Be careful what you ask for. On July 29, San Franciscan drivers—who often complain about cyclists flouting regulation—got a taste of what happens when cyclists strictly comply with traffic laws.



Across America, the law stipulates that cyclists and drivers follow the same traffic regulations, like following all street signs, signals, and markings. However, it’s no secret that some cyclists ignore road signs by yielding at stop signs or traffic lights instead of coming to complete stops. Captain John Sanford of the San Francisco Police Department gained notoriety last month after calling for a crackdown on cyclists who ignore these rules and, in doing so, endanger others. In response, protestors took to the streets to show just how bad traffic gets when bicyclists comply.



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At 5:30 p.m. in the heart of popular urban bike route “The Wiggle,” dozens of cyclists organized via a Facebook page rode single-file into the street. They proceeded to stop at every intersection along the mile-long route and wait patiently for their turns—one-by-one. Traffic slowed immediately. Not too long after, a parade of cyclists rode up from Duboce Park, filling the streets with hundreds of law-abiding protestors. According to SF Weekly, frustrated drivers caught in the traffic had to wait at least 10 minutes to clear the city block and—in a damning twist—were caught breaking the law themselves, weaving into oncoming traffic and dangerously gunning straight through intersections.

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“The thing you say you want—every cyclist to stop at every stop sign—you really don't want that,” protest organizer Morgan Fitzgibbons told SF Weekly. “You’re going to destroy traffic in every neighborhood that has a heavy dose of cyclists.”



What people should want, the protestors say, is adoption of the progressive “Idaho Stop Law.” In 1982, the State of Idaho enacted a law permitting cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, and red lights as stop signs. The Idaho Stop Law allows cyclists to get in front of traffic and become more visible, thereby improving their safety. There has been debate over whether the law negatively impacts safety, but statistics show no increase in cyclist injuries or fatalities in places with this law.

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