A bill seeking to allow bicyclists to roll through stop signs and red lights crashed in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday.
It voted 2-3 to reject HB161, which earlier passed the House by a large 53-20 margin.
Rep. Carol Moss, D-Holladay, the bill’s sponsor, argued it would improve safety by allowing bicyclist to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs — allowing cyclist to roll through a controlled intersection if no other traffic is present.
She said most bike accidents occur at intersections, and allowing cyclists to keep up some speed and cross through them quickly if clear is safer — and most cyclists do it anyway. She said Idaho has had a similar law for years, and found no increase in accidents or fatalities.
But Jason Davis, deputy director of the Utah Department of Transportation, opposed the bill. He said the safest time to cross through an intersection is when it is green.
He noted the Legislature a few years ago passed another bill to allow cyclists to go through red lights after waiting 90 seconds and they believe the signal has not detected them, if they ensure it is safe to cross.
Sen. Ronald Winterton, R-Vernal, said, “Everyone that is on the road has to obey the same laws. When we start differentiating from that, now we cause problems.”
He added if cyclists are allowed to roll through red lights or stop signs, “Most motorists will probably agree it’s a hazard to them.”
Of note, the House also passed a bill to allow vehicles to go through red lights — if they first stop, wait 90 seconds, determine the signal did not detect them, then proceed when the coast is clear. It is awaiting action in the Senate.
