The Law

New York State Law

Yes, there is statewide law regarding inline skating. In fact, New York may have been the first state to institute comprehensive inline laws.

Basically, the various section of state skating law have two general purposes: regulating the activities of individual inline skaters and regulating the sale and manufacture of inline skates. The former part, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1996, basically gives skaters similar rights and responsibilities as those held by bicyclists. That may not sound like much, but in much of the rest of the country, skaters did not have an explicit right to skate on the streets (and over 20 years later, may still not have that right). In many places, old laws were still in place that classified and banned skating as "playing on the street".

Broken down by section, following are a summary and extracts of New York State Statutes known to affect inline skating as of spring 2016. Aside from one minor tweak, these sections had not changed in over ten years. For a somewhat more official interpretation, see the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee site and the DOT laws page.

Vehicle and Traffic Law

Title I: Article 1: Words and phrases defined.
Section 140-a. In-line skates defined.
Section 140-b. Roller skates defined.
Title VII. Article 34: Operation of bicycle and play devices
Section 1230. These laws apply to skating on public roads, on private roads open to public traffic, and on all bike and skate trails.
Section 1231. You have similar rights and duties as are held by the driver of a motor vehicle. In other words, skating on public roads (excluding expressways, interstates and certain other roads) is legal but you must honor all traffic laws (e.g., obey traffic lights, no wrong-way skating, etc.).
Section 1233. You may not attach yourself to any vehicle in motion, i.e., no "skitching".
Section 1234. If there is a bike/skate lane, you must use it. If not, you must skate as far to the right side of the street as possible so as to not interfere with traffic. If you are skating in a group, you may not skate more than two abreast. You must skate single file if there is other traffic that wishes to pass by you.
Section 1235. You may not carry any article or package that would obstruct your view.
Section 1238. Any child under 14 must wear a helmet when skating. This is a $50 offense, the ticket being issued to the skater's parent/guardian. When skating at night, you must wear a jacket or other clothing with reflective material.
Section 1240. "Hit-and-run skating" that causes physical injury is a violation.
Section 1241. "Hit-and-run skating" that causes serious physical injury is a Class B misdemeanor.

General Business Law

Article 26. Miscellaneous
Section 391-m. Regulates the manufacture and sale of inline skates. Basically, skate makers and sellers must sell skates with brakes, or else attach a warning label that a brakeless skate is for expert use only. Also, skates should include some reflective material.

Public Health Law

Article 2. Title I. Department of Health officers and employees
Section 206, subdivision 15. Authorizes the public health commissioner to create an inline skating helmet distribution program.

Comprehensive New York skating law was originally signed by Governor Pataki on Nov. 20, 1995, and went into effect the following Jan. 1. But a number of problems in the law necessitated a fairly thorough revision, especially to the business segment. Corrective legislation sped through the legislature and was signed by the governor on Feb. 20, 1996. (See Laws of New York, 1995, Ch. 694 [aka 1995 Assembly bill A-5954-C] and Laws of New York, 1996, Ch. 16.)

Additional legislation was passed in 2001 that made "hit-and-run" skating a Class B misdemeanor or violation, depending on the injury done. That law went into effect Nov. 2002. (See Laws of New York, 2001, Ch. 468.) Further changes were made in 2004 to extend some of the regulations to skate boarders; however, section 1231 was not altered to specifically allow boarders on the streets.

The business section of the law was amended in 2000 to require the use of reflective material in the construction of skates, and then subsequently re-amended in 2001 to exempt specialty (hockey and speed) skates from the requirement. (See Laws of New York, 2000, Ch. 18 [aka 2000 Assembly bill A-5912] and Laws of New York, 2001, Ch. 351.)

The last law enacted that directly affected inline skaters seems to have been the hit-and-run skating law of 2002.

Pending legislation:
Laws affecting inline skating used to be introduced every year; few got passed. In the late 1990s, there were many attempts to amend the law to ban inline skating on the sidewalk or that would have made skate helmets exempt from sales tax. Subsequently, laws to reduce the liability of persons who own property used by skaters (e.g., skateparks, but also any property where skaters might hang about) were introduced several times, but they too seemed to go nowhere. Most recently (since about 2010), there have regular attempts to amend the business law to impose similar constraints on other types of roller skates (i.e., quads), but they usually don't get far. In 2019, a bill was introduced that would have raised the helmet requirement age.

You can keep an eye out for legislative activity via the State Assembly website. The Consolidated Laws are searchable or you can browse by article and section.

New York City Law

In spring 1996, the city council passed Local Law 1996/043, making it illegal to skate recklessly, this being defined as skating in a fashion such as to threaten the health or possessions of another person. The fine is $50 to $100. (The law was signed by Mayor Giuliani in mid-June and went into effect in August 1996.) The law is on the books as:

The reckless skating law was a compromise version of a proposal that originally included a ban on skating on the sidewalks by any person over age 14. Happily for skaters, that provision was removed. Nevertheless, city and state politicians were then known to advocate such a ban, including laws proposed in the state legislature.

Preliminary signs seemed to indicate that the police would active enforce the reckless skating law, along with the various state skating laws. Among these signs was a spate of reports of skaters being stopped by police in early August 1996 (including the author of this skate guide) and given warnings that something that they had just done would in the near future warrant a ticket. Since then, however, enforcement of skating laws has been intermittent to non-existent.

