Safety

Throughout this guide, "street skating" is used in the literal sense; i.e., getting about town on city streets on one's skates.

Despite their variable condition, the streets of Manhattan almost seem designed for skating. At the height of inline skating's popularity, there seemed to be a lot of people in this town using their Rollerblades for basic transportation. You might raise a sweat and suffer bus exhaust, but it saved the cost of subway or bus fare.

Just remember that although Manhattan drivers are surprisingly apt to honor street lights — or at least they used to do so; things have changed — they can be downright terrible at signalling lane changes or even turns. In other boroughs, drivers will be less likely to slow for amber lights, or even red lights. (For some reason, we find skating the streets in the Bronx the most worrisome.) Cars running lights seems to have become more common as drivers figured out that they have a few seconds during the LPI (leading pedestrian interval) when they probably won't get hit by cross traffic.

But while we have enormous respect for the ability of cab drivers to avoid hitting cyclists, skaters of all types, scooter riders, and other cars, the movement of taxis is (perhaps as a consequence) notoriously unpredictable. And then there are the take-out food deliveristas, who all too often ride their lightless and apparently brakeless bicycles the wrong way down one-way streets.

The moral of the story is... well actually, there are several of them:

  • Wearing a helmet and other skate armor is more than just a good idea. (Also, state law requires skaters under age 14 to wear helmets.)
  • Pay attention to what you're doing and what others around you are doing. Don't do anything to reduce your ability to observe your surroundings. Skating with ear buds plugged into your ears could cause you to lose "street awareness".
  • New York state law gives you the right to skate on the streets, but you also have responsibilities, too. Skate with traffic rather than against it, honor traffic signals, etc. Basically, behave like cyclists are supposed to.
  • Help others help you. Hand signals alert others to your intentions and give them time to react appropriately. You'd be amazed at how much less you'll get honked at if you do simple things like signal a lane change, or even your need for some space in order to avoid bad asphalt or a double-parked truck.
  • Know the territory. Manhattan avenues can be scary, but even a quiet residential street has its dangers. Keep in mind what they are and be prepared.
  • Wear reflective clothing when skating after dark. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.
  • Consider carrying illumination. A stick or rut on a poorly lit street can really mess up what had been a fun night skate.

Please take note that at least ten skaters are known to have died skating in the city since this skate guide first was posted on the web. Five were victims of falls in Central Park, all of whom died of head injuries. Those outside the park were either struck by or run over by vehicles. Reports suggest that several of these skaters would have survived if they had been wearing helmets, and at least three were killed because they were doing something foolish in the wrong place. Two of the helmetless skaters who slipped and fell in Central Park did so within short distances of emergency service personnel, but the nature of the head injuries was such that the quick medical response did not matter.