Originally Posted by
john gault
However, the problem is that cyclists don't follow the rules of this law, at least in my observation.
Well, that law is only the law in Idaho, so there's no reason cyclists would be following the rules of it anywhere else.
Anywhere else, if a cyclist runs a stop sign, he's breaking the law. If he does it at walking speed, the odds are high that a cop will do nothing if he sees it, but he might -- it's technically still illegal.
Now, if your argument is that "cyclists run stop signs (in states other than Idaho) in situations that even the Idaho stop law would not permit, therefore the Idaho stop law doesn't work", well, that's a pretty weak argument, as 1) it's only the law in one state, and 2) you'll find that the existing stop sign laws in all fifty states are broken. Relaxing them somewhat might make them be broken less often, but I wouldn't expect that to make them never be broken.
Texas is about to have a tollroad with an 85 mph speed limit. It's the highest posted speed limit in the country -- but I'm pretty sure somebody's still going to exceed it, probably within minutes of the tollway opening. Does this mean that speed limits shouldn't ever be raised? (Perhaps they shouldn't, but
this isn't a good reason not to do so.)