But this isn't to say that the police will always ignore your skating infractions. Periodic police crackdowns on illegal cycling have occurred, usually at the precinct level but occasionally borough- or city-wide. But then beginning about 2011 and continuing into 2015, as the bikelane network expanded and cycling activity increased, this sort of thing has become much more common. In some police precincts, it now seems to be near continuous, to the point that cyclists consider it harassment. Cyclists from the Village to Central Park have been ticketed for things that back in 2005 would have drawn a yawn from the police. So please skate legally as much as possible, and try to be courteous to pedestrians.

Rollerblades is spelled with a capital R

NY Public Authorities

New York state law grants public authorities, such as the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the right to regulate or ban skating on their premises. The main thing to note is that wearing your skates into a subway or train station will get you a ticket if a cop sees you. (The author can confirm!)

The regulations are listed in the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pretty much all state property in the city is covered one way or another. Of note, as of February 2021:

NYCRR Title 21, Chapter XVI, Hudson River Park Trust:

  • Section 751.5, o-3 and r: It's illegal to skate in Hudson River Park except in designated areas. It's illegal to skate in Hudson River Park in a reckless fashion. You must obey park signs and yield to pedestrians. (Section 751.7-c lists fines of up to $50 to $75.)

NYCRR Title 21, Chapter XXI, Metropolitan Transportation Authority:

  • Section 1040.5, j: Use of skates in Staten Island Rapid Transit stations is prohibited. (Section 1040.12, c, lists a fine of up to $50 or up to 30 days imprisonment.)
  • Section 1050.7, k-2: Wearing roller or inline skates in the subway system is disorderly conduct. (Section 1050.10 lists fines of $25 to $100, or imprisonment up to 10 days.)
  • Section 1085.5, j: Use of skates in Metro-North train stations is prohibited. (The Public Authorities Law, section 1266.4, lists a fine of up to $50 or up to 30 days imprisonment.)
  • Section 1097.5, j: Use of skates in Long Island Rail Road stations is prohibited. (The Public Authorities Law, section 1266.4, lists a fine of up to $50 or up to 30 days imprisonment.)

New Jersey State Law

New Jersey instituted its own skating law almost by accident. The story goes that during the 1997 legislative session, a law was passed to create a helmet requirement for skaters under the age of 14 (see New Jersey Public Law 1997, Ch. 411). Broadly interpreted, however, the law also made rollerskaters and skateboarders equivalent to motor vehicles, so that one could, theoretically, legally skate on the Jersey Turnpike! However, an alert police officer noticed what was going on, and as a result, the New Jersey legislature passed a follow-up bill granting all communities in the state the right to regulate skating in their jurisdictions (see New Jersey Public Law 1998, Ch. 36). After that, the only notable change to New Jersey skating law seems to have been that Public Law 2005, Ch. 208 raised the helmet age from 14 to 17.

But note that just like in New York, skaters breaking traffic law are subject to the same fines as motor vehicle drivers. So skating through a red light or not signalling a turn means a fine if a police officer decides that you're worth the ticket. (Keep in mind that Jersey cops seem to be, in general, less tolerant of skaters than NYC cops.)

Broken down by section, following are a summary and extracts of various New Jersey State Statutes that affect inline skating as of summer 2007. In addition to the following, there are a number of New Jersey laws that affect skating rink operations.

Title 39: Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation

  • 39:4-10.5 Defines roller skates, no matter how many wheels or how they're oriented. Skaters under age 17 must wear helmets.
  • 39:4-10.6 The penalty for violating the helmet law is $25 on the first instance, and up to $100 after that.
  • 39:4-10.8 Businesses selling skates must attach warning labels.
  • 39:4-10.9 Businesses renting skates must post signs regarding the helmet law and must also be able to provide helmets.
  • 39:4-10.10 You may skate on roads.
  • 39:4-10.10a Towns may, if they so wish, restrict skating more than does state law.
  • 39:4-10.10b The state isn't obligated to construct "skater-only" lanes on roads.
  • 39:4-10.11 You must skate on the right side of the road. You may not skate more than two abreast, and must skate single-file when traffic wishes to pass.

(You can keep an eye out for Jersey legislative activity via the legislature homepage.)

Federal Law

Inline skating is apparently not permitted on U.S. government property because of a federal law that prohibits rollerskating in federal facilities unless specifically authorized. This apparently extends to outside stairways, so technically, bashing the steps of the federal courthouse on Foley Square.

Skitching

We mentioned skitching above, but some further comments should probably be made in regards to the safety of such activity. An early 1994 New York Times article featured interviews with a couple hardcore skitchers, and their stories invariably detailed injuries and/or near-death events and/or fleeing from the cops. Furthermore, a 13-year-old Bronx skater was killed while attempting to skitch a Metro bus on Dec. 2, 1996, with six of his friends; the bus driver never even noticed what had happened. So if skitching is something you want to try, just remember that besides the fact that it's illegal, one false move by you or a motorist, or just a bad patch of asphalt, could turn you into roadkill.

Final Notes

If you do violate a law while skating, we hope you're carrying some identification or are ready to get seriously disrespected. NYC police officers seem to get in a snit if you're not carrying New York ID and can be downright cantankerous if you're carrying no ID at all. We know of one skitcher who was carted off to the precinct house for carrying no ID, the idea being that he would then call someone up who would come down to the station and identify him. The desk sergeant eventually cut him loose anyway, but it was certainly a less than pleasant experience.

Finally, if you do get pink-slipped (i.e., busted) for some form of illegal skating, take heed that if your violation requires a court date, then you will probably have to pay automatic court fees of about $95 (as of 2015) in addition to whatever the actual fine might be.