Yielding – A Lot Like Stopping

Q: Is it just me, or are more cyclists running stop signs? Can you remind the bike riders to follow the law?

A: I don’t have data to support it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if more cyclists are going through intersections without stopping. And there’s a reasonable explanation why. But I won’t do what you’re asking. Or, I should say, while all of us – cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians – should follow traffic laws, what you’ve witnessed probably isn’t a violation of the law.

Back in 2020 Washington became the fifth of what are now twelve states (and District of Columbia) that have what’s commonly called a stop-as-yield law for cyclists. You can guess by the name of it what it means. Cyclists, when they approach a stop sign, can treat it like a yield sign. (This law does not change the rules at traffic lights.)

If this is the first you’ve heard of this law, you might think that sounds scary. Let me assure you, it’s actually a good idea, both for the safety of cyclists and overall traffic flow.

Despite dumb sayings like “red means stop, green means go, yellow means floor it!” stopping and yielding have a lot in common. At a yield sign drivers are required to slow down, and stop “if required for safety” to yield to vehicles that are already in the intersection or are approaching and close enough to be a hazard. Most of the stop sign law is the same, except that the stop is always required instead of “if required for safety.” You could say a stop sign is an extra-strict yield sign.

To be clear, a cyclist who blows past a yield sign without regard for other drivers is not following the stop-as-yield law. And in a crash, the law says that driving past a yield sign without stopping is evidence of failure to yield the right-of-way.

Intersections are dangerous for cyclists (and drivers). They make up a small percentage of our riding or driving time, but a third of cyclist fatalities and nearly a quarter of all traffic fatalities occur at intersections. A while back I did a little experiment and found that I got through an intersection on my bike 30 percent faster when I entered it at five mph (a typical jogging pace) instead of from a full stop. Less time in the intersection is less exposure to a risky situation. Research confirms that when riders can yield instead of stop, they get hit by cars a lot less.

Cyclists do have a couple things in their favor when dealing with intersections. They usually approach intersections at slower speeds, and they don’t have A-pillars blocking their vision. That gives cyclists more time and a better view when assessing the choice to either slow down or stop.

Although the law is primarily for safety, stop-as-yield is also good for overall traffic flow. That 30 percent I save riding through the intersection is time saved for waiting drivers too.

It’s all fine to talk about research and exposure time, but does the law actually keep cyclists safer? Simply, yes.  After Idaho passed a stop-as-yield law in 1982 (the first state to do so, making it also known as the Idaho stop), cyclist injuries in traffic crashes dropped over 14 percent. In 2017 Delaware became the second state with a similar law and their cyclist crashes at intersections fell by 23 percent. To quote transportation researcher Jason Meggs, “There is no single measure as quick and cost effective for increased and safer cycling, than to relax stopping rules for bicyclists.”