The Rule Books

This failure to treat bicycles as a discrete transportation mode runs through the laws that govern traffic. The city DoT's Traffic Rules and Regulations and the city's Administrative Code, both of which supersede the state rules, subject bicyclists to the same rules as motorists — despite the many intrinsic differences between the two. The handful of bicycle-specific rules in these rule books are vague and spotty (not to mention unenforced on the street). For instance, the Administrative Code says bicyclists may ride two abreast, just like drivers and their passengers, but nowhere does it grant cyclists the space to do so. Cyclists are required to use bike lanes where they exist, but other vehicles are allowed to enter those lanes for “access, safety, turns, etc.” [2]

Moreover, language in the city DoT rules aimed at protecting cyclists from motorists [NYC DoT rules 4-12 (p)] is limited to cyclists using the city's few bicycle lanes. Although the NY State Vehicle and Traffic Law directs drivers to exercise due care when sharing the road with cyclists [Section 1146], the city rules need to be updated specifically to instruct motorists to look for bicyclists before opening car doors and to yield to cyclists when changing lanes, turning, or where there is insufficient room to overtake a cyclist.

In part because of the tone set by the goveerment, and also by tradition, cyclists are often treated badly, like perpetrators rather than victims of anarchic traffic patterns. Most New York City cyclists have been told by angry motorists and pedestrians — who seem to believe it — that they have no business riding on the streets in the first place. Newspapers rail against cyclists for their failure to obey traffic rules, ignoring the fact that pedestrians and motorists are also chronic rule-flouters, and overlooking the fact that the rules make no allowance for the bicycle's unique character and needs.

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