This is called an Idaho stop, because it’s the law in Idaho. Other states have tried to pass this, but without success, as far as I know. Here in Oregon, when it was proposed, a bunch of police chiefs and sheriffs came out and claimed it would cause more accidents. Which was mostly a lie. What they really objected to was losing a club to hold over cyclists.
BTW, the cyclists blowing through red lights without stopping would still be illegal under this law, as would blowing through a stop sign when there’s cross traffic. A lot of people, when this is proposed, think that that’s is being made legal.
We recently got the law passed that would allow cyclists and motorbikes to procede through a left turn red light if it appears it can’t detect the vehicle. The only problem with it is that it requires the rider to wait through three cycles of the go-straight light. This seems to assume that that is a fixed time which I don’t think it true. From my observation, if no traffic comes to go-straight lanes, they never get a green. At any rate, I know which traffic lights can’t detect my bike and if no cars come along to trip the sensor, I just wait for there to be no traffic and go then. I do this on straight-ahead situations as well as left turn.
I have seen crossings in SoCal that indicate where a bike is supposed to stop to trigger green light–it’s a white stripe with a bicycle icon in the middle of the lane. Don’t know how they work, I would have guessed induction–get the metal frame over the most sensitive spot.
Here in Minnesota, they just installed blinking yellow left turn arrows to remind people that they shouldn’t turn directly into oncoming traffic, so by all means, let’s not give them the idea that maybe they should drive through a red light if they don’t think cross traffic is going to be a problem.
Also in SoCal (maybe elsewhere too) it is common for 2-3 cars to complete a left turn after the light turns red, because the oncoming cars continue into the intersection after the light has turned; you could never turn left otherwise. I don’t think it’s legal but I think the cops will just wink at it because otherwise you could never make the turn.
I agree. I need a cite that shows damage to cars when they properly slow.
That shouldn’t be read to mean that speed bumps are always the best solution or even necessarily a good one. But I haven’t heard of excessive damage being the issue.
No, it’s the rims of the wheels. At least that’s how it works when you put your wheel on the large circle where they bury the induction loop. But if your rims don’t have enough metal, they don’t work for either one. That’s the case for an intersection near my house. At one time, I could put my tire on the circle and get a green. Then I had to replace the wheels on the bike and the new ones don’t have enough metal. They’ve even put stripes such as you describe, and they don’t work there either. It’s one of a couple intersections where I occasionally have to run the light. Not very often; there’s usually some traffic.
You’re no doubt right. I was just going by what I heard in the news. I think three was the initial proposal, but it appears they changed it before voting.
Well, of course if you slow down to well belwo the speed limit, you’re safe. But at posted speeds, that can damage your cars:
*Speed bumps measure up to 6 feet long, forcing serious speed reduction. Vehicles’ front wheels pass over the bump entirely before the rear wheels pass over—causing the driver to effectively experience two bumps. This requires drivers to slow to a near-stop to pass over them safely and comfortably.
Speed hump precautions
Although speed humps have been proven to reduce speed and make neighborhoods safer, some critics claim that they can cause damage to vehicles, increase emergency response time, and increase traffic noise. Fortunately, many of these issues can be mitigated through proper speed cushion planning.
Vehicle damage
There is potential for speed humps to damage the undercarriage of vehicles, particularly if the vehicles are lowered. There are several methods that urban planners can use to mitigate any potential damage:
Placement
Speed humps should be placed on level roads as a change in incline can make the hump functionally higher. Other considerations should include placement relative to intersections, driveways, manholes, streetlights, and curbs.
Material
Rubber and plastic speed humps cause less damage to vehicles. Rubber will compress under impact, and plastic will sustain damage before there is any damage to the car. Concrete and metal speed humps are more likely to cause damage because of their lack of flexibility.
* http://www.iaea-online.org/news/2015/01/speed-bumps-cost-drivers-£250.aspx
*Speed bumps cost drivers £250
Motorists living in areas where roads are ‘calmed’ by speed bumps are more likely to have to pay an average £250 repair bill for broken suspension, cracked exhaust systems and smashed trim on their cars
These are the findings of a national car leasing company that says local authorities should instead invest in alternative measures to slow down traffic rather than those which punish drivers.
The Flexed.co.uk company says that many housing estates are still living with the legacy of ill-thought out speed bumps installed years ago that inflict regular damage on residents’ cars in attempts to make them drive slower.
