It looks like Oklahoma cyclists have found a way to be even more annoying.
Yesterday, News on 6 reported about a bill in the Oklahoma legislature that will make it legal for bicyclists to float through stop signs. I'm not sure if it has a name or not, but I'm going to call it the "Death to Oklahoma Cyclists Act."
Via News on 6:
A bill in the Oklahoma legislature would allow bicyclists to roll through stop signs if the intersection is clear.
It’s already cleared its first major hurdle in Committee.
It’s called the "Idaho Stop," a law first created in Idaho to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs.
People who support the bill in Oklahoma say it will keep traffic moving; those against it don't think it's fair for cyclists to breeze through intersections.
That's nice. Once again, it's good to see our Oklahoma legislators doing work that matters. I know when I'm driving up and down May or Penn, the first thing that pops in my head when swerving to avoid a bicyclist in a speedo is "Wouldn't it be nice if these people had fewer traffic laws to obey and follow ?"
News on 6 talked to some cyclists who think the law is a great idea:
Ross Snider and several of his friends at the Tulsa Bicycle Club meet twice a week and average more than 30-miles through county roads, city streets, and highway shoulders.
They also have to ride through tons of intersections with stop signs and traffic lights.
A new bill going through the Oklahoma House of Representatives would allow cyclists to yield at stop signs if nobody else is going through the intersection.
"You will have to look to make sure it's all clear," Snider said.
These guys bring up some good points. Stopping frequently is annoying in a car, so I bet it's even worse while on a bike. I guess float through all the damn stop signs you want! I just ask that the cyclists not whine and complain after they accidentally run into that moving car. You know, if they're still alive.
Seriously, I know the Yield sign was invented in Oklahoma and this law would pay homage to those roots, but this takes things too far. It's almost like our diabolical legislature is trying to make it easier to injure cyclists. What law are they going to pass next? Ban helmets and reflectors? Let cyclists float through red traffic lights?
Actually....
The bill also looks at traffic lights. In some situations, cyclists can never get the lights to change because the sensors don't recognize them waiting in the lane.
"If you have a carbon fiber or titanium bike, you can't trigger a lot of the stop lights. Some of them you just have to sit at because you can't trigger, so that would be a big help," said Snider.
Adam Vanderburg and his group, Oklahoma Bike Coalition, want the bill to pass.
"It requires no money, it's just a commonsense law. There's no appropriations, it's just a matter of changing the law," Vanderburg said.
Yeah, it's a commonsense law... to let cyclists legally disobey the rules of the road and increase their risk of injury or death.
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