Members of the local cycling community believe a law that would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs makes sense for bike riders and would make riding more convenient and safer.
Jim Pilger, president of the Santa Cruz Valley Bicycle Advocacy Committee, said most cyclists he sees don't come to a complete stop at stop signs anyway.
"It's going to make it legal for them to do what they're doing anyway," he said of the proposed bill.
Longtime cyclist Jerry Reas said cyclists can determine whether it's safe to cross a road simply by yielding.
"Cyclists, even not very competent cyclists, can come to a stop sign still sitting on a bike, still balanced on a bike at a speed of 1 to 2 miles per hour, and that's way more than enough time to look at traffic and assess whether it's safe or not and pedal off," said Reas, a member of the Cactus Cycling Club.
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Cyclists believe that being able to yield instead of stopping cuts down on their riding time and energy exerted on rides, especially those who use pedal clips.
"Stopping your bike, undoing your pedal, putting your foot on the ground and restarting your bike takes a bit of energy," said Dr. Ed Loebl, vice president of the Cactus Cycling Club.
The benefits of the proposed legislation outweigh the possible detriments, said attorney Eric Post, who specializes in cases involving bicycle accidents.
"When you see a bike rider blow a stop sign like no tomorrow, going full speed, that's not what this bill is about," Post said. "They must slow down."
If cyclists don't have to stop at every intersection, they might also opt to use neighborhood streets and avoid busy arterial roads, he said.
Post, who also serves on bicycle advocacy and safety committees, said a majority of cyclists are injured in low-speed crashes.
"You're more likely to fall over than you are to get in an auto wreck," he said. "We reduce a lot of crashes by not making people stop and unclip."
The Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee has been reviewing crash reports from the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff's Department, and so far, the reports show few accidents were due to cyclists running stop signs, said Post, who is part of the committee.
Of the 930 crash reports the committee has reviewed so far, 33 of the crashes were due to cyclists running a stop sign, Post said.
Matt Zoll, program coordinator for the Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, said there are special situations to take into consideration when a bill like this is proposed.
"What's difficult is there's a big difference between yielding at a stop sign where local streets intersect each other versus yielding at a stop sign at a major street," he said.
Contact reporter Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or 573-4224.
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