Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Crashes reduced with Idaho Stop
The WashCycle has a good summary of information on the Idaho Stop law that shows that bicycle injuries declined by 14.5%. The law allows cyclists to roll through a stop sign without coming to a complete, foot-down stop:the year after the Idaho Stop became law, bicycle injuries in the state actually declined by 14.5 percent.
Boise, home to Idaho's biggest bike population, "has actually become safer for bicyclists than other cities which don't have the law," Meggs said.
And despite what you may have thought, the law wasn't promoted by cyclists in Idaho, it was judges.
Carl Bianchi, a retired administrative director of Idaho's state courts who is widely considered the father of the Idaho Stop, said it was traffic judges -- not cyclists -- who pushed for the idea in 1982.
Police were ticketing bike riders for failing to come to a complete, foot-down stop. Judges, however, saw "technical violations" clogging up their courts.
"We recognized that the realities of bicycling were a lot different than driving a car," Bianchi said.
Boise, home to Idaho's biggest bike population, "has actually become safer for bicyclists than other cities which don't have the law," Meggs said.
And despite what you may have thought, the law wasn't promoted by cyclists in Idaho, it was judges.
Carl Bianchi, a retired administrative director of Idaho's state courts who is widely considered the father of the Idaho Stop, said it was traffic judges -- not cyclists -- who pushed for the idea in 1982.
Police were ticketing bike riders for failing to come to a complete, foot-down stop. Judges, however, saw "technical violations" clogging up their courts.
"We recognized that the realities of bicycling were a lot different than driving a car," Bianchi said.
Labels: bike crash, idaho stop
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