MVA Reform: Allow Stop as Yield for People Cycling
Image: CTV News
Recommendation No. 11: HUB Cycling recommends amending the British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act to allow a stop as yield rule for people cycling at stop signs. This change would let people cycling slow to a safe speed, confirm the intersection is clear and proceed without coming to a complete stop when there is no cross traffic.
The complete list of HUB Cycling's MVA Reform Recommendations is available online here.
↓ Download the PDF version here (2024).
Rationale
People cycling are not the same as people driving vehicles and do not pose the same level of risk to people walking. Under the current Motor Vehicle Act, people on bicycles must come to a full stop at stop signs even when there is no cross traffic. For many people cycling this is impractical because of the physical effort required to come to a complete stop and to start up again.
Allowing stop as yield would help people cycling stay upright and keep moving through intersections when it is safe to do so. The right of way rules would remain in place and intersection safety would be preserved. Oregon introduced stop as yield in 2020 and several other jurisdictions in North America have similar rules.
Removing impractical requirements can also improve equity by reducing the potential for unequal enforcement and racial profiling when police enforce behaviour that is not realistic for people cycling.
Supporting factors
- Research )Safety relevant driver and bicyclist behaviours resulting from bicycling rolling stops observed in a networked driving and bicycling simulator) shows that treating stop signs as yield for people cycling does not increase risk.
- People cycling expend a lot of energy coming to a complete stop and then starting again.
- Yielding instead of stopping reduces the time people cycling spend in the intersection and helps reduce exposure to conflict.
- People cycling do not pose the same hazard to others as people driving vehicles weighing thousands of pounds.
- Other jurisdictions that allow stop as yield include Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Delaware, Arkansas and Colorado.
Evidence and related information
Starting in 2020, the ‘Stop as Yield’ law (Oregon Senate Bill 998) went into effect in Oregon. The law allows people biking to treat a stop sign or flashing red light as a yield sign. A person riding a bike may now proceed through a stop controlled intersection without coming to a full stop.
See Oregon’s Stop As Yield Law Information, Introduced in 2020.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fact sheet on "Bicyclist Yield As Stop" laws (commonly known as the Idaho Stop or Bicycle Safety Stop) provides data supporting the safety benefits of allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs.
See When Stop as Yield introduced, appeared to reduce injuries (PDF).
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Join HUB Cycling’s advocacy effort to reform the outdated Motor Vehicle Act so that people walking, cycling, and rolling are protected, respected, and valued.
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Together, we can build a culture where our transportation system works for people, not just vehicles.
Interviews and media coverage
Media interviews with HUB Cycling staff and spokespeople discussing research on rolling stops were published in September 2024. Highlights include print and video coverage where the latest studies and local implications were discussed.
CTV News: Study backs ‘rolling stop’ for bikes at B.C. intersections
A rolling stop is technically illegal, though widely socially acceptable and not often enforced. According to a recent study out of the U.S., for cyclists it isn’t more dangerous if they’re doing a rolling stop than a full stop. Jack Morse has more in the video below:
CTV News: Should cyclists have to obey stop signs? B.C. advocates pushing for 'rolling stops'.
By Andrew Weichel
"It's important to remember that people riding bicycles are not the same as people riding motor vehicles, and they do not pose the same risk to other road users – especially to people walking," said Navdeep Chhina, HUB's director of campaigns and inclusion. Continue reading here.
CBC News: Stop or yield? New research supports law change for cyclists.
Cycling advocates in B.C. say they've been pushing the issue for years and hope a new study from researchers at Oregon State University, published this month in an academic transportation journal, will aid their argument.
"It is going at a very slow pace and we need to take dramatic, bold steps that will enable us to reform these outdated laws and have more people … cycling," said Navdeep Chhina, director of campaigns and inclusion with Metro Vancouver's HUB Cycling.
WATCH | How cyclists in Vancouver handle stop signs at intersections:
CityNews: Study backs ‘rolling stop’ for bikes at intersections as group pushes B.C. to legalize it
By Mike Lloyd
Studies and experience have shown the bicycle rolling stop (BSR) is actually safer and more efficient for everyone if bike riders treat stop signs like yield signs.
“People cycling come to the intersection, slow down and, if it is safe, they can continue on without coming to a complete stop,” explained Navdeep Chhina, director of campaigns and inclusion at HUB Cycling in Vancouver. “It decreases the amount of time they will spend in the intersection and, as a result, makes it safer for everyone involved.” Continue reading here.