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In a reasonable world, we would change the laws to allow people on bikes to yield at stop signs and go at red lights after a full stop [...]

Idaho has something like this--basically, they can treat a stop a sign as a yield sign.

What I like is that Idaho also has an interesting attachment to their Yield law:

[...] if a driver is involved in a collision with a vehicle in the intersection or junction of highways, after driving past a yield sign without stopping, the collision shall be deemed prima facie evidence of his failure to yield right-of-way.

In short, if you want to run a stop sign, fine. If something bad happens, it's your fault.

Frankly, this is where I get annoyed with cyclists. "It's all about my safety, unless my safety inconveniences me. Then it's someone else's fault."

Start with an obvious one: It is safer to stop at the stop sign and wait until traffic is clear before proceeding through the intersection. Period. So if you're saying that you're concerned about "actual safety", you would do that. So you're not interested in "actual safety." You're looking at the trade-off between safety and convenience. "I don't have to stop--I can see that there's nothing coming." Trust me, this is the same attitude a lot of motorists have when it comes to stop signs, too.

And it's fine until something bad happens. Then, suddenly, it becomes, "Oh My God! Everybody needs to watch out for me because I'm so vulnerable!" Or, you could stop and wait for traffic to clear. But that's inconvenient--you gotta get to work, get home, or break bikeybear's Strava score.

if the cyclists behaved like the vehicles that they are classified as

This is one big problem I have with the law. I think it's a mistake to classify bikes in the same class as cars. There are many pertinent differences between the two. Such as:

• Cyclists have greater visibility, since they are closer to the front end of their "vehicle", and they do not have the frame of a car blocking their view
• Cyclists do not pose the same threat to people or objects, should a collision occur
• Car drivers do not need to put their foot on the road when coming to a complete stop to prevent the car from tipping over
• The top speed of the average cyclist is slower than the 'school zone' speed limit for cars. A limit that is designed to allow the driver enough time to react to children suddenly on the road
• Cyclists cannot hit bumps, holes, or cracks in the road that cars can safely drive over without popping their tires (happened to me the other day, in fact)
• Cyclists cannot ride on gravel without instability and the threat of crashing.
• Not that this is done often, but a cyclist can quickly get off and walk their bike allowing the possibility for a cyclist to be legally treated as a pedestrian and thereby legally circumventing traffic laws.
• Cyclists have a natural concern with conserving momentum, which is a major deterrent against slowing/stopping. This is due to the amount of energy required to get the bike going again. The amount of energy required for a driver to speed up after slowing/stopping is negligible.
• Cyclists don't require a license to drive, so if they fail to follow the laws of the road, there is no threat of demerit points (if that's in your state, at least)

I'm not sure how the law should treat cyclists differently, but to lump cyclists and car drivers under all of the the same rules doesn't make sense. Personally I like the stoppage laws in Idaho for cyclists.

I don't know where you learned to drive, but in Idaho (which some may say is a po-dunk state) you are required to do a lot more than you're describing:

Completing and passing a driver-training program is required for anyone under 17 years old who is applying for an Idaho driver's license. An approved Idaho driver training program consists of a required 30 hours (1,800 minutes) of classroom instruction, six hours (360 minutes) of in-car observation in a driver-training car, and six hours (360 minutes) of behind-the-wheel driving with a driver training instructor. The minimum training period for students attending driver education classes through a public school is 30 days. Commercial (private) schools are not restricted to a minimum training period.

Effective January 1, 2001, anyone under 17 years of age who has not been issued a driver's license in Idaho must successfully complete an approved driver training program and comply with the requirements of the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program. Under the GDL Program, you will be required to complete a minimum six-month violation-free supervised instruction period, during which you must:

be accompanied by a supervising person at least 21 years old with a valid driver's license who is occupying the seat beside you (no other passengers are allowed in the front seat),
assure that all occupants are wearing seat belts or child restraints if required,
have the Supervised Instruction Permit (SIP) in your immediate possession while driving,
observe all laws regarding alcohol and other intoxicating substances, and
accumulate at least 50 hours of supervised driving time, ten hours of which must be at night
If you are convicted of violating any traffic laws (moving or non-moving), violate any restrictions, or have your driving privileges suspended by the department or the courts while you are operating under the Supervised Instruction Permit (SIP), the permit will be canceled and you must apply for a new SIP. Your minimum six months of supervised driving begins all over again with the issuance of a new permit. You may drive on your SIP for longer than six months if it has not expired.

Once you have successfully met the requirements of the GDL, and are at least 15 years of age, you will be required to take and pass the skills test and the knowledge test before receiving a driver's license. The skills test and the knowledge test may NOT be taken sooner than six (6) months from the date you complete the driver's training course or age 17, whichever comes first. If you fail the written and/or the skills test, you must wait three days before retesting for each failure.

That reactor was designed by Americans at GE and INL in the 1950's and 1960's. It may surprise some that modern reactor designers actually used historical incidents to design better reactors.

I live in Idaho, and I have to pay sales tax on Amazon purchases.

http://tax.idaho.gov/i-1018.cfm

I live in Idaho and I already have to pay sale tax on any Internet purchase. The way this works is I keep track of my internet purchases, and then at the end of the year I add the up the amount and add 6% of the amount of total purchases to my Idaho 'income' tax. It's a pain and usually takes more time than the rest of my income tax (especially when Idaho does something annoying like change the amount of sales tax in the middle of the year). http://tax.idaho.gov/answers_Sales_tax.htm#11

I live in Idaho and I already have to pay sale tax on any Amazon purchases. The way this works is I keep track of my internet purchases, and then at the end of the year I add the up the amount and add 6% of the amount of total purchases to my Idaho 'income' tax. It's a pain and usually takes more time than the rest of my income tax (especially when Idaho does something annoying like change the amount of sales tax in the middle of the year). http://tax.idaho.gov/answers_Sales_tax.htm#11

I'm not sure where CNET gets there data pertaining to Idaho... As it was the 2nd state to pass legislation (after Maine), Opposing the RealID act.

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/28942prs20070308.html

The Governor's statement:
http://gov.idaho.gov/mediacenter/press/pr2007/prmay07/pr_039.html

I've been looking for information that says that has since changed, I have not found it. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

You need to relocate to a business-friendly state like Idaho (http://business.idaho.gov/ they will even pay you to move here (http://www.idahoworks.com/Incentives/tabid/426/De fault.aspx)

The personal property laws are amazing compared to states like California. Many construction contractors in Idaho legally run their business out of their home and keep all of there equipment in their garage.

can be found HERE.