BICYCLES, ROLLERSKATES AND SKATEBOARDS
39A:BRS-1. Definitions
a. "Bicycle" means a vehicle with two wheels propelled solely by human power and having pedals, handle bars and a saddle-like seat. The term shall include a bicycle for two or more persons having seats and corresponding sets of pedals arranged in tandem. As used in this act "bicycle" means any two-wheeled vehicle having a rear drive wheel which is solely human-powered and having a seat height of 25 inches or greater when the seat is in the lowest adjustable position.
b. "Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
c. "Roller skates" means a pair of devices worn on the feet with a set of wheels attached, regardless of the number or placement of those wheels, and used to glide or propel the user over the ground.
d. “Skateboard” means…
Source: 39:4-10.1; 39:4-10.5; 39:4-14.5.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the source sections and consolidates them.
A definition of skateboard will be added.
39A:BRS-2. Helmets required for bicycle, skateboard and rollerskate use
a. A person under 17 shall not operate or ride upon a bicycle or operate any rollerskates or skateboard unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet which meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z90.4 bicycle helmet standard), the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1990 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling, or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard. This requirement applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle in a restraining seat attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.
b. The requirement in subsection (a) of this section shall apply for bicycling at all times while a bicycle is being operated on a property open to or used by the public for pedestrian and vehicular purposes; however, a municipality may by ordinance exempt from this requirement a person operating or riding on a bicycle when the bicycle is operated:
(1) on a highway closed to motor vehicle traffic and limited to pedestrian or bicycle use at all times or only during specified periods of time during which bicycles may be operated; or
(2) exclusively on a trail, route, course, boardwalk, path or other area set aside for the use of bicycles or for the use of pedestrians and bicycle operation is not otherwise prohibited. An exemption may not be granted under this paragraph for any area immediately adjacent to a highway used by motor vehicle traffic which does not contain a barrier of sufficient height and rigidity to prevent the entry of a bicycle operator onto the highway.
c. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection (b) shall specify the roads, highways, trails, routes, courses, boardwalks, paths or areas within the municipality where helmets are not required during the operation of a bicycle.
d. When a bicycle is being operated in an area where bicycle helmets are not required, the operator or passenger, except a passenger in a restraining seat or trailer, shall dismount from the bicycle and walk whenever it is necessary to enter a crosswalk or to cross a highway upon which motor vehicle traffic is permitted.
e. The requirement in subsection (a) shall apply for rollerskating and skateboarding at all times while a person subject to this section is operating roller skates or skateboarding on any property open to the public or used by the public for roller skating or skateboarding.
Source: 39:4-10.1; 39:4-10.2; 39:4-10.5.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated.
39A:BRS-3. Violation of helmet requirement
a. The Chief Administrator shall publish a list of bicycle helmets which meet the standards described in subsection 39A:BRS-2(a) and provide for its distribution in as many locations frequented by the public as the Chief Administrator deems appropriate and practicable.
b. A person who violates 39A:BRS-2 shall be warned of the violation by the enforcing official. The parent or legal guardian of that person also may be found guilty of a class E offense for a first violation, and a class D offense for a subsequent violation if it can be shown that the parent or guardian failed to exercise reasonable supervision or control over the person's conduct. Penalties may be waived if an offender or the parent or legal guardian presents suitable proof that an approved helmet was owned at the time of the violation or has been purchased since the violation occurred.
c. Money collected as fines under this section shall be deposited in a nonlapsing revolving fund known as the "Bicycle and Skating Safety Fund." Interest earned on money in the fund shall accrue to the fund. Money in the fund shall be used by the Chief Administrator to provide educational programs devoted to bicycle, roller skating and skateboarding safety. If the Chief Administrator determines that sufficient money is available in the fund, the Chief Administrator may, as prescribed regulation, use the money to assist low income families in purchasing approved bicycle helmets. For this subsection, "low income family" means a family which qualifies for low income housing under the standards promulgated by the Council on Affordable Housing pursuant to C.52:27D-301 et seq.
d. The failure of any person to comply with 39A:BRS-2shall not constitute negligence per se, contributory negligence or assumption of risk, and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person (not included in bicycle section, only skate).
Source: 39:4-10.1; 39:4-10.2; 39:4-10.5; 39:4-10.6; 39:4-10.7.
COMMENT
Subsection (b) designates penalties according to the new penalty classification system contained in 39A:44-GP1. The penalties for bicycles are not an exact match for skateboard penalties in the original statutes, but have been drafted as the same here. If necessary, this will be modified.
The language regarding the fund is probably more appropriately located in the Fund chapter and will be moved.
