Colorado May Change Bikers Rules Of The Road
Bikers may soon be allowed to execute an "Idaho Stop."
Those on a bike should follow the rules of the road, right? If a recently introduced bill becomes law, Colorado bicyclists will longer be required to stop at signs and red lights. Senator Andy Kerr, a biking enthusiast, and author of the bill claims that intersections are too hazardous for those on bikes.
What about those us in cars and trucks? If bicyclists have to no longer stop at traffic lights and signs, how are we supposed to know when and where they're going? What Bill 18-144 basically does is allow cities and counties enact what's known as an "Idaho Stop." No, I didn't know what it was either until I Googled it. "The Idaho stop is the common name for a law that allows 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 in 2017" thanks, Wikipedia.
Ok, I get the concept but how are drivers supposed to know if you're going to go or wait for the light or stop and go? Sorry, I haven't spent much time on a bike in the last 20 years or so. If this is a way to make things safer, I'm all for it and if it becomes law I guess we'll figure it out. I'm not sure that another law is always the solution to our problems. Wouldn't common courtesy and safe driving get the same effect?
Credit: The Denver Channel