| I used to ride my bicycle to work most days. I like to ride. I am all for "a bicycle is a vehicle", but I still think this adjustment makes sense. Being able to treat a stoplight like a stop sign is great. It's pretty common for stoplight sensors to not detect bicycles. It's also common for polite folks in cars to stop far enough behind a bicycle that their cars don't get sensed. It's not a good feeling to sit on the sensor loop, watching the walk lights cycle and reset, knowing that if you don't run a red or walk out of the intersection, you'll be stuck. As for treating a stop sign like a yield sign, I agree with a lot of other posters who come citing sources: bicycles move slower and are at a lot of risk from cars coming up from behind. It's not about the extra effort to get started (though in a hilly place, I could see that being a problem for some riders). As a cyclist, bike safety is hard. You're squishable and very aware of it, surrounded by big, fast, solid cars whose drivers often aren't paying close attention. As a driver, bike safety is hard. A lot of drivers get weird around bikes (e.g., they yield the right-of-way when they shouldn't). Cyclists often aren't well-trained in the rules of the road. And the rules of the road often force bikes and cars to intersect in ways that aren't ideal. So I think making it clear that yes, bikes are vehicles, but making a few exceptions to improve safety by reducing the chance of bicycles getting unintentionally hit from behind--seems like a win to me! |