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Comment by shadowgovt | Hacker News Reader

Have they coupled this new law with the money and resources necessary for cyclist and motorist education?

Without a public education campaign, drivers will not know this has changed and will interact dangerously with cyclists at intersections.

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I would say 80% of cyclists in Denver did this anyway, so at least there the education is well under way!

I don't think it makes a difference for cars at intersections. It only gives cyclist additional options if the cyclist already has right of way.

You don't have the right of way on a red light.

Let me rephrase-- This law only changes things for cyclists when the intersection is clear. If there are cars going through the light, then the cyclist treats it the same as they always have.

Agreed on paper. But my largest concern is that drivers make many, many anticipatory decisions in split-seconds while scanning for traffic.

If a driver sees a cyclist coming while they approach an intersection and, unaware of the new law, assumes "They are going to stop because that's a red light / that's a stop sign," that's a significant risk for the oncoming cyclist if they mis-judge the velocity of the oncoming car and think they'll be able to clear the intersection before the car arrives.

Everybody drives a bit safer when everybody has the most correct mental model of driver behavior they can have.

Imagine believing that a car driver expects someone to stop at a stop sign. Literally 100% of American drivers, without any exceptions, already do the "Idaho Stop" at every intersection. They just don't want to own up to that.

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