Photo by outlandk.

Many drivers and pedestrians often complain about cyclists running red lights. But in Virginia, the practice is now legal.

A new law that took effect on July 1 allows cyclists waiting at red lights throughout the Old Dominion to roll through them if the light doesn’t change within two minutes. The law, which still mandates that cyclists treat the red light as a stop sign and yield to oncoming traffic, is meant as a response to lightly-used intersections where cars may not come through and trigger the embedded roadway sensors that help control the timing of traffic lights. Cyclists aren’t the only people who stand to benefit from the new law — motorcycles and mopeds can also proceed through after waiting the 120 seconds.

Oddly enough, as Virginia moves forward with the law, Maryland is still mired in debate over a proposal that would allow the state to install signs allowing bicycles to occupy a full lane of traffic when the roadway is too narrow to allow cars to safely pass. (According to a Maryland law that took effect late last year, cars have to give cyclists three feet of space while passing.) According to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, heavy lobbying in favor of the sign — which was originally rejected by the State Highway Administration — has yet to produce conclusive results, with various state agencies disagreeing over whether to use the sign or not.

Bicycling advocates say that the signs more clearly delineate the rights the two-wheeled have on certain roads where passing could be dangerous. Opponents, including Maryland’s State Highway Administration, argue that the signs would make roadways more dangerous by allowing inexperienced cyclists to take up a full lane of traffic. (Read the letter explaining the agency’s rejection here, in PDF.)

If Maryland started using the signs, it could prove useful on MacArthur Boulevard between the D.C. line and Great Falls, a popular destination for cyclists that has long been a flash point between motorists that claim the two-wheeled are monopolizing the road and the cyclists who argue that drivers often pass unsafely.