BILL NUMBER: S639
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the opera-
tion of bicycles at stop signs and traffic-control signals
 
PURPOSE:
This bill allows cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign, and a
red light as a stop sign.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends the vehicle and traffic law to lay out procedures to
allow persons operating bicycles to treat stop signs as yield signs
(after yielding to vehicles, other cyclists, and pedestrians) and to
treat red lights as stop signs.
Section 2: effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
A safe transportation system is a people-centered transportation system.
In order to build a truly inclusive multi-modal transportation system,
New York State must recognize that not all modes of transportation oper-
ate on the sample principles and need to be governed by identical laws.
Under current state law, bicyclists are largely expected to use roads as
if they were driving a car. This creates a system where drivers and
cyclists can feel as if they are at odds with one another, with both
sides uncertain of the best options available to them to maximize their
safety as they go to work, run errands, or otherwise go about their day.
With some simple changes in our state's laws, we can significantly
enhance bicyclist safety. One important change is the so-called "Idaho
Stop" (also known as 'stop-as-yield' laws), which allows cyclists to
read stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs. Research
shows that these laws allow cyclists to manage their risk to their
advantage by reducing their need to stop and go. According to the
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, by enacting this
law in 1982, Idaho saw an immediate reduction in cyclist injuries from
vehicle traffic. When a limited version was enacted in Delaware, traffic
crashes involving cyclists at stop signs fell by almost 1/4. In state
after state that implement the Idaho stop, cyclist safety has increased.
Such laws do not negate a cyclist's responsibility to yield to other
traffic at intersections or otherwise respect traffic safety. Rather,
they acknowledge that bicycles operate different from cars and so treats
the safety of people on bicycles in slightly different ways.
The result is safer roads, better cycling conditions, and a hopeful
expansibif of bicycling. To quote from a NHTSA memo: "When bicyclists
can maintain a safe but precautionary momentum through an intersection,
it allows continuous traffic flow." That is why NHTSA's acting adminis-
trator, Ann Carlson, called for states to legalize the Idaho stop at a
2022 conference.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024 - S.2643 (May) / A.3986 (Fahy) Passed Assembly
2021-2022 - S.920 (May) / A.3104 (Fahy)
2019-2020 - S.7026 (May) / A.9123 (Fahy)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after becoming law.