‘Idaho Stop Law’ to take effect Aug. 1

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Legislature passed the transportation spending bill into law.

Included in that bill is a measure often referred to as the ‘Idaho Stop Law,’ which allows bicyclists to yield at stop signs instead of coming to a complete stop.

This law was first established in Idaho, hence the name, in 1982. Since then, more than 10 states have adopted it, including Minnesota.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it’s meant to improve safety, citing that in both Idaho and Delaware, there was a decrease in intersection crashes involving bicyclists after this law took effect.

Nick Miller, a board member with We Bike Rochester, says, “it’s common sense update to bicycling laws. It allows bicycles to operate a whole lot more like the flow of traffic would devise. People who are moving slower on bicycles than those that are in cars, they have better visibility at the intersection and it’s just really common sense update.”

In the state of Minnesota, this law would still require bicyclists to come to a complete stop at a red traffic light.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to sign the transportation bill into law, and when he does, the ‘Idaho Stop Law’ will take effect Aug. 1, 2023.