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Recently I tried to explain the Virginia Bicyclist Safety Act to a reporter and it didn't go well 1/13
The BSA does 3 things: (1) requires drivers to change lanes to pass a bicyclist; (2) allows bicyclists to ride two-abreast and (3) requires bicyclists to yield at a stop sign, called the “Safety Stop” but probably better described as the "Delaware Yield"
The reporter only was interested in item 3, and her specific concern was that the BSA would encourage bicyclists to run stop signs which would lead to more collisions. I pointed her to data from Delaware showing that the Delaware yield has reduced, not increased, collisions 3/13
She was not convinced. And TBH, the best way to understand why a bicyclist would want to stay upright, pause, and observe an intersection ("pause, look, and yield" aka "PLAY") is to get on a bike and ride somewhere with lots of 4-way stop intersections 4/13
For example, try riding north or south on Royal St in Old Town Alexandria. First, do a foot on the ground stop at each and every intersection. See how that goes
5/13
5/13
Next, try the "PLAY" method of staying mobile and upright but pausing and scanning at the intersection to make sure it's clear. (WARNING: this is currently illegal under Virginia law, so you may get a ticket)
6/13
6/13
It's intuitive to experienced bicyclists that staying mobile and scanning the intersection for other vehicles is the safest way for a bicyclist to get through an intersection and to avoid collisions
7/13
7/13
OK, but here's the thing. There are lots of non-bicyclists who will not try this experiment because they are non-bicyclists. So here's an analog for the non-bicyclist...
8/13
8/13
We currently accept that a driver approaching RR tracks (the ones with no crossing signals or gates) should slow and scan the tracks. But we do not require the driver to come to a full stop, get out of their vehicle, and look both ways down the tracks
9/13
9/13
Such was not the case in 1927, when the Supreme Court first considered what standard of care should be exercised by a driver attempting to cross railroad tracks that have no crossing signals or gates
10/13
10/13
In an opinion written by esteemed Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Supreme Court held that a driver "must stop and get out of his vehicle, although obviously he will not often be required to do more than to stop and look." https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/275/66/
11/13
11/13
That's right, a driver must stop and get out of his vehicle! This conclusion seemed obviously wrong to drivers even in the 1920s. Holmes, who was then 86, was criticized as being old, out of touch, and worst of all, unfamiliar with automobiles
12/13
12/13
Confused about Virginia's BSA legislation? Please go for a bike ride somewhere with lots of 4-way stops. You'll soon understand it in the same way that drivers understand how absurd it would be to stop and get out of their vehicles at every RR crossing
13/13
13/13