‘Speed bumps are out-dated and it’s pretty much accepted that they don’t make a great deal of difference,’ said Flexed spokesperson Mark Hall.
‘Spend any amount of time on a road with old ‘full-width’ speed bumps, and you’ll see cars going hell for leather between them, only slowing down to cross the obstacle.’
• A study published by Warranty Direct in October 2014 found that the average bill for damage caused by speed bumps was £247, with drivers of some makes looking at bills of over £1,000.
• Even cars with the most robust of suspension systems built by Honda, Toyota and Isuzu have a one-in-thirty chance of suffering suspension damage because of speed bumps and potholes, the same study said.* http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/Research/roadhump/
*If not installed properly and property damage or personal injury occur, the installing agency may be held liable. In fact, many California courts have held public agencies liable for damage and/or injury resulting from both speed humps and speed bumps. *
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-947X(1985)111:4(410)
Abstract Speed (road) bumps are controversial. Despite their effectiveness as a speed deterrent device, the use has not been widespread in the United States. A majority of traffic professionals are strongly opposed to the use of these bumps on public right‐of‐way. Liability and safety remain the primary concerns. The current trend is to use “humps” instead of “bumps” which are flatter.
In San Jose it is so bad that they have changed the timing of the lights. at many intersections when the lights are changing for several seconds all light are red. Many a time I have slid through on the just red light and has 3 to 5 cars behind me come through, and I do not mean on my bumper behind me, the is a gap between cars.
When I was ridding to and from work 30 years ago I kept track of others on bikes. And noticed if they were obeying the traffic laws. My count was normaly 90% did not.
And the number of motorists? Remember speeding, rolling through stops, failure to signal, unsafe lane changes, and not watching the road are all breaking traffic laws too, and it’s much more dangerous when they do it. But whatever, 30 year old anecdotes are just as good as data nowadays.
I never treat riding a bike on the road differently from driving a car. Sometimes people totally don’t see a bike. Would being T-boned by a car be better that way?
I’ve noticed in Raleigh that in some places there are looong red lights if you’re not going the busiest way. That seems to make sense, but can be frustrating. I have to walk across one of those occasionally. I know it’s not really 15 minutes . . .
When there just happens to be no cars coming I’m lame and still wait. Can I not wait 10 more seconds for some reason?
I agree, it pisses me off too. If you’ve already stopped for the red light, why do you care whether you start moving again in 5 seconds instead of 15? I think it’s silly to risk an accident just to save the extra 10 seconds that it would take to wait for the light to turn green. As for stop signs, the purpose is to make you pause and check for cross traffic before proceeding. At 12-15 mph, it’s easy to see the cross traffic (or lack thereof) several seconds before you reach the intersection, therefore it really isn’t necessary to stop and waste your momentum for no reason. IMHO, the cyclist should at least cease pedaling for a few seconds when approaching a stop sign. Even better, downshift and apply the brakes. But I’ll forgive a “rolling stop”.
Yep, I was watching a San Jose bike rally and there was a group of young men, dressed all in black, with no lights, reflectors or anything. When I asked why, they replied- in all seriousness: “you can’t hit what you can’t see!” :eek::rolleyes:
Cyclists rarely pay any attention to traffic laws, but then they bitch and moan and want taxpayer money wasted on bike lanes- which they refuse to use. In SF, they ride on the sidewalk instead of the bike lane.
Much as bicycle riders often piss me off, in San Francisco so many cars are doubled parked in bicycle lanes I don’t blame them in some places. But it’s not a problem I’ve had as I’ve walked all over the city.
There’s one right outside my house, which is on a hill, which I regularly hear vehicles coming down the hill scrape over. You can even see deep scratches and paint streaks on the top of the bump. It’s number 4 of a series of 5 bumps, so cars are already going pretty slow. My car’s high enough to go over fine, but it’s not just the boy racers with the lowered vehicles, it’s just too high, especially on a hill.
The other issue with a lot of the UK ones is that, presumably because people complained about damage to cars, a lot of them are smaller ones, that if you go carefully, your car straddles the bump and you don’t go over. Like these. What this means is that motorcyclists wind up in the middle of the road trying to avoid them, and they’re incidentally a pain in a 3-wheeler.
PS, a car hit the bump outside as I was typing. Didn’t sound like it was going fast.