Not long ago the media was all abuzz with news of the Winnipeg Police ticketing cyclists for failing to stop at stop signs. Anything to do with cycling on the street tends to polarize the public opinion so a lengthy yet rambling and slightly off topic debate ensued.

Now I have to agree that if you break the law you deserve to be ticketed, but I am thinking that we need to change our laws not our enforcement. Cycling is fundamentally different from driving and our laws should reflect this difference.

What I would like to see is introduction of legislation similar to the Idaho stop law. The Idaho stop law allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs. They never have the right of way, but they don't need to come to a complete stop if the traffic is clear.

This is important since cycling is a very efficient mode of transportation when traveling fast, but that drops off quickly as the speed is reduced. Frequent stop signs along a road require cyclists to expend a massive amount of effort in starting and stopping their bikes. If cyclists only needed to slow at stop signs, cycling would be more efficient and attractive to the public.

Here is a video that does a far better job than I can explaining the logic behind the Idaho stop law;

If you think an Idaho stop law would benefit Manitoba, I recommend that you write your MLA and voice your opinion. I already have.