"Idaho Stop" Law Takes Effect in New Mexico on July 1st. Know the Rules

 On July 1st, Senate Bill 73, the Idaho Stop bill, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Lujan-Grisham, takes effect. This allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs.  Thus at a stop sign a cyclist can slow down, look, and proceed into an intersection if it is safe to do so without coming to a full stop. Likewise, bicyclists can treat red lights as stop signs. A cyclist will not have to wait through a full red light cycle or languish at a traffic-actuated light that fails to sense a bicyclist. In either case, the cyclist can proceed if the way is clear.  The NM Political Reporter covered this a while ago, but just in case some missed it, here is a reminder.

 The operative phrase here is "you can proceed through a stop sign after slowing, observing and yielding if necessary, or proceed through a red light after stopping and checking for traffic and go if it is safe to do so". This doesn't create a carte blanche situation where a cyclist can proceed without yielding right of way to traffic that does not have a stop sign, or traffic with the green light. So don't compete for the Darwin Award. 

 Also, be aware that various signalized intersections have multiple right of way phases for straight through and turning traffic. So even if traffic stops in one direction, turning traffic may get a green arrow while traffic not conflicted with the green arrow can proceed. So don't jump the gun and end up as a hood ornament. Know how the traffic light cycles work before you enter the intersection. That may mean studying signalized intersections on your usual routes. 

 There are various articles out there on this law as it applied in other states (and the laws vary from state to state), so I won't belabor the point here. There are no data showing this increases crashes. In fact, some data show a correlation with fewer crashes.  

 Be aware of the law, and if someone asks, be prepared to explain the new law. I suspect a lot of people will say "huh?"

 And as always, let's be careful out there.