Agenda Summary
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That the Chief of Police adopt a policy of de-prioritizing enforcement against cyclists who treat red lights as stop signs when it is safe to do so (the “Idaho Stop”) in recognition of the compelling United States Department of Transportation data supporting this practice.
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Official Text
WHEREAS: Somerville should prioritize its public safety resources according to a fact-based understanding of road safety; AND
WHEREAS: In March, 2022, the United States Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a Fact Sheet which concluded that “many States have enacted bicyclist stop-as-yield laws to enhance safety and protect cyclists. Based upon the current research and data available, these laws show added safety benefits for bicyclists in States where they were evaluated, and may positively affect the environment, traffic, and transportation.”; AND
WHEREAS: Idaho first legalized the so-called “Idaho Stop” in 1982, which allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, and red lights as stop signs, when no pedestrians are present, and observed a 14.5% decrease in cyclist injuries from crashes the following year; AND
WHEREAS: Since that time, seven other states have legalized this practice, and data analysis based on these states shows consistent improvements in public safety; AND
WHEREAS: Such laws “do not negate a bicyclist’s responsibility to yield to other traffic before crossing an intersection or to follow all work zone traffic rules,” and furthermore “a naturalistic study of bicyclists in Florida’s Tampa Bay area found that bicyclists highly complied with general traffic rules (88.1% in the daytime, 87.5% at night). In contrast, drivers were mostly noncompliant with the law on yielding to bicyclists’ right-of-way... Additionally, there is no evidence showing bicyclist stop-as-yield laws have increased bike conflicts with other bikes or pedestrians,” according to this U.S. DOT Fact...
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