Here's the law. Given this, and the sheer number of cars and other people on the road, Idaho Stops should be relatively rare. Code of the District of Columbia § 50–2201.04d. Riders' safe crossing at intersections. (a) A rider approaching a stop sign may go straight through the intersection or make a turn without stopping; provided, that the rider: (1) Is travelling at an appropriate speed to reasonably assess and avoid hazards; (2) Determines there is no immediate hazard; and (3) Yields the right-of-way to pedestrians and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection. |
There's no objective evidence that says that. MPD hasn't enforced traffic laws in years and has never enforced them against bicyclists. Instead of spening money on any of this crap we should just restart traffic enforcement against everyone. |
I'll take dumb hyperbole for $100. The police tell us that there's fewer than 10 traffic deaths in DC per year caused by speeding drivers. There's typically a half million cars in DC on any given day, so that would suggest that nearly all drivers are actually driving pretty safely. |
Unless you have proof of the bolded phrase, it would be illegal, and the public filings for WABA dispel this lie, so please stop repeating it. |
because pedestrians sit waiting at intersections until there aren't any cars, to cross |
And how many are caused by speeding bikers? And how many injuries and ER visits are caused by speeding drivers compared to speeding bikers? |
a few years back, some guy posted a video of every car coming to the stop sign at the intersection of Porter and Williamsburg Lane in Cleveland Park over 15 or 20 minutes in the middle of the day. Only two or three cars actually stopped while most of the rest did what can best be described as a California roll. |
It has only gotten worse, despite the claims of the pro-driving crew here. |
Bicyclists either don’t understand how Idaho stops work or they dont care |
Most of the time I see drivers blow through the stop sign, it's true, there's no one else at the intersection — so the chances of a traffic death happening are miniscule. And I don't know how many of them are speeding, which is actually the stat you're mentioning (not running a stop sign), because I don't have a radar gun. Maybe you think cars should also be able to do the Idaho stop at stop signs? That's fine, I guess, as long as they can do it safely. |
They're not that rare in residential neighborhoods outside of rush hour. I can usually get about a mile from my house before I approach an intersection with a stop sign at the same time as a pedestrian or another vehicle on my bike. (Traffic lights obviously are different.) By definition, the only people who really would know if most Idaho stops are being performed correctly are the cyclists doing the stopping; if there was someone else at the intersection, it wouldn't be legal. So the fact that we don't see people doing them right doesn't really prove that no one does. FWIW, I always stop at stop signs on my bike if there are others at the intersection, though a lot of drivers seem to expect me not to and try to waive me to go. That may be an indication of typical cyclist behavior, or maybe they think they need to yield to bikes, or maybe they're trying to be helpful (though once I stop, I may as well wait for every car at an intersection to go, even if I have right of way). |
Yes, I bet this happens all the time exactly as you describe it. |
Or.. you know, do what I do now which is cruise toward a red light while watching the walk counter count down and then start pedaling when the one on my side is about to tick off so I can go with the leading pedestrian signal. Pisses off some of the motorists though, because that stops them from speeding to the red light just to stop. |
Are you that fellow from Sedgwick Gardens who "rides 400 miles a month"? The one who, if taken at face value, it walking proof that you can't outride a bad diet? |
Why would you want to piss anyone off, let alone boast about being an ahole. Putting aside the safety implications, it's just very sad. |