Bicyclists would be allowed to pedal past stop signs — without stopping — under legislation proposed by two lawmakers who say it would make the roads safer.

The two-tiered approach to the rules of the road — one for cyclists and one for cars — is unlikely to ease growing tensions over sharing California’s roadways.

Environmentally conscious bike advocates have won such victories in the statehouse as requiring drivers give them three feet of elbow room or face fines. Motorists meanwhile have expressed frustration that they see certain cyclists pick and choose which laws to follow.

Assemblymen Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, and Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, introduced their measure on Friday to allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as merely yield signs — proceeding with caution if conditions are safe.


In effect, it would legalize the so-called California roll, although just for bicyclists.

“It’s pretty compelling that the data supports this kind of change in the law,” said Obernolte, an avid bicyclist. “Their loss of momentum causes them to spend a substantially longer amount of time in the intersection.”

The longer it takes for a bicyclist to pass through an intersection, the greater likelihood that they’ll get hit by an oncoming vehicle, he said.

Research of a similar policy in Idaho, the only state in which bicyclists can roll through stop signs under safe conditions, found that there were fewer bike-related injuries after the law was enacted.


Under the proposed law, bicyclists would still have to stop at red lights — so Obernolte said they might be apt to to take less-traveled side roads rather than main roads with traffic signals. That could lessen congestion and boost safety.

Obernolte emphasized that bicyclists would only be allowed to go through a stop sign if it was safe, something they would have to assess as they approach the intersection.

“It’s intentionally vague because it’s left up to the discretion of the bicyclist” he said.

A spokesman for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department said he couldn’t say whether the law would increase safety or work in the reverse.


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“It’s similar to any traffic violation. It’s dependent to the area if there are serious safety concerns,” spokesman Ryan Keim said. “But our No. 1 priority is safety for bicyclists and motorists.”

While it’s technically illegal for a bicyclist to blow through a stop sign in 49 states, it’s a law that’s not always enforced. Obernolte said his legislation would mean that there’s no longer any sort of gray area about whether police officers enforce the regulation.

“There’s nothing more frustrating to the average citizen than a law that’s selectively enforced,” he said.


Of the 1,625 tickets given to bicyclists in San Diego between January 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016, some 526 citations were related to stopping and yielding, more than any other category. Another 79 were cited for not obeying a traffic device or sign, but it’s unclear whether those tickets involved a stop sign or red light.

The legislation would break the “same road, same rights, same rules” philosophy endorsed by many bicyclists, which requires people on two wheels to follow the same traffic laws as people driving on four.

This exception might be warranted, said Andy Henshaw, executive director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

“It’s hard to argue against good data like that. And sometimes in this case, it doesn’t always work to have the same roads, same rules, to apply to both cars and bikes,” he said.


There might be a temporary period of increased risks as people on bikes and motorists get used to a new rule, but it might help alleviate traffic, said bicycle courier Chris Venkus.

“I think that a lot of traffic gets held up because bicyclists are trying to follow the same laws that cars are going through,” he said. “The numbers are increasing; there are more and more bicyclists out there. It would be very wise to start looking at different bicycle laws.”

Others who make their living on bicycles think otherwise. Mo Karimi, owner of San Diego Bike Shop, said he thinks the bill is a bad idea because it will create uncertainty between motorists and bicyclists, particularly in more developed areas.

“It’s a bad idea, a safety hazard,” he said. “In city areas, that’s going to be a problem. Everybody already knows the rules.”


It would be better if police officers enforced the current law in situations in which bicyclists ride dangerously rather than amending the current statute, he said.

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Joel West, an Oceanside resident who has worked in his community on transportation issues, said the bill is a bad idea that will encourage bad habits.

If enacted, he predicts that instead of cautiously riding through stop signs, bicyclists will completely blow through them because the law gives them the discretion to determine what’s safe.


“Before I was slowing down enough so it kind of looked like I was taking it seriously,” he said. “But if I get to decide what is a reasonable speed, I am going to go through faster than ever before.”

Youngsters on bikes will be particularly at risk, he said. They haven’t developed the physical skill or the personal judgment to determine how much of a risk oncoming traffic poses, he said.

Obernolte and Ting’s bill is based on the law Idaho passed in 1982. Jason Meggs, a researcher at University of California Berkeley, compared Boise, Idaho, against Sacramento and Bakersfield and found that cycling was significantly more dangerous in the two California cities.

Sacramento and Boise, for example, have similar weather, topography, workforce, bike lanes and population. But Boise, with its stop sign law, had a 30 percent to 60 percent better injury ratios for bicyclists than Sacramento. Meggs’ study considered injuries from collisions between bicyclists and motor vehicles as well as repetitive use injuries and strains bicyclists obtain from regularly stopping and regaining momentum.


Meggs also found that Idaho’s policy reduced injury rates by 14.5 percent in the year after Idaho’s law took effect. There was no change in the number of bicycle fatalities.

An article in the transportation journal Access by Joel Fajans, a physics professor at the University of California Berkeley, and Melanie Curry, an editor at Access, found that it takes a demanding amount of energy for bicyclists to start and restart at stops, and that the additional effort encourages people to take traditional transportation.

“Accelerating from stops is strenuous, particularly since most bicyclists feel a compulsion to regain their former speed quickly. They also have to pedal hard to get the bike moving forward fast enough to avoid falling down while rapidly upshifting to get back up to speed,” they wrote.

In order to keep a high average speed, this same bicyclist will have to pedal harder, possibly becoming worn out and sweaty on their way to work. If they don’t have access to a shower at their job, they might not choose to ride, they wrote.


Colorado legislators are considering a law similar to Idaho’s after a state senator introduced legislation earlier this year. Lawmakers in Arizona, Montana, Oregon and Minnesota have introduced comparable laws in past years.

Twitter: @jptstewart


joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

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