The Bicycle Safety Stop Is Working. Should California Try Again?
This post is sponsored by Bike Legal: Bike Legal supports bringing the Bicycle Safety Stop to California because traffic laws should prevent collisions while recognizing the fundamental differences between bicycles and motor vehicles.
As attorneys who represent injured cyclists, we understand the devastating consequences of bicycle crashes. Research suggests these laws may be implemented without compromising public safety. However, any new legislation must clearly define when and where cyclists may proceed without stopping, along with the duties and right-of-way obligations of everyone sharing the road. California has an opportunity to modernize its bicycle laws while maintaining safety and accountability for all road users. Learn more about Bike Legal.
CalBike has pursued the Bicycle Safety Stop (AKA The Idaho Stop) before, and California may soon have its best chance in years to try again. In 2021, the Legislature passed AB 122, which would have allowed people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields when an intersection was clear. Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it, and a revised version was withdrawn the following year in anticipation of another veto. With a new governor taking office next year and the evidence continuing to build, the path may finally be reopening.
A 2024 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study analyzed crash records in eight metropolitan areas. It found that stop-as-yield laws were associated with lower crash rates, especially at suburban stop-controlled intersections and urban signal-controlled intersections. Researchers found no evidence that the laws increased crashes involving children or encouraged more reckless riding.
A separate UC Berkeley study compared crash data from five states with Bicycle Safety Stop laws against neighboring states without them. It found no statistically significant change in bicycle crash frequency after the laws took effect. The studies differ on whether the policy produces measurable safety gains, but neither supports the fear that allowing people on bikes to yield at clear intersections causes more crashes.
Meanwhile, more states keep moving forward. New Mexico’s law took effect in 2025, and South Carolina became the twelfth state to enact a statewide Bicycle Safety Stop this year. For longtime CalBike supporters who have persisted through years of setbacks in California, that growing map offers reason for hope.
The law reflects a simple, potent idea, self-evident to people who bike: slow down, yield to anyone with the right of way, and stop whenever safety requires it.
California has an opportunity to modernize its bicycle laws while maintaining safety and accountability for all road users.
California will have a new governor next year, creating an opening to reconsider a policy that has now worked across red states, blue states, cities, and rural communities. The research record has grown, the map has expanded, and the argument for continued hesitation has weakened. CalBike hasn’t given up on the Bicycle Safety Stop, and our hope is that California’s next governor will let it roll.
