DENVER, Colo. (KDVR) — Colorado bicyclists and scooter operators can now roll through stop signs in certain situations, under a new bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jared Polis.
That bill, known as the “Safety Stop Bill,” allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs if they already have the right of way.
Cyclists will also be able to continue through red lights after stopping and yielding to both right-of-way traffic and to pedestrians.
“I definitely just used it on my way here,” said David Chen. “It was awesome, it was great.”
Chen used a cargo bike to commute around Denver, even picking up and dropping off his kids at school.
He told FOX31 that intersections are often the most dangerous portion of his journey, in part because of drivers turning.
“A driver might be looking left to turn right, and not looking at the right mirror to see if there’s a cyclist next to them,” he said. “So this gives us the option to proceed forward and avoid that type of interaction.”
Chen said drivers will barely notice the new law since cyclists will only be able to perform a safety stop if there is no other traffic coming from the right-of-way.
“If there’s already a driver who wants to proceed through the intersection, who’s already there, we have to stop just like before,” said Chen.
Here’s the full text of the bill:
- When approaching a stop sign, if it is safe to proceed, the person may, after slowing to a reasonable speed of 15 mph or less, or 10 or 20 miles per hour or less if so specified by the municipality or county for a particular intersection and marked with appropriate signage, and yielding the right-of-way to any traffic or pedestrian in or approaching the intersection, continue through the intersection without stopping; and
- When approaching an illuminated red traffic control signal, the person must first stop at the intersection and yield to all other traffic and pedestrians and then, when safe to do so, may proceed straight or make a right turn through the intersection or, subject to specified conditions, make a left turn onto a one-way street only.