Bill Allowing Bicyclists To Yield At Stop Signs Passes House

VIRGINIA — The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday passed the Bicycle Safety Act, legislation that would allow bicyclists to yield at stop signs rather than coming to a complete stop.

Sponsored by Del. Chris Hurst, a Democrat from Blacksburg, the bill passed the House in a 75-24 vote and is awaiting action in the Senate. Bicycle advocates point to research that concludes when bicyclists are allowed to yield at stop signs, it reduces collisions with automobiles.

According to the Virginia Bicycling Federation, vehicle drivers and bicyclists already often disregard stop signs entirely. With what is called a “safety stop,” bicyclists will yield the right-of-way at a stop sign without requiring a complete stop.

“This is already common practice among bicyclists and puts the emphasis on what matters — avoiding a collision,” the federation said in an explanation of the bill.

Hurst's bill, HB 2262, states:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the operator of a bicycle may treat a stop sign as a yield sign if the operator (i) exercises due care, (ii) determines that it is safe to proceed, and (iii) yields the right of way to the driver of any other vehicle approaching the intersection when the approaching vehicle is not required to stop.

Almost 40 years ago, Idaho passed the first law of its kind, allowing bicyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign and a red light as a stop sign. Since it was the first state to allow bicyclists to yield at stop signs, the practice became known as an “Idaho stop.”

Delaware, Oregon and Arkansas have passed similar laws in an effort to address bicycle safety. In the Virginia legislation, bicyclists would still be required to stop at red lights.

Along with allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, the bill would require vehicle drivers to fully change lanes to pass people on bicycles and would allow bicyclists to ride two abreast in a highway lane.

Bicycle advocates also have complained in the past about overzealous enforcement of stop sign rules for cyclists by local police departments. They believe passage of the bill would prevent police from ticketing or issuing warnings to bicyclists who may not come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

In September 2015, for example, police in the city of Alexandria issued 24 traffic citations to cyclists in a one-week span. More than 300 others received warnings after local residents complained that bicyclists were ignoring traffic laws, according to a Washington Post report.

The Arlington County Police Department said it does not offer opinions on legislation. But the department said transportation safety is a key initiative of the department and officers focus on ensuring the safety of all travelers on roadways in the county.

Over the past three years, the Arlington County Police Department has issued a total of 66 citations or warnings related to bicyclists failing to obey stop signs or red lights. So far in 2021, no citations have been issued to bicyclists for failure to stop.

The police department said the citations and warnings could be issued to bicyclists under three different laws on the books: failure to stop or yield; failure to obey lawfully erected signs; and failure to obey traffic lights.

Of the 66 citations or warnings issued in Arlington over the past three years, 41 were handed out by Arlington police in 2019, most of which were issued at one intersection. A traffic enforcement detail was held at N. Van Buren Street and N. 19th Street in the spring and fall of 2019 to address community concerns regarding bicyclists failing to yield when exiting the Washington & Old Dominion trail near the East Falls Church Metro station, the police department said.

In its analysis of the bill, the Virginia Bicycling Federation emphasized that the bill would not change the requirements of a bicyclist to stop at red lights. "It also does not allow bicyclists to blow through stop signs, only to properly yield to oncoming traffic with due care," the group said.