Stop sign?

Cyclists could slow, yield if clear.

Stop light?

Cyclists could stop. Look. Go when clear.

That’s the “Idaho Stop”

A vehicle traffic law first practiced in Idaho now has years and years of data behind it that prove allowing cyclists to keep moving actually makes the road safer for them and for drivers.

This year the in New York Assembly and Senate, a similar law is on the table, and as always, it needs your support. If you cycle often, you know this is common sense, but that doesn’t mean your elected officials do. You have to speak up.

Below is more reasons to get behind the bill, and contact information for your elected reps to see it move forward – all from our friends at partners in the statewide Safe Streets Coalition.

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“Idaho Stop” bill would allow cyclists to treat lights as stop signs and stop signs as yields.

Letting cyclists enter an intersection before a light turns green gets them out of truck driver’s blind spots and around vehicles blocking bike lanes—two principal causes of cyclist fatalities.

So please take two minutes to write an email, we’ve penned most of it below.

 
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Email Subject Line:
Please pass A3986/S2643 to make cycling safer and easier across New York
Email Body:
Dear [Assemblymember/Senator]
[On behalf of Cycling Organization’s ### members,] I ask you support passage of the Idaho Stop:
A3986/S2643 (“Idaho Stop”) would amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law (V&TL) to allow cyclists to a) treat a stop light as a stop sign and b) a stop sign as a yield sign.  Permitting cyclists to enter an intersection before a light turns green gets them out of truck drivers’ blind spots and around blocked bike lanes ahead of traffic—two principal causes of cyclist fatalities.  Allowing cyclists to yield at stop signs will allow DOT’s to feature secondary roads when creating bicycle master plans.
In 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Council concluded that “bicycle stop-as-yield laws enhanced cyclist safety in states where they were evaluated and may positively affect the environment traffic and transportation.”   See Talking Points, Supporters.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Title]
[Your Organization]

Send to:

Senate Transportation Chair Timothy M. Kennedy – kennedy@nysenate.gov
Senate Rules Chair Michael N. Gianaris – gianaris@nysenate.gov
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins – scousins@nysenate.gov
Assembly Transportation Chair William B. Magnarelli – magnarw@nyassembly.gov
Assembly Codes Chair Jeffrey Dinowitz – dinowij@nyassembly.gov
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie – speaker@nyassembly.gov
Your State Assembly Member – https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/