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.