8am: The ride from my house to campus is one that I have timed down to the minute. I approached a three-way stop sign in my neighborhood, where I go straight. I saw the officer parked near the sign, so I slowed down as I approached the stop sign, and looked around several times (I do this regardless if there is a police officer there, I just made a point to exaggerate my motions).

There was nobody around in any direction, so I rolled through the stop sign. Keep in mind, also, that it snowed a few inches last night and the roads were really icy. Many automobiles roll stop signs in these conditions for fear of skidding, and it is often a suitable explanation.

Anyway, he pulled me over. I was not cited, which I suppose was pretty cool of him considering all the shenanigans in this town as of late. He asked for my ID which I didn’t have to give him because you don’t need to carry a license to ride a bike. But I gave it to him anyway, and he ran it to see if I warrants…etc.

He said I have to obey all the same laws that cars to. He said I have to come to a complete stop.

I said I didn’t come to a complete stop, but I did slow way down; I looked around and proceeded to slowly roll the stop sign because it was clear to me that there was nobody coming from any direction, and the roads are icy. Seriously, the officer and I were the only ones on the road.

He said that I did the same thing yesterday. I didn’t respond to how creepy that sounded (am I being watched? Or did he just happen to be on the lookout and noticed me?).

I was a little snarky with him because I was already late and I thought it was really stupid to be pulled over…I asked him, sarcastically, if he was having a slow morning.

I asked him if he was familiar with the “Idaho-stop” bill Arizona is reintroducing this year. Many states are introducing this bill and it’s been in the books in Idaho for over 20 years. The law would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs. He never heard of it.

The truth is, I said, there are a lot of laws that make sense for cars, but are ridiculous for bicyclists. And coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, loosing all your momentum, when it is clear that there is nobody around, is one of those ridiculous rules.

He asked me if it would be okay if cars started rolling stop signs. (They do, especially in icy conditions, but I didn’t say that). I said, of course not. But a bicycle is different. I told him that bicyclists have a much wider field of vision. I can slow down and see everything around me much easier than someone in a car. I’m not suicidal. I’m not saying that cyclists should be able to blow stop signs at full speed, but the rules of the road were not created with bicyclists in mind. He said okay, and let me go.

Here is a great video explaining the Idaho stop, and the nature of riding a bicycle v. driving a car.

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.