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Q: What do Bicycle Scofflaws and Bigfoot have in common?
A: Many people believe in them, but only a few have ever seen a real one.
Many people have claimed to see bipedal monsters—ape-like, dangerous creatures roaming the wild rural and urban landscapes. When one bipeds through the wild, unkempt regions of this state, it’s often called the Bigfoot. If the creature is bipedaling on two wheels through urban, civilized landscapes, it’s often called the Bicycle Scofflaw. But what proof can we find that both really exist?
Is there an Abominable Snow Monster of the North?
Bigfoot is described as a tall, ape-like, upright walking primate with shaggy hair, a deep growl, and a foul odor. He is also known as Yeti, Sasquatch, Wild Man, Hairy Man, Yowie, and Skunk Ape and has even more names in many stories of Indigenous peoples worldwide. There have been plenty of sightings and witness accounts throughout history. Experts are almost all on the same page here: Bigfoot must exist. We all have seen the documentary about Bumble, the famous Abominable Snow Monster of the North, haven’t we? And the fact that he hardly ever shows himself to humans proves he must be immensely intelligent.
Has anybody ever seen a real Bicycle Scofflaw?
“Dangerous bicycle scofflaws terrorizing lawful car drivers in otherwise totally safe cities” are mythical creatures similar to mermaids, fairies, leprechauns, and gnomes. Some of those bicycle scofflaws are young and small, while others appear old and wise; some are beautiful creatures, while others look hideous; some dress too dark, while others look like friendly clowns. Some might come across as rather annoying, but they hardly ever bring deadly harm to others.
The two infractions most often reported are:
- riding the sidewalk
- sneaking through stop sign intersections
People on bicycles are riding the sidewalk
Riding the sidewalk is actually legal in California, and just for the record, so is riding on 1,000 miles of California freeways (shoulders only). Rules about riding on the sidewalk are often set in municipal codes of cities. Adding insult to injury, those are often the cities too lazy to install bicycle infrastructure, but they might then have the ‘walkable sidewalk,’ ‘bikeable sidewalk,’ ‘class 2 sidewalk,’ or similar infrastructure contraptions.
It’s a good thing kids under 12 are often exempt. One former mayor of Redwood City – when asked – said parents riding with their kids on the sidewalk wouldn’t be stopped by the police. The former police chief confirmed that. None of the mayors nor new police chief ever mentioned publicly they would rescind those ‘unwritten rules’. Any police officer who would stop some elderly person or person with disabilities (ADA) should be hearing from their police chief or some ADA lawyer. If your child is stopped for sidewalk riding, just ask the city council why there are no bike lanes.
It’s all very confusing now, and nobody really knows what is legal, what is tolerated or what could be punishable by law when riding on sidewalks. And if they go slow enough, no one should care anyway.
Idaho Stop, Delaware Stop, Stop-as-Yield, Red-as-Stop
The cyclists could really start messing with drivers by just jumping off the bike and running across the intersection. They basically would become a pedestrian and have right-of-way by loophole.
People on bicycles rolling slowly through a stop sign is often called Idaho Stop and considered safe(r) and legal in 12 US States and growing. Now the technical term Stop-as-Yield means all laws and right-of-way rules still apply, the law just acknowledges that putting down that foot makes cycling less safe. The yield reduces the amount of time spent in that intersection by 3-5 seconds, which can make all the difference to avoid bad drivers.
Many drivers agree that having cyclists get faster through a 4-way stop has advantages for them, too. An estimated 40-50% of drivers just wave riders through. That wave-through number jumps to 60-80% on all residential 4-way stops when children are around, which is nice but adds to the overall confusion.
Anyway, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a fact sheet about the Stop-As-Yield policy. They reviewed various studies and concluded that the policy is safer.
“Based upon the current research and data available, these laws showed added safety benefits for bicyclists in States where they were evaluated, and may positively affect the environment, traffic, and transportation.” [NHTSA]
Basically the NHTSA is endorsing the Idaho Stop and the Delaware Stop, but yet nobody is endorsing the California Stop.
The Idaho Stop is considered safe and legal in 12 red and blue states, whereas the California Stop is outlawed in all 50 states.
Why, then, is California tolerating the unsafe “California Stop” but not the safe “Idaho Stop”?
The answer is Gavin Newsom. As a politician, Gavin Newsom has fought and vetoed the “Idaho Stop” at least once as Mayor of San Francisco and one or two times as Governor of California. Before his vetoes were rendered, all necessary votes by lawmakers or supervisors were already collected based on research and data provided by environmental and health advocates. And then Gavin Newsom kept vetoing those bills. Why is that?
When you google “Bicycle” and “Arnold Schwarzenegger” you find a thousand pictures and videos of the former Governator riding a bicycle all over Los Angeles and Santa Monica. If you do the same with “Gavin Newsom,” you might find something that looks like either a political photo opportunity or a deep fake. But it never looks genuine. In fact, you will find more genuine photos of George W. Bush or Joe Biden falling off their bicycles. So it seems safe to conclude that Gov. Newsom’s vetoes have everything to do with his personal bias or maybe some phobia of getting helmet hair. However, his decisions are not rooted in sound policy or concern for more safety.
“Why would we cut from the state’s most climate-friendly transportation program and spend that money on highway projects that will make climate change and traffic congestion worse?” [LA Times about Governor Newsom’s budget]
On the other hand, we have never heard Governor Newsom speak out against the “California Stop” epidemic. Maybe he thinks that nickname is a compliment because Californians are so great at stopping. Maybe he is just a proud practitioner himself. Gavin Newsom eventually signed AB 2147, the Freedom to Walk Act, a bill that protects pedestrians better. Within 2-4 years, the Idaho Stop might be normal in California, and the Bicycle Scofflaw might therefore become extinct. How about the Sasquatch, then?
Yes, Virginia, there is an Abominable Snow Monster
Alas! How dreary would the world be if there were no Sasquatch? It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make this existence tolerable. We should have no enjoyment except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Sure, research would suggest that both – Bigfoot and the Bicycle Scofflaw – don’t really exist. However, I want to believe that Sasquatch and the Yeti do exist. I want to believe in a human race other than homo sapiens that has survived somewhere and is throwing sticks and rocks at misbehaving tourists. Who else would do something that mischievous than an ape-like creature with a funny name?
No, Virginia, you don’t have to fear the Bicycle Scofflaw
“There is no evidence showing bicyclist stop-as-yield laws have increased bike conflicts with other bikes or pedestrians. Roadway collisions between bicyclists with other cyclists or pedestrians are uncommon.” [NHTSA]
Don’t get me wrong, a jerk on foot is a jerk on a bike is a jerk in a car. So in the end there are always some guys shirking the law. They are just less dangerous on foot or bicycle than the jerk driving a sharp-edged Cybertruck. But the research on the bicycle scofflaw shows that riding the sidewalk isn’t because the cyclists are scoffing the law, it’s because the law is scoffing at them. If your traffic engineers and city council don’t look out for the health and safety of you and your family, self-preservation and vigilantism might be the most responsible answer. Whenever traffic engineers decide to treat seniors walking 3 mph differently than children riding 10 mph and drivers going 30 mph and more, the percentage of lawlessness goes down dramatically. If city councils start building infrastructure the Bicycle Scofflaw might eventually become extinct.
More Information
- The 10 most convincing Bigfoot Sightings
- Bike Signals keeping Cyclists in Line
- Bend: Study finds Rolling Stops are safer for Bicyclists
- NHTSA: Bicyclist Yield As Stop Fact Sheet
- LA Times: Why would California rob from clean transportation to fund highway expansions?
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.
