Colorado Legislature Approves 'Idaho Stop' Bill

Another state is inching closer to allowing people on bikes to roll through stop signs and treat stop lights as stop signs: Colorado. The maneuver is known as the Idaho Stop, and it seems to gain more political and legal traction with every passing year.

"If enacted, House Bill 1028 would permit bicycles, e-scooters and other non-motorized vehicles to treat stop signs as yield signs and to treat red lights as stop signs when motorized vehicles are not around. This practice — colloquially called Idaho stops or rolling stops — lets bicyclists avoid making unnecessary stops if cars aren’t there," reports Hannah Metzger for Colorado Politics. Bill sponsor Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, is quoted in the article touting the safety benefits of the Idaho Stop.

“It’s safer for bicyclists, it’s safer for drivers [….] Bikes are more able to stay within the flow of traffic, they’re more visible and it increases safety.” -Colorado Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster.

The Colorado Legislature approved HB 1028 on March 23—the bill still awaits final changes in the state's House of Representatives and the signature of Governor Jared Polis. We won't assume it's a done deal, however. The last state to approve an Idaho Stop bill, California, saw the bill die by governor's veto in October 2021.

A separate article by Nathaniel Minor, published by CPR News, discusses the racial equity benefits of legalizing the Idaho Stop. Bike advocates in the state say the new law will keep riders of color safer from cars and the police.