Bicycling

The Physics and the Ethics of the Rolling Stop

In 1982, the state of Idaho legalized the "rolling stop," an adjustment to the rules of the road that lets cyclists treat stop signs as yield signs without becoming scofflaws. Nearly three decades later, the rule has a demonstrated track record of safety, but Idaho is still the only state with such a law. Maybe not much longer. Bike advocates in Oregon are working feverishly this week to gain passage of an "Idaho Stop" law of their own. Via BikePortland, this animation by Spencer Boomhower makes a compelling and visually dazzling case for the idea.

By Ben Fried

4:02 PM EDT on April 16, 2009

In 1982, the state of Idaho legalized the “rolling stop,” an adjustment to the rules of the road that lets cyclists treat stop signs as yield signs without becoming scofflaws. Nearly three decades later, the rule has a demonstrated track record of safety, but Idaho is still the only state with such a law. Maybe not much longer. Bike advocates in Oregon are working feverishly this week to gain passage of an “Idaho Stop” law of their own. Via BikePortland, this animation by Spencer Boomhower makes a compelling and visually dazzling case for the idea.

Ben Fried

Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

Bicycling

Comments Are Temporarily Disabled

Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.

Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.