DENVER — Colorado’s new law permitting bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs was not universally well-received, despite claims made by supporters calling it a common-sense measure that will make streets safer.
Bicycle safety advocates say the so-called Safety Stop law codifies what has been common practice by many bike riders, arguing that it makes bicycling safer because most automobile-bicycle crashes occur in intersections. News reports covering the new law triggered harsh comments from motorists already annoyed by what they perceive as scofflaw behavior by cyclists.
Edwin Kramer of Highlands Ranch, 69, sees the law as a “disaster in the making” because some bicyclists “feel they own the roads.” Kramer is a bicyclist too.
