New York · Handbook chapter 9 · 6 min read

Chapter 9: Sharing the road

Sharing New York roads with pedestrians, blind pedestrians, bicyclists, skaters and scooters, motorcyclists, mopeds, large trucks and buses, slow-moving vehicles, ATVs, snowmobiles and horse riders.

Why this chapter matters

Most people hurt in crashes with cars are the ones without a steel frame around them. Permit questions focus on yielding to pedestrians, bicycle equipment and helmet rules, why motorcycles are hard to see, and the no-zones around trucks.

Pedestrians

• Watch for children near schools, bus stops, playgrounds, parks and ice cream trucks.
• When backing, look through the rear window; with children around, do not rely on mirrors. Before backing into or out of a driveway, get out and check behind the vehicle.
• Pedestrians without a sidewalk should walk facing traffic. Watch for them on your right when turning right, and across the road on your left when turning left.
• Blind pedestrians with a guide dog or a white or metal cane always have the right-of-way at a marked or unmarked crosswalk, even when signals or other rules are against them.
• Pedestrians have the right-of-way at all crosswalks, marked or unmarked. Yield to them on every right and left turn.
• Never pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk; someone may be crossing out of sight.
• Left turns are especially risky: the manual reports that more than 35% of New York City pedestrian injury crashes happen when a driver is turning left.
• Watch for the A-pillars around your windshield, which can hide a pedestrian.

Bicyclists

Bicyclists may ride in the same direction as traffic and share the road. They are hard to see and unprotected.

• Turn your head to check blind spots before you turn, park, open a door or pull away from the curb.
• Slow down and give room when you pass; the air pushed by a fast car can unbalance a cyclist.
• When turning right on red, look right and behind for a cyclist coming up on your right.
• Do not drive in bike lanes, two-way cycle tracks, bike boxes (the marked space ahead of the stop line at an intersection) or green-painted cycle lanes.

Rules for bicyclists

• Use a bike lane if there is one; otherwise ride near the right curb or edge, except when turning left or avoiding hazards.
• Stop before entering a road from a driveway, alley or over a curb.
• No more than two abreast in a single lane.
• Riders and passengers aged 1 to 13 must wear an approved helmet.
• Never carry a child under 1. Children aged 1 to 4 must ride in an attached bicycle safety seat.
• Keep at least one hand on the handlebars and signal turns and stops.
• Report a bicycle crash causing death or serious injury to the DMV within 10 days (form MV-104C).

Bicycle equipment

• Good brakes and a horn or bell audible at 100 feet.
• At night: a white headlight visible from 500 feet ahead and a red taillight visible from 300 feet behind, with one of them visible from 200 feet on each side.

In-line skaters, skateboarders and non-motorized scooters

These users are as vulnerable as pedestrians and cyclists. Watch for them along the roadside, in bike lanes, at intersections and at crosswalks, and exercise due care.

Motorcyclists

Motorcyclists have the same rights and duties as other drivers, but they are much more likely to be killed or seriously hurt in a crash. Many drivers who hit a motorcycle say they did not see it. Reasons:

• Motorcycles are small, which makes them seem farther away and makes their speed hard to judge.
• Riders move within the lane to avoid hazards. Two motorcycles may ride side by side in one lane, but never three, and a motorcycle may not share a lane with a car.
• Motorcycle headlights blend in with daytime running lights, brake lights are small and below eye level, and turn signals may not cancel automatically.
• Drivers look for cars and trucks and do not look for motorcycles.

The manual cites national figures showing that in 41% of fatal motorcycle crashes, the other vehicle was turning left while the motorcycle went straight, passed or overtook.

How to drive around motorcycles:

• Do not tailgate. Motorcycles can stop faster than cars.
• Expect sudden changes of speed or lane position for gravel, seams, covers or animals; at railroad crossings a rider may slow and stand on the pegs; on steel-deck bridges a rider may move to the lane center.
• Give extra space in rain or darkness, and pass carefully.

Mopeds

All classes must be registered and have the headlight on. Class B and C mopeds must keep as far right as possible except when turning left. Mopeds are not allowed on expressways unless signs permit. Treat them as you would a bicyclist.

Large vehicles

In more than 60% of fatal crashes between cars and big trucks, the car driver contributed to the cause, and four out of five times it is the car driver who dies. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger its blind spots, the longer it takes to stop, and the more room it needs to turn and to be passed.

• No-zones: deep blind spots behind, large ones on both sides, and up to 20 feet in front of long-hood tractors.
• Stopping: tractor-trailers take much longer to stop, partly because of air brake delay.
• Wide right turns: trucks swing left before turning right. Watch their signals and never squeeze in on the right.
• After passing: do not pull back in front until you can see the whole front of the truck in your mirror.
• Backing trucks: never pass close behind one. Wait.
• Oncoming trucks are bigger and faster than they look; on a two-way road, keep well to the right.
• Stopped behind a truck or bus on a hill: leave space, as it may roll back when starting.

Slow vehicles, ATVs and horses

• The slow-moving vehicle symbol is a reflective orange triangle, shown on animal-drawn vehicles, most farm and construction equipment, and rural mail vehicles. Approach with care and pass only when safe.
• ATVs and snowmobiles may cross many roads. They must stop, yield and cross at a 90-degree angle.
• Horse riders ride single file near the right edge. Pass at a careful speed and distance, and never sound your horn near a horse.