39A:BRS-4. Requirements for those in the business of selling or renting bicycles
a. A person or business entity regularly engaged in the business of selling or renting bicycles, rollerskates or skateboards shall post a sign at the point where the sale or rental transaction is completed stating: "STATE LAW REQUIRES A BICYCLE RIDER UNDER 17 YEARS OF AGE TO WEAR A HELMET" or "STATE LAW REQUIRES A PERSON UNDER 17 YEARS OF AGE TO WEAR A HELMET WHEN ROLLERSKATING OR SKATEBOARDING", as appropriate. The sign shall be at a minimum 15 inches in length and 8 inches in width. This notification requirement shall not apply to a seller when the bicycle, rollerskates or skateboard is sold other than by an in-person transaction.
b. A person or business entity who fails to post the required sign is subject to a penalty not to exceed $25 a day for each day the business is open to the public and the sign is not posted. The enforcement of this section is vested in the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs of the Department of Law and Public Safety, inspectors appointed by that Director, and the police, peace officers, or inspectors appointed for this purpose by a municipality, a county or the State. Jurisdiction of proceedings to collect the penalties prescribed by this section is vested in the Superior Court and the municipal court in a municipality where the defendant is apprehended or resides. Process shall be executed in a summary manner pursuant to N.J.S. 2A:58-1 et seq.
c. A person or business entity regularly engaged in the business of renting bicycles, rollerskates or skateboards shall provide a helmet to a person under 17 years of age who will operate or ride in an area where a helmet is required, if the person is not in possession of a helmet. A fee may be charged for the helmet rental.
d. A person or business entity regularly engaged in the business of selling or renting bicycles, rollerskates or skateboards who complies with the requirements of this section shall not be liable in a civil action for damages for any physical injury sustained by the bicycle operator or passenger or the rollerskater or skateboarder under the age of 17 as a result of the operator's or passenger's failure to wear a properly fitted or fastened helmet in violation of this section.
e. The provisions of this chapter concerning the sale or rental of a bicycle shall not apply to the sale or rental of a bicycle by a person not regularly engaged in the business of selling or renting bicycles and where the bicycle was obtained by the person making the sale or rental for that person’s own use.
Source: 39:4-10.3; 39:4-10.9; 39:4-14.6.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated.
39A:BRS-5. Sale of rollerskates or skateboards and protective gear warning
a. It shall be unlawful to manufacture, assemble, sell, offer to sell or distribute rollerskates, skateboards or electric personal assistive mobility devices without a warning notice consistent with the requirements of this section.
b. The warning notice shall be placed in at least one of the following locations and shall be clearly visible to the consumer: (1) on one roller skate in each pair of rollerskates or on the skateboard; (2) on the outside of the box or other container in which the rollerskates, skateboard or electric personal assistive mobility device are offered for sale at retail; or (3) on any user's guide or instruction manual provided with the rollerskates, skateboard or electric personal assistive mobility device.
c. The warning notice must be printed in clear and conspicuous type and be substantially similar to the following: "WARNING! REDUCE THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY AND ONLY USE WHILE WEARING FULL PROTECTIVE GEAR--HELMET, WRIST GUARDS, ELBOW PADS AND KNEE PADS."
d. A person, form, corporation or other legal entity regularly engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling rollerskates, skateboards or electric personal assistive mobility devices who complies with the requirements of this section shall not be liable in a civil action for damages for any physical injury sustained by a user of rollerskates, a skateboard or an electric personal assistive mobility device as a result of that user's failure to wear a helmet in accordance with this chapter.
Source: 39:4-10.8.
COMMENT
This section is substantially identical to the original.
39A:BRS-6. Rights and duties of rollerskaters and skateboarders
a. A person operating rollerskates or a skateboard upon a highway shall be granted all of the rights and subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by chapter four of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except those provisions which by their nature can have no application.
b. Regulations applicable to rollerskates and skateboards shall apply whenever a person operates any rollerskates or skateboard upon a highway or upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of rollerskates or skateboards subject to the exceptions stated in (a).
c. The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, regulate the operation of rollerskates and skateboards upon highways and public properties under municipal jurisdiction; provided that no such ordinance shall:
(1) Absolve a person operating rollerskates or a skateboard upon a permitted highway of any of the duties applicable to the operator of a bicycle pursuant to Article 3 of chapter 4 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except the provisions which by their nature can have no application;
(2) Prohibit a person from operating a skateboard upon any public highway, except those specifically designated by ordinance.
d. Nothing in this chapter shall obligate the Commissioner of Transportation to maintain, plan, design or construct highways to accommodate the operation of rollerskates or skateboards.
e. A person operating rollerskates or a skateboard upon a highway shall ride as near to the right side of the highway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction; provided that a person may move to the left under any of the following situations:
(1) To make a left turn from a left-turn lane or pocket;
(2) To avoid debris, drains or other hazardous conditions that make it impracticable to ride at the right side of the highway;
(3) To pass a slower moving vehicle;
(4) To occupy an available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic; or
(5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded.
f. Persons operating rollerskates or skateboards upon a highway may travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise shall ride in single file, except on paths or parts of highways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, rollerskates or skateboards.
g. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to operators and patrons of rollerskating rinks governed by the "New Jersey Roller Skating Rink Safety and Fair Liability Act," 5:14-1 et seq.
