Trying sharing a two-lane county road with a bicycle.
Add in some traffic, a curve, and a hill.....
They don’t stop now so what is different?
Not that dangerous really, bicyclists do it all the time, as long as you’re looking it’s not a problem. Of course if you’re getting caught you weren’t looking.
Just California’s liberal politicians dabbling in population control again.
Wull, as long as the driver of the car that hits them isn’t held accountable for their stupidity. As long as they can’t sue anybody. Not even the state for passing such a ridiculous measure. Because the taxpayer shouldn’t have to pay their freaking medical/funeral bills.
California as part of its enviro and antitech wackoism has this weird hatred of cars which manifests in passing tons of laws throwing millions at bike infrastructure, restricting and taxing automobiles, and allowing bikes to behave aggressively on the road. Guess this is just the latest one.
This is a good idea. It takes a lot of energy to start and stop and start again on a bicycle. Especially on the bottom of a hill. Cyclists are generally very aware and can safely roll stop signs.
When I used to ride a lot, I did it often, as long as there were no cars present and my doing so was not an inconvenience in any way to anyone else.
Plus, when a bike stops, the rider takes longer to get to speed, which does inconvenience the car behind him.
I’ve seen more cyclists without helmets AND ride like they’re jackholes. It’s law here in mexifornia that they have the same rights as a vehicle so they have that smug attitude to clog a lane while the rest of us avoid them.
I’m an avid cyclist, and even I think this is just plain stupid. I don’t have to put my feet on the ground to come to a momentary stop at a stop sign, before I proceed, which makes it legal. Not to mention, the rift this is going to exacerbate, and the legal ramifications when some idiot blows through a stop sign and gets hit. But hey, its not like the California Legislators have any pressing issues to work on.
Nothing more obnoxious than a bicyclist.
I used to be cyclist. I still own 4 high dollar road bikes. So,now that I’ve made that clear let me say, this law is a travesty. It reinforces most of the worst stereotypes that that motorist have about cyclist, in fact it makes those stereotypes true. It will engender anger and resentment from motorist that they are tempted to take out on others.
In my experience, most of the %$#@^&*#$!!! idiots pushing for this type of law ride fixed gear track bikes, often without any brakes other than reverse pedaling. They make a sort of valid claim that riding a fixed gear is difficult to stop and start again; especially when they ride too high a gear. The problem is, however that NOBODY should be riding a fixed gear track bike (a bike that cannot coast) on the road. It’s like driving a formula 2 racing car on the street. A better law - and remember I am a former triathlete, and bicycle commuter - is no fixed gear bicycles on the street. There, problem solved.
The good news is that the idiots pushing for this will be the ones to die from it.
Darwin candidates. California.... no great loss.
Mixing w/vehicular traffic is reckless and dangerous.
I wonder how many bicyclists would encourage their kids to do what they do. “Yeah, sure, just ride with the traffic. You have a right to be there.”
I also see hypocrisy for those that ride on the street when a sidewalk is readily available.
Bicyclists should be made to act just like pedestrians in traffic. We don’t make it legal for pedestrians to walk down the road, taking up a lane of traffic. Why on earth would you do it with bikes, just because they go a bit faster.
Do you try to hit kids on bikes, too?
Accident atty’s panting.
“...provided there was no oncoming traffic.”
Berkeley police gave me a moving violation ticket for cycling through a stop sign in 1994. That taught me to roll through intersections more carefully. No need for a lame law.
By decent accommodations, I mean a regular street grid so that bicyclists can stay off the busier streets, sidewalks so that bicyclists and pedestrians can get off the street if it's really busy, and a network of bike lanes to help keep motorists awake.
The close calls I've seen over the years have generally been due to motorists running lights or ignoring stop signs. We have our share of badly timed lights, which exacerbates the problem. I did see one bicylist pinned under a car in an intersection (apparently not too badly hurt), but I didn't see what caused that.
If a cyclist runs a red light, he does so at his own risk.
I have had three near misses, twice while on foot and once on a bike. In both of my close escapes as a pedestrian, the motorist was making a right turn on red while on a cell phone and looking to the left, obviously checking for oncoming cars because he/she was turning on red. The one on my bike involved a motorist turning right at a stop sign without checking for anyone crossing on the sidewalk.
I ride several major trails that have at-grade crossings. If there is a light, there's no problem. Several of the crossings, however, only have flashers, which some motorists seem to regard as advisory. I wait for a good window. The most dangerous situation, which I've encountered a couple of times, is when crossing with the flashing light (meaning I have the right of way), and motorists in one or more lanes stop while some idiot decides to blow on through. So I'm crossing a four lane road, two lanes in each direction. Courteous motorists in three lanes have stopped; I'm crossing, waving thanks as I go by, and some moron sails through the one remaining lane at 50 miles an hour, blowing his horn at all the stopped cars. That should be a ticket. But the better solution would be to build overpasses for major trails, or install a stop light.
Bicyclists (and pedestrians) don't want to be on busy roads any more than motorists want them there. If they're there, it's because the highway engineers and transportation planners have left them no reasonable alternative. Build roads with wide shoulders and/or sidewalks. Open up connections on side streets so people can avoid the arterial roads. Provide more street crossings with traffic lights; make these "press the button to cross" if you want to keep traffic flowing, but make it easier for pedestrians to cross when necessary without darting across busy roads. A lot of the pedestrian accidents occur when some guy (or frequently a kid) is trying to get from his apartment building to the supermarket or strip mall across the road, and doesn't want to detour half a mile on foot to do it.
As to bikes at stop signs: I will always slow to a near stop. I try to avoid dismounting. In 50/50 situations, I will usually take the right of way, and motorists are almost always very courteous about it, as they realize cyclists don't want to stop and dismount. People moving on muscle power will do that. Frankly, for motorists who want to grouse, I'd ask if they ever jaywalk on the rare occasions they get their load of lard out of the car. People on foot are better at stopping on corners, but they jaywalk at will. And if any automobile zealot here says he never jaywalks, I will assume it's because he's not walked anywhere since he was 16 years old and got his license. In other words, a typical suburbanite.
Well, that’s one way to reduce the number of bicyclists on the road.
I’m in favor of this proposal.
Actually, all my years of cycling, I’ve found that stop signs are more like yield signs. If there are no cars approaching, I’ve always done a rolling stop. Fact is, many stop signs shouldn’t be there in the first place.