Friday, August 14, 2009

Bicyclists Roll Through Stop Signs In Idaho Legally

Did you know that in Idaho the law allows bicyclists to slow to a reasonable speed but not completely stop at stop signs before going through an intersection?

Richard Johnson, bicyclist with the Tampa Bay Freewheelers, cites a column in Bicycling Magazine:

For 25 years, cyclists in Idaho have rolled through stop signs-legally.

According to that state's law, when a cyclist approaches an intersection controlled by a stop sign, the cyclist must slow to "a reasonable speed," but is not obligated to stop unless doing so is "required for safety:' After yielding to any vehicle that has the right of way, the cyclist may proceed.

There's more: Cyclists are required to stop at ed light, 'but once stopped may then proceed without waiting for the light to change, after first yielding to vehicles that have the right of way. In effect, this law allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, and red lights as stop signs.

Ed Hillman, from a transportation research office at USF called the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), offers this item from the bikeportland.org Web site on stop signs.

1 comment:

Donald said...

Tampa needs to either do this, or fix the traffic lights so they will trip for bicycles. I'm sick of waiting through an entire cycle to justify running the red light when it won't trip for me.