Rethinking Traffic Rules for Bikes | Vision Zero Cities Journal

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Just as crossing mid-block is sometimes the safest move for a pedestrian, detouring onto a sidewalk or rolling through a stop sign might be the safest move for a cyclist. Penalizing those behaviors makes no more sense than ticketing someone for jogging on a grass median to avoid a dangerous intersection.

Rigid enforcement also opens the door to discriminatory policing. Studies have repeatedly shown that enforcement of minor traffic violations can be used to target marginalized communities. Decriminalizing behaviors like sidewalk riding or stop-as-yield protects not only cyclists’ safety but also their civil liberties.

Perhaps no reform better illustrates the safety benefits of legal flexibility than the Idaho Stop, which allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and, in some states, red lights as stop signs.

Link: 

Rethinking Traffic Rules for Bikes | Vision Zero Cities Journal

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