Fellow Cyclists, Laws Still Apply to Us

You may be interested to know that bicycles are still required to follow the rule of law on the road.

This includes stopping at lights and stop signs under most circumstances.

The Safety Stop does not mean “Stop Signs Don’t Ever Apply to Cyclists”.

We can treat stop signs, in specific conditions, like yield signs. This means we still have to slow down to a reasonable stopping speed, yield to pedestrians, yield to other vehicles that have the right of way, and stop with oncoming traffic. We still must stop at ALL red lights according to this.

Despite this, every single day, multiple times each way, I see numerous cyclists on my commute plowing through stops and red lights at full speed, sometimes inches away from crossing pedestrians or oncoming vehicles, often without any helmets or safety gear either.

Folks, you will lose a fight against several thousand pounds of moving metal every single time. The law is not on your side if you cause your own accident by plowing thorough signals at which you’re legally required to stop and end up getting hit.

Also, wear helmets. Your brain happens to be kinda important.