On A Bicycle
Veh. & Traf. Law § 1231 — a driver's rights, the bike lane or the right edge, and a helmet under fourteen
In New York, every person riding a bicycle on a roadway has all the rights and duties of the driver of a vehicle, except the special bicycle rules and provisions that by their nature can have no application. A driver passing a bicycle from behind passes to its left at a safe distance until safely clear.
Where on the road. A bicycle uses a usable bicycle lane, or if there is none, keeps near the right-hand curb or edge or on a usable right shoulder, except when preparing for a left turn or avoiding unsafe conditions, including lanes too narrow to share. Riders may not ride more than two abreast on a roadway, ride single file when being overtaken, and come to a full stop before entering the roadway from a driveway or over a curb.
- From one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, a white front lamp visible from at least five hundred feet and a red or amber rear light visible for three hundred feet.
- A bell or other device audible for at least one hundred feet, and a brake that can make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
- No passenger under one year of age, and a child one or more years of age and less than five years of age rides in a separate seat, wearing a helmet.
Under fourteen, a helmet. No person one or more years of age and less than fourteen years of age may operate a bicycle without a helmet meeting the commissioner's standards, and passengers five or more years of age and less than fourteen years of age wear one too.
| The assumption | What the law actually does |
|---|---|
| The assumptionA bell is optional | What the law actually doesEvery bicycle has a bell or device audible for at least one hundred feet |
| The assumptionRiders may stay side by side as a car comes up behind | What the law actually doesThey ride single file when being overtaken |
Local ordinances on sidewalks, paths and bicycle registration are not all on this page. How these rules apply to a particular crash or ticket is a question for a licensed New York attorney.
Sources for this section (5)
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1231 — Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1234 — Riding on roadways, shoulders and bicycle lanes
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1236 — Lamps and other equipment on bicycles
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1238 — Bicycle passengers and helmets
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1122-a — Overtaking a bicycle
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.