[schlumpf]

As you say, many cyclists fail to stop at signed intersections. Clearly the knowledge that "I have to stop" isn't having its desired effect. So who exactly are you worried about not complying with a relaxed standard?

Surely not the cautious people who stop at the Muni tracks on Church and Duboce while a torrent of riders streams past them across the middle of the intersection. The cautious ones already have enough common sense to observe the laws of physics.

Surely not the people whose goal is never to dab (put a foot down) between SoMa and Outer Richmond. They don't care much for stop signs -- or red lights, or lanes, or the product of mass times velocity.

So is there really a constituency of borderline nut jobs who currently observe stop signs but would suddenly turn into reckless maniacs on two wheels if yielding were "legalized"? I'm probably in this camp and I can tell you that I already roll through the Wiggle when the coast is clear...and assuming a car hasn't already waved me through. Sorry but it's hard to believe that allowing bikes to yield would turn me into a social menace.