WASHINGTON’S NEW LAW FOR CYCLISTS
Due to a change in the law, starting October 1, 2020, bicycle riders in Washington will no longer be required to stop at stop signs. The new statute (SB 6208) will instead allow riders to treat almost all stop signs as yield signs. Riders approaching stop signs will still need to slow, look around, and yield to any pedestrians and cars that have already reached the intersection. But if no one else is close, a rider may now legally roll through a stop sign. Full stops are still required at stoplights, stop signs on school buses, and at railroad crossing stop signs. The law does not change the rules of the road for scooters.
My partner, Brad Thayer, wrote more in-depth about this topic when the law changed similarly recently in Oregon here.
About the Author
Scott A. Staples
Scott Staples came on board in 2006 as a clerk during law school, and joined the firm as an associate attorney in 2007. He was made a shareholder in the firm in 2010. Scott graduated, cum laude, from Washington State University Vancouver with a BA in English, and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Willamette University College of Law, with cum laude honors there as well. He has successfully represented clients in a variety of different types of injury cases, including auto collisions, premises liability, animal attacks, watercraft accidents, and construction site injuries. He has appeared, and won, before the Washington State Supreme Court (Weismann v. Safeco, 2012).
