Roads not more dangerous when cyclists allowed to roll through stop signs, researchers suggest

Researchers in the US state of Oregon have said their work suggests allowing cyclists to roll through stop signs does not have a negative impact on road safety.

The research, the results of which have been published in an at-length piece by Oregon news website OregonLive, was undertaken by researchers from Oregon State University and David S.Hurwitz, the director of the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Research, with input from academics in Idaho and Washington. These are two other states where cyclists are permitted to roll through stop signs, but should yield to other traffic if necessary, rather than always coming to a full stop like motorists and required to.

Dubbed the 'Idaho stop' due to the north-western US state first introducing the yield rule in 1982, Oregon and Washington have followed suit in recent years, with cyclists required to stop at solid red traffic lights but allowed roll through flashing red lights and stop signs legally and not required to come to a complete stop.

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The research involved interviews with transport officials, law enforcement and pro-cycling figures, as well as conducting a lab study using a bike attached to a static trainer and set up to a simulator, allowing the researchers to observe people driving and cycling in an urban environment.

And while the researchers were keen to point out a "need for increased awareness" around the rolling stop laws, Hurzwitz told the local news site that "folks should feel reasonably confident that the implementation of these laws is not going to generate significant decreases in safety".

Perhaps proving the education part, 60 per cent of 80 motorists and cyclists involved in the lab study part of the research were unaware of the rolling stop laws. Their behaviour was tracked before and after a seminar on the law, with participants driving or cycling two routes on the real-world simulator, completing another two runs after their educational intermission.

Almost 70 per cent of the driving participants said they worried about cyclist safety at intersections having been told about the law.

Hurwitz noted that having knowledge of the rolling stop law did not mean cyclists suddenly raced through gaps and in front of traffic they should yield to, while he suggested that drivers had increased visual attention of cyclists at the junctions as a result of knowing the law too.

Driving and cycling behaviours either remained the same or improved when people were informed of the law and cyclists "did not contribute to dangerous behaviours" when rolling stops were permitted.

"We look at that as quite a positive outcome," Hurwitz told OregonLive.

The study did note that cyclist speeds at junctions increased when they had knowledge of the rolling stop law, something the researchers said was likely due to being "more comfortable and efficient" at navigating intersections without stopping, something it was noted could make traffic flow more efficient.

However, the researchers did come back to the same point about more education of the law being needed as higher speeds travelling through junctions "could lead to higher crash risks if bicyclists do not yield appropriately".

In 2015, cycling campaigners in London suggested adopting the 'Idaho Stop' at traffic lights would be a cheaper and simpler solution to technology which allows cyclists to turn lights green when they approach.

The comments from Stop Killing Cyclists came after the Danish city of Aarhus announced it would be testing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags attached to a bicycle's front wheel which would communicate with upcoming lights and change them green for cyclists.

While some campaign groups were excited by the prospect of the technology coming to London, Stop Killing Cyclists said: "Whilst well-intentioned, this is a very expensive and slow way of using technology to introduce what effectively is called the Idaho Law.

"This law at very low expense would require cyclists in London to treat red lights as 'yield right of way' signs, allowing them to turn left when there is no traffic or pedestrians. This would benefit drivers also as it would reduce cycling congestion at junctions."