![]() Safety advocates who pushed for the change in Washington, D.C., are bracing for blowback from drivers, particularly if the city also allows the so-called Idaho Stop in which cyclists are permitted to go through a red light after stopping to make sure the coast is clear. until last year’s vote in the nation’s capital. But it was the default policy practically everywhere else in the U.S. Right on red has never been allowed across most of New York City, where large signs alert Manhattan’s visitors that the practice is prohibited there. It’s a mandate that doesn’t consider the full consequences.” “It made sense in the context of the gas crisis, but it was way oversold on what it would achieve. “It’s an example of bad policy,” said Bill Schultheiss, director of engineering at Toole Design Group, which consults with public transportation agencies. Although another energy-conscious provision capping speed limits at 55 mph has long been abandoned, right on red has endured. government warned states in the 1970s that they could risk some federal funding should cities prohibit right on red, except in specific, clearly marked areas. Concerned that cars idling at stop lights could compound an energy crisis, the U.S. The United States is one of few major countries that generally allow right turns on red. Safety advocates counter that official crash reports are often mislabeled, undercounting the dangers. “What’s really behind this movement is part of the agenda to make driving as miserable and as difficult as possible so people don’t drive so much,” Beeber said. He cited an upcoming study by his association that analyzed California crash data from 2011-2019 and found that drivers turning right on red accounted for only about one pedestrian death and less than one bicyclist death statewide every two years. ![]() But Jay Beeber, executive director for policy at the National Motorists Association, an advocacy organization for drivers, called it a “fallacy” to assume such blanket bans would make streets safer.
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