Source: 39:4-10.10; 39:4-10.10a; 39:4-10.10b; 39:4-10.11; 39:4-10.12.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated.
39A:BRS-7. Required equipment for bicycles
a. A bicycle in use from dusk until dawn shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which emits white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front, and with a lamp on the rear which emits red light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the rear. A red reflector approved by the Commission may also be mounted on the rear which shall be visible between 50 feet and 300 feet to the rear when directly in front of the head lamps on a motor vehicle.
b. A person shall not operate a bicycle unless it is equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible for a distance of at least 100 feet, but a bicycle shall not be equipped with, nor shall a person use upon a bicycle, any siren or whistle.
c. Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake that will enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
d. No person shall sell or offer to sell, or rent or offer to rent, whether it be by retail, wholesale or by auction, any bicycle manufactured on or after June 1, 1976 unless the bicycle is equipped with front, rear and pedal reflectors and either (a) side reflectors; or (b) retroreflective tire sidewalls which form a continuous circle on each sidewall, in order to permit recognition and identification under illumination from motor vehicle headlamps. Such front, rear, pedal and side reflectors shall be colored and mounted in conformity with regulations promulgated by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
e. No person shall sell or offer to sell at retail any bicycle unless there is affixed to that bicycle a statement promoting the use of helmets by bicycle riders. If a bicycle is sold unassembled, the statement shall be displayed in a prominent manner on the carton or package containing the unassembled bicycle. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall provide that the affixing of the warning cards "This Bike Is Missing One Part," designed by the New Jersey Coalition for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities and funded by the Office for the Prevention of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services, to a bicycle offered for sale at retail shall fulfill the requirements of this subsection and that those warning cards shall be readily available to the retail sellers of bicycles at cost.
Source: 39:4-10; 39:4-11; 39:4-12; 39:4-14.4; 39:4-14.4a; 39:4-14.7a.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated.
The terminology in subsection (e) may no longer be current and will be updated.
39A:BRS-8. Operation of bicycles
a. A person riding a bicycle upon a highway shall be granted all of the rights and subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by chapter four of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes except the provisions which by their nature can have no application.
b. Regulations applicable to bicycles shall apply whenever a bicycle is operated upon any highway or upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles subject to those exceptions stated in (a).
c. A law enforcement officer operating a bicycle while in the performance of the officer’s duty, and engaged in the apprehension of violators of the law or of persons charged with, or suspected of, a violation is not be subject to this section.
d. A person operating a bicycle upon a highway shall ride as near to the right side of the highway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction; provided that a person may move to the left under any of the following situations:
(1) To make a left turn from a left-turn lane or pocket;
(2) To avoid debris, drains or other hazardous conditions that make it impracticable to ride at the right side of the highway;
(3) To pass a slower moving vehicle;
(4) To occupy any available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic; or
(5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded.
e. Persons riding bicycles upon a highway may travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise shall ride in single file except on paths or parts of highways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
f. A person propelling or riding on a bicycle shall not ride other than upon a permanent and regular attached seat, nor shall a person ride with that person’s feet removed from the pedals, or with both hands removed from the handlebars, nor shall the person practice any trick or fancy riding in a street. A bicycle shall not be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped.
g. A person riding upon a bicycle, coaster, skates, sled, or toy vehicle may not attach that item or him- or herself to a vehicle upon a highway and no operator of a vehicle shall knowingly allow any person riding upon a bicycle, coaster, skates, sled or toy vehicle to attach that item of him- or herself to the vehicle.
Source: 39:4-12; 39:4-14; 39:4-14.1; 39:4-14.2.
COMMENT
This section contains the substance of the original sections and has been consolidated.
39A:BRS-9. Miscellaneous provisions
a. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, a person who violates a provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days or both. [class C]
b. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be subject to a fine of not more than $50 for a first offense and a fine of $100 for each subsequent offense. [classes E and D]
c. The Chief Administrator shall use a portion of the fund established pursuant to C. 39:4-14.3v for the purpose of providing an educational program for the safe operation of bicycles.