this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
37 points (87.8% liked)
Bicycling
2243 readers
2 users here now
A community for those who enjoy bicycling for any reason— utility, recreation, sport, or whatever!
Post your questions, experiences, knowledge, pictures, news, links, and (civil) rants.
Rules (to be added on an as-needed basis)
- Comments and posts should be respectful and productive.
- No ads or commercial spam, including linking to your own monetized content.
- Linked content should be as unburdened by ads and trackers as possible.
Welcome!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
So, respect cyclists as much as car drivers, except when it's inconvenient for you to follow the rules of the road?
Intersections are probably the most dangerous place on the road, or at least that's what I was taught in motorcycling class 40 years ago.
If a cyclist can ride right through this, why can't I on my 125 motorcycle?
And yes, I disagree with filtering. I understand the arguments for it, but it introduces so much risk as cagers aren't looking for you.
Perhaps it should be allowed! Cars already treat stop signs as yields ("California Roll" is the car corollary to the "Idaho Stop"). Why would you stop if the car behind you isn't planning to? (I'd love to see motorbike studies on this; please link me to some if you know any.)
Studies have shown that cyclists treating stop signs as yield signs leads to fewer accidents, both with cars and pedestrians.
Yielding also decreases time spent in the intersection. You have a motor underneath you. Cyclists don't. Clearing the intersection quickly prevents cross-traffic from splatting you. That's why slowing down, checking for traffic, but not stopping is so important for momentum vehicles.
The NHTSA (the US road safety org for my Canadian friends) has a good two-pager overview. It's a good place to start if you're still curious about the reasoning behind the Idaho stop.
Just to put this out there: this isn't really about convenience, but safety. My question is basically "why isn't an Idaho Stop permitted at a 3-way shown in the photo?".
Since we know that Idaho Stops are SIGNIFICANTLY safer for cyclists (and yes, it can be more convenient as a secondary benefit), it's not really about respecting or following rules, but "does this rule make sense for a cyclist, when it offers no benefit to safety?".
Yes, if you are driving in the middle of the road, not in the gutter lane. And usually at 4-way intersections where vehicles cross each other's path. You get none of that in this context.
As above, that would be dangerous. Unless you can provide evidence that blowing through stops on a motorcycle is actually safer for you.