I am an avid bicyclist, and I am annoyed by fellow cyclists who speed through stop signs and red lights. They are there for safety but I know that having to stop, causes a loss of momentum and takes more energy to get up to speed again.
Eight states have found an apparent solution. These states have adopted laws allowing bicyclists to instead only yield at stop signs and only stop temporarily at red lights then proceed when safe. These are commonly called “stop-as-yield” laws. In 1982, Idaho became the first state to adopt this law and found that bicyclist injuries from traffic crashes declined 14.5%. In Delaware a similar law saw bicyclist crashes at stop signs dropped 23%.
Perhaps the City of Tucson can adopt its own stop-as-yield law and see similar results in the reduction of bicycle-related accidents at intersections.
Edward Weil
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Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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