It may soon be legal for bicyclists to roll through stop signs in Colorado after the state legislature approved legislation to allow the “Idaho stop” statewide.

If enacted, House Bill 1028 would permit bicycles, e-scooters and other non-motorized vehicles to treat stop signs as yield signs and to treat red lights as stop signs when motorized vehicles are not around. This practice – colloquially called Idaho stops or rolling stops – lets bicyclists avoid making unnecessary stops if cars aren’t there.

The state Senate approved the bill Monday in a 25-8 vote, following the state House of Representatives’ 44-20 vote last month. The bill will now be sent back to the House to confirm changes made by the Senate, then to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.

“It’s safer for bicyclists, it’s safer for drivers,” said bill sponsor Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster. “Bikes are more able to stay within the flow of traffic, they’re more visible and it increases safety.”

Winter said it is difficult for bicyclists to rebuild momentum and keep with the flow of traffic after coming to complete stops. In addition, she said, when bicyclists are at complete stops, they’re at the most risk of being struck by a car.

From 2017 to 2019, 72.2% of crashes between bikes and cars happened in intersections or were intersection-related, according to Bicycle Colorado. These included bicyclists waiting at red lights who were struck from behind or hit by turning cars. After Delaware implemented Idaho stops, the state saw a 23% decrease in bike crashes at stop signs, according to a 2020 study.

Supporters of the bill also said it will decriminalize what is already a common practice. From 2019 to 2021, approximately 361 people in Colorado were sentenced and convicted for this type of traffic offense, according to state estimates.

“Given that I suspect 80 or 90% of bicyclist are already doing this, I think this bill is about simple respect for the law, that the law reflects what common practice is,” said Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, a bicyclist and another sponsor of the bill.

Several Colorado cities like Thornton already allow Idaho stops, which makes it confusing for bicyclists who don’t know what the law is in each city while biking on trails that spread throughout the Denver metro area, supporters of the bill said.

However, opponents argued Idaho stops are not common practice in all parts of the state. Multiple lawmakers representing rural areas said Idaho stops are dangerous in their cities because of the prevalence of heavy trailers and semitrucks that cannot stop quickly if they approach a bicyclist in the intersection.

Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, called the bill “pandering and catering to a certain class of people” and “certainly not right for rural Colorado.”

“This is an unsafe bill. There is a stop sign there for a reason,” Holtorf said. “I understand you want to convenience the bicyclist, but does that mean that these rolling stops are okay? And what about the person in the vehicle that exercises the same privileges? … In rural Colorado, we’re not asking for this.”

Under the bill, bicyclists would have to slow to a speed of 10 mph or less and look both ways to assure no cars are in sight before continuing through an intersection without stopping.

The bill allows local governments to put up signs at certain intersections stating that Idaho stops are not allowed at those intersections because of safety concerns. The bill also requires the state to develop and share educational materials about the legal requirements and safe practices for performing these stops.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the bill will go back to the House before it can be sent to the governor.