Vision Zero Cities: Bicycles Are Not Cars So They Shouldn't Have to Follow the Same Rules - Streetsblog New York City

"In 1887, New York cyclists achieved a major legal victory when Albany passed the first-in-the-nation law granting bicycles the same rights and responsibilities on the road as "persons using carriages drawn by horses." In the 140 years since, much has changed on the road in terms of the built environment, user base, and legal landscape. By the mid-20th century, the widespread adoption of automobiles led to an explosion of traffic regulation and control devices."

"The persistence of car-centric bike laws is rooted in an outdated view of mobility. Cyclists are closer in size, speed, and sensory experience to pedestrians than to motor vehicles. They share the road but not the advantages of steel armor, airbags, or engine power. In collisions, they absorb the impact with their bodies. A driver who hits a pedestrian walks away unscathed; a cyclist is as likely as a pedestrian to suffer injuries in a collision."

"These advocates promoted a model in which cyclists rode in mixed traffic, mimicking the behavior of motor vehicles to defend their legal status. Today, while vehicular cycling has fallen out of favor in most planning circles, its legal legacy endures. The default in nearly all states is to impose the same traffic rules on bicycles as on motor vehicles. This approach ignores a simple truth: bicycles are not cars."

New York granted bicycles the same roadway rights as horse-drawn carriages in 1887, and motorization later transformed road design, regulation, and control. The 1970s vehicular cycling movement resisted separated infrastructure and promoted riding in mixed traffic to preserve legal status. Despite changes in planning, most states still apply motor-vehicle traffic rules to cyclists. Bicycles differ from cars in size, speed, and protective capability; cyclists experience collision forces like pedestrians and face similar injury risk. Common cyclist behaviors such as using sidewalks, detouring, or rolling stops can be safer responses to traffic conditions. Penalizing safety-driven bicycling behavior undermines cyclist protection.

Read at Streetsblog