Big news for South Carolina.

The Stop As Yield bill (S.812), often called the “Idaho Stop,” has officially passed the South Carolina House 93-18 and is now heading to Governor Henry McMaster’s desk.

Honestly, “The Palmetto Stop” has a pretty nice ring to it.

If signed into law, South Carolina would become the 14th state in the country to adopt this kind of commonsense bicycle safety legislation.

You can follow the official status of the bill here:
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=812&session=126

What Would the Law Do?

The legislation would allow people on bikes to:

• Treat stop signs as yield signs when safe to do so
• Treat red lights as stop signs before proceeding when safe to do so

This does not mean people on bikes can ignore traffic laws or ride recklessly. Riders would still be required to yield to anyone with the right of way and proceed safely.

Why Does This Matter?

Most crashes involving people on bikes happen at intersections. Reducing the amount of time people spend waiting in those conflict zones matters.

Research from USDOT and NHTSA has shown safety benefits associated with these kinds of laws, and versions of this policy already exist in states across the country, including Idaho, Alaska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and others.

This bill reflects how people naturally ride bikes, improves predictability for all road users, and modernizes South Carolina law in a practical, low cost way. You can read our brief we provided in support in an earlier post about this here.

Thank You

This legislation would not have moved forward without support from advocates, organizations, lawmakers, and everyday South Carolinians from across the state.

We especially want to thank Senator Luke Rankin for introducing the legislation, Senator Ed Sutton for speaking in support in the Senate, Rep. Tom Hartnett for his leadership and support on the EPW Motor Vehicles Subcommittee, Rep. Shannon Erickson for her leadership and support on the Education and Public Works Committee, Rep. Micah Caskey, and the overwhelming majority of elected officials from across the political spectrum who supported this commonsense idea.

What Happens Next?

The bill now heads to Governor McMaster for consideration.

If you support this legislation, now is a great time to respectfully reach out to the Governor’s office and encourage him to sign S.812 into law.

Governor McMaster’s office can be reached here:
https://governor.sc.gov/contact-governor

Here is some suggested copy:

Governor McMaster,

My name is __________, and I live in __________, South Carolina.

I am writing to respectfully encourage you to sign S.812, the Stop As Yield bill, into law.

This commonsense legislation improves safety for people on bikes by allowing stop signs to be treated as yield signs when safe to do so, and red lights to be treated as stop signs before proceeding safely. People on bikes would still be required to yield to anyone with the right of way.

Most crashes involving people on bikes happen at intersections. Reducing time spent waiting in those conflict zones matters, and research from USDOT and NHTSA has shown safety benefits associated with these kinds of laws.

This bill reflects how people naturally ride bikes, improves predictability for all road users, and modernizes South Carolina law in a practical, low cost way. It also received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the South Carolina House and Senate.

Thank you for your consideration and your service to South Carolina.

Sincerely,

__________ (your name!)

We also encourage local governments, advocacy organizations, law enforcement agencies, and transportation partners to begin thinking about public education and signage around this change so implementation is clear and successful if the bill becomes law.

A safer South Carolina is possible for all road users. THANK YOU.