Skaters and scooters — New York Permit Test
Skaters and scooters on the New York permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
In-line skaters, skateboarders and non-motorized scooters are vulnerable to the careless actions of motor vehicle drivers, and motor vehicle operators are responsible for the safe and lawful operation of the vehicles they drive.
They have no brakes worth the name and no shell. The responsibility sits with the car.
Motor vehicle operators are responsible for safe and lawful operation of the vehicles they drive.
A driver is responsible to exercise due care by being aware, alert, and driving defensively around in-line skaters, skateboarders and non-motorized scooters.
Due care is a legal duty rather than good manners. It is owed to these road users too.
You as the driver are responsible to exercise due care by being aware, alert, and driving defensively.
A driver should pay particular attention when they observe in-line skaters, skateboarders and non-motorized scooters operating along the roadside, in a designated bike lane, when approaching intersections and at crosswalks.
These are the four places their path and a car's path cross.
As with pedestrians and bicyclists, other road users such as in-line skaters, skateboarders and non-motorized scooters are vulnerable to the careless actions o motor vehicle drivers.
On the test
Who is responsible for safe operation around skaters and scooters?
The motor vehicle operator. They have no brakes worth the name and no shell. The responsibility sits with the car. New York State Driver's Manual, p.70: “Motor vehicle operators are responsible for safe and lawful operation of the vehicles they drive.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
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Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against New York State Driver's Manual, published by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-15.