 10 minutes when there are no cars around.
Or, like in oh, so, so many things, copy what is working REEAAALLLY well in scandinavia.
I’m not going to ruin it for you. just go and see. It’s amazing how well it works there instead of the ‘more equal than’ policies here.
Don’t ruin it for me, fine, but at least maybe point me to a link?
Ian Tootill with Sense BC thinks the Idaho Stop would have support in the Lower Mainland, where many people use their bikes to commute and are already using the practice.
Basically if everyone is already doing it, why not make it law that it’s ok?
It’s not like there were any cops out enforcing the current law. Has anyone ever seen a bicycle get pulled over? I’ve never seen it either as a pedestrian nor a driver.
Nope, but more people tend to follow laws if it requires less of a change in behaviour.
Hey that’s what I do in my municipality where it is certainly not allowed.