asmac

It's safer for cyclists to roll through stop signs: Cycle Toronto | CTV Toronto News

auldgeunquers

... YAY! ... I think ...

Chris516

Dumb. No one needs to 'blow' a Stop Sign. Except in an emergency.

CB HI

Even though there is only a small amount of data, what is dumb is refusing to look at that data that shows Idaho stops improve cyclist safety, and instead, just sticking with your own superstitions and mislabeling of 'blowing' the stop.

Chris516

A Stop Sign doesn't exist to look pretty. That is why, police ticket people who run Stop Signs.

asmac

And that's why the law needs to be changed.

baron von trail 

Meh...who pays attention to signs anyway? If there are cars around, stop. If not, ride on.

Chris516

To allow cyclists' to 'blow through' a stop sign, no.

mr_bill

Such an awesome rule. Followed by so many drivers too. If there are cars around, stop. If not, drive on.

One problem. Kind of sucks if you are a pedestrian, bicyclist, or biker. SMIDSY.

-mr. bill

corrado33

For most "stop signs" I'll slow down to 0-3 mph, often briefly pausing with my wheel stopped. For red lights, I come to a stop until the light turns green. This article says "stop signs" but talks about red lights...

prathmann

The current Idaho laws in question address both Stop signs and traffic lights. Cyclists are allowed to treat Stop signs as if they were Yield signs; i.e. check for the presence of cross traffic and yield to it but otherwise continue through at a safe speed without stopping. And cyclists are allowed to treat a red traffic light as if it were a Stop sign; i.e. come to a complete stop, check for cross traffic and proceed when the way is clear.

The proposal under consideration in Ontario only addresses the issue of cycling rules at Stop signs and doesn't propose any changes for traffic signals.

corrado33

Dang, I wish Montana had the same rules Idaho did. Those rules sound optimal already.

asmac

To allow cyclists to use their own judgment at intersections while having full responsibility for their actions. Yes.

Afdica

That's the problem.............inconsistency in people's individual judgement.

asmac

And that is their problem -- part of being an adult. Traffic laws are reasonable when they regulate behaviour that is harmful to others; bike riders who get themselves hit are mostly harmful to themselves.

Afdica

I agree. But when an accident happens, there is a mechanical process that is followed in determining guilt for insurance purposes. Individual judgement won't cut it for auto insurers especially when they may be forced to pay expensive medical bills for the cyclist.

genec

And yet it works fine in Idaho...

That's the part I just don't get... this "experiment" has run for something like 15 years in Idaho and yet there are people here declaring it just won't work. It works just fine. Get over yourself.

asmac

We aren't ruled by insurance companies.

Why are you opposed to something which the evidence shows is safer for cyclists?

gpburdell

Please explain how you see an issue here.

Individual judgement already applies to right-on-red or yield situations where it's the responsibility of the vehicle operator to judge whether it is or isn't safe to enter the intersection. If there's an accident then it's their fault provided there's no mitigating error on the other driver's part that contributed to the collision.

Why would this situation be any different? If a cyclist rolls through a stop sign (that the law allows him to treat as a yield) and gets hit by a motorist, then it's pretty clear it wasn't safe to enter the intersection. Fault on the cyclist.

noisebeam

On of the problems locally is that many cyclist are not lining up to take their turn at the stop sign. They blow past other cyclists and motorists who are waiting and cut them off. Will the law address this?

asmac

It seems pretty simple. Filter up on the right and go when it's safe, without cutting off right-turning vehicles which were there first unless there are pedestrians in the crosswalk preventing cars from turning right. I do it every day and it seems to work well with no inconvenience for anyone.

Anyhow, it's a nice day. Time to go blow some stop signs.

Afdica

There is no comparison: In large Metropolitan areas........Boise Idaho is not the size of Toronto Ontario nor does it behave like Toronto. To make this work, Ontario will have to still think through the whole process. There has to be some sort of cultural shift in thinking. If this is such a great solution, then why haven't other large US cities done this, like New York, Boston Chicago...........or maybe even where you live in San Diego?

asmac

It happens in practice everywhere: very few cyclists stop at stop signs as it is an unreasonable expectation. The issue is whether the law can be made to reflect reality. And I don't think this is an urban/rural issue. Same cars, same streets, same bicycles.

We live in a conservative society, esp. the justice system, and it's difficult to change course, that's why. There are lots of counterproductive/foolish laws...

noisebeam

what about the straight thru and left turning cyclists and motorists? why is it OK to cut them off?

gpburdell

How is anyone cutting off someone else unless they're in the wrong lane to begin with?