Bicycle Colorado Supports Safety Stop Bill

Bicycle Colorado Executive Director provides background, detail, support…

A bill proposed in the Colorado legislature would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield and red lights as stop signs if the coast is clear. Sponsored by Senator Andy Kerr, Senate Bill 93 is supported by Bicycle Colorado.

Commonly referred to as the Idaho Stop, where a state law was first implemented in 1982, various versions of the Safety Stop are already in place in several Colorado communities. Having a single statewide law in place would help both motorists and bicyclists understand the law more easily and know where the practice is allowed.

A Safety Stop law would still require cyclists to yield to all traffic in the intersection as well as to pedestrians. A study of Idaho’s law found no evidence of a long-term increase in injury or fatality rates and bicycle injury rates declined by 14.5 percent in the law’s first year.

This type of law can reduce conflicts on the roads and improve the flow of traffic by helping motorists not have to wait for a bicyclist to get going. While we work to have a more inclusive infrastructure for all people bicycling and walking, this is a step to help traffic move safely and efficiently within our current system.

What the proposed law does

• Requires people on bicycles to stop at stop signs and stop lights and yield the right of way if there is any traffic at the intersection.
• At a stop sign intersection, if the coast is clear, the person on a bicycle may proceed like they would at a yield sign….

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