Stop? Research Published on Awareness of Bicycle Rolling Stop Laws

stop sign at intersection

October 16, 2024
School of Engineering and Applied Science

"Characterization of Expert and Public Perceptions of Bicycle Rolling Stop Laws" has been published in the . The paper's co-authors include Civil Engineering Professor Rhonda Young, Ph.D. and research student Roman Campos ('24, Civil Engineering).

The study explored public perception of bicycle rolling stop (BRS) laws, which allow bicyclists to yield at stop signs rather than coming to a complete stop. Research found that awareness of the laws was lower among non-cyclists in states where the laws were newly enacted, which indicates a need for better educational outreach.

The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Center program through the Pacific Northwest Regional University Transportation Center (PacTrans).

Transportation Safety is the primary focus of Dr. Young's Transportation Lab, part of the Civil Engineering department.

 

Young, R. K., Chang, K., Hurwitz, D., Campos, A. R., & Woodside, J. (2024). Characterization of Expert and Public Perceptions of Bicycle Rolling Stop Laws. Transportation Research Record, 2678(10), 634-647.

Abstract: In 2020, Oregon and Washington joined a growing number of states to sign up to new bicycle rolling stop (BRS) legislation that allows bicyclists to yield to pedestrians and motorists when approaching stop sign controlled intersections instead of coming to a complete, unconditional stop. The term “bicycle rolling stop” is synonymous with the “bicycle stop-then-yield” condition or the “Idaho Stop,” as first enacted in Idaho in 1982. This study involved a literature review capturing current BRS and similar laws throughout the United States, and collected and synthesized both expert and public opinions concerning BRS laws from experts and residents in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The results indicated that people were less likely to know about the laws in states where they were more recently enacted, although awareness of the laws indicated a need for broader educational outreach. The impacts of BRS laws tended to be viewed as neutral to positive among bicyclists, but mostly neutral among the broader public.