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smkmn13 t1_j6glnar wrote

For those that don't know, the Idaho stop allows bikers to treat stop signs as yield signs

(I didn't know and just googled it myself, so I thought I'd save someone a click or two).

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Pruedrive t1_j6hcpas wrote

As a bike commuter it’s kinda like this now, unless the intersection is busy. I do everything to keep myself getting pancaked by cars, and you really need to play it by ear at stop signs. Having this be the new law would be great.

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kppeterc15 t1_j6j3ou0 wrote

It's the safest way to ride, and people do it for that reason anyway, so it makes sense to make it legal.

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WikiSummarizerBot t1_j6glokj wrote

Idaho stop

>The Idaho stop is the common name for laws that allow cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign, and a red light as a stop sign. It first became law in Idaho in 1982, but was not adopted elsewhere until Delaware adopted a limited stop-as-yield law, the "Delaware Yield", in 2017. Arkansas was the second state to legalize both stop-as-yield and red light-as-stop in April 2019. Studies in Delaware and Idaho have shown significant decreases in crashes at stop-controlled intersections.

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CalligrapherDizzy201 t1_j6hrte7 wrote

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B0tRank t1_j6hru78 wrote

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1234nameuser t1_j6hrd5o wrote

TX drivers fly off the goddamn handle everytime they see a biker slow down for a stop sign.....and continue through it. They also die of obesity on a frequent basis.

Guess I missed the educational video on bikers killing automobiles at 4-way stops or something?

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smkmn13 t1_j6huxl7 wrote

The "BuT BiKeS sHoUlD aCt lIkE cArS" crowd always seems to forget that traffic laws are about safety, and there's a difference between a vehicle that weighs a couple thousand pounds and a couple hundred (including the rider).

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Spooky2000 t1_j6i1bhi wrote

>They also die of obesity on a frequent basis.

That's pretty much everywhere now.. Most states are over 30% obesity rate, us included..

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[deleted] t1_j6gr8lb wrote

[deleted]

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CurrentResident23 t1_j6horzq wrote

As someone who biked everywhere for years, this is safer. Do have any idea long it takes for a bicyclist to regain speed and get out of an intersection after stopping? The answer is too damn long. You'd get pancaked by oncoming traffic within a week if you stopped at every intersection like a car.

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smkmn13 t1_j6hw3g0 wrote

This is better for drivers too - I don't want to sit there and wait for a biker to fully stop and start again when they beat me to a 4way stop by a half-a-second. And while I would do it, some drivers wouldn't, which is unpredictable and unsafe.

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AhbabaOooMaoMao t1_j6gobhe wrote

Seems like every state that does it likes it and more states keep doing it.

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smkmn13 t1_j6goxhj wrote

It also appears to be formally legalizing something that everybody does already, which means less arbitrary policing, which (imo) is always a good thing.

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CalligrapherDizzy201 t1_j6hrzpo wrote

Are bikers getting pulled over for this? It’s not exactly a big policing issue.

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smkmn13 t1_j6hugwv wrote

Not that I know of, but that's sort of my point - if there are laws that are almost never enforced, it creates opportunities for arbitrary policing decisions, and I don't think that's a good thing.

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Hotsauce61 t1_j6jm2rb wrote

Isn’t that what they already do? Just makes it legal I guess

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76before84 t1_j6k4esj wrote

That is stop signs and not stop lights right?

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smkmn13 t1_j6k5jjv wrote

Yes and no - this bill would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, and red lights as stop signs. You can read more here.

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QueenOfQuok t1_j6hwfv1 wrote

I feel like the Idaho Stop works better in out-of-the-way uncrowded places than it would in urban Connecticut

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smkmn13 t1_j6hwspo wrote

"Urban Connecticut" isn't exactly most of Connecticut, but I hear you.

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QueenOfQuok t1_j6hx8il wrote

IKR? We're supposed to be one of the most densely populated states and yet you can stand atop Heublein Tower and see nothing but trees in either direction. If this is dense population, what is the rest of the U.S. like?

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TrogdarBurninator t1_j6omx1a wrote

you know it's because you are up high, the nearby area are mostly rural and suburban, and ct has a lot of trees, which block most 1-2 story houses and non field areas?

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[deleted] t1_j6i6h3x wrote

[deleted]

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QueenOfQuok t1_j6iysz6 wrote

Oh, I've got a million of them! My left knee aches, the overhead lighting is annoying, it's too warm today, and my hot chocolate went cold.

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Lou666Minatti t1_j6i16y3 wrote

it actually works best in the most dense parts of cities, especially when combined with a walking sign

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TheAppleTheif t1_j6huazv wrote

With that and the eminent domain proposals, absolutely a hard no.

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