There has been a lot of controversy about the addition of dozens of new bike lanes in New York City over the past few years.  With the influx of so many additional bicyclists, it is worth noting that under New York law, they are subject to the same rights — and duties — as a motor vehicle driver.

In Gee v Malik, the plaintiff bicyclist was injured when he struck the rear of a motor vehicle driven and owned by the defendants. The defendants moved for summary judgment and the trial court granted the motion, which plaintiff then appealed.

The Second Department affirmed the lower court’s decision in dismissing the complaint.  In doing so, the Court referenced Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1231, where persons riding bicycles are granted the same rights and duties applicable to a motor vehicle driver – which includes maintaining a reasonably safe rate of speed and exercising reasonable care to avoid collisions.

Regardless of whether he was riding a bicycle, the rear end accident was prima facie negligence against plaintiff.  Defendants demonstrated that their vehicle was stopped at the time of the incident, and since the plaintiff was unable to rebut the inference of negligence by providing a non-negligent explanation for the collision, the trial court’s decision was affirmed.

Thanks to Jung Lee for his contribution to this post.  For more information, please write to Mike Bono.