Minnesota Red Light Bike Law in effect!

A law passed this legislative session allows bikers, under some circumstances, to cross against red lights.

The biker needs to first come to a complete stop, then wait (an unspecified but reasonable amount of time, whatever that means), then yield to traffic.

It doesn't allow bikers to run red lights, according to the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, but provides an "affirmative defense" if the biker is stopped by police.

It's designed to deal with stoplights that are triggered only by car weight. But it's also one of the first examples of Minnesota lawmakers stepping up to treat bicycles distinctly from cars, because they are different and there's different safety issues involved in how we operate them on city streets.

Overall, it's a good move for bike commuters. My girlfriend got a ticket for this exact thing at 2 a.m. or so on abandoned Lake Street this fall (anecdotally, these sorts of tickets have become more common as the city of Minneapolis descended into its fiscal pit).

The law leaves a lot of uncertainty on the ground though. For instance; why should someone wait an "unreasonable" amount of time if they know it's a stoplight that's triggered only by cars?

My impression is that it will limit these sorts of tickets to circumstances where bikers showed extreme recklessness. That's fair, I think. Fanatical drivers will of course insist that it gives bikers special treatment, but it seems to me to be based on common sense of how bikes operate.

Maybe it signals that politicians are making a little more room for bikers in transportation policies instead of just taking credit for the fact that we routinely rank at the top of the heap for bike commuting, despite our crumby climate.

Minnesota Statutes - 169.06 SIGNS, SIGNALS, MARKINGS.
Subd. 9. Affirmative defense relating to unchanging traffic-control signal. (2010 changes underlined)
(a) A person operating a bicycle or motorcycle who violates subdivision 4 by entering or crossing an intersection controlled by a traffic-control signal against a red light has affirmative defense to that charge if the person establishes all of the following conditions:
(1) the bicycle or motorcycle has been brought to a complete stop;
(2) the traffic-control signal continues to show a red light for an unreasonable time;
(3) the traffic-control signal is apparently malfunctioning or, if programmed or engineered to change to a green light only after detecting the approach of a motor vehicle, the signal has apparently failed to detect the arrival of the bicycle or motorcycle; and
(4) no motor vehicle or person is approaching on the street or highway to be crossed or entered or is so far away from the intersection that it does not constitute an immediate hazard.
(b) The affirmative defense in this subdivision applies only to a violation for entering or crossing an intersection controlled by a traffic-control signal against a red light and does not provide a defense to any other civil or criminal action.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment (April 16, 2010).