SAN FRANCISCO -- A Bay Area transportation agency is considering a new plan to encourage more people to hop on their bicycles instead of in their cars by relaxing the rules of the road for bicycles.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is studying a proposal that would require changing state law. Under the plan, bicycle riders could roll through red lights provided they briefly stop first.

In addition, cyclists would be allowed to ride through stop signs instead of coming to a complete halt.

Supporters of the plan say the changes would boost the use of bicycles.

"What MTC is doing is looking at changes that will support bicycling and that makes sense for bicycling as a mode of transportation," Rachel Kraai of the San Francisco Bicycling Coalition told KTVU.

Not everyone agrees that the plan is a step in the right direction. Some say changing the rules of the road may come with dangerous consequences and believe bicyclists should adhere to the same rules as drivers.

"I think they need to follow the same rules as we do," Cristiano de Souza, a cab driver, told KTVU, "because otherwise it will be messed up. So we share the road, share the law."

The proposal is modeled after a law in Idaho. Records indicate that Idaho has a lower bicycle fatality rate than California.

The proposed changes won't happen anytime soon, if they happen at all. The MTC has to first approve the plan and then get a state lawmaker to sponsor legislation.

It would then have to pass the Legislature and win the governor's approval.

The MTC's bicycle advisory committee is planning to discuss the issue at a meeting on Thursday evening.