Is it Illegal to Ride a Bicycle on New Jersey Highways?

I saw the craziest thing the other night and I hope I never see it again.

Have you ever seen anyone doing this? I was driving on I-95 South last week in the Bensalem area, and I was absolutely shocked to see a man riding a bicycle.

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A few things to note here - When I say bicycle, I don't mean a motorcycle or any sort of motorized bike. This was a standard bicycle. Furthermore, it was at night, and it was during the severe rainstorm we'd been dreading all week. And there he was, pedaling away by the treeline, in dangerous proximity to dozens of cars going 60+ miles per hour.

Roughly where I saw the guy riding the bike. Crazy.

To make matters even more dangerous, he wasn't wearing any sort of reflective clothing - just a black coat, which made him nearly impossible to see until I was less than two car lengths away from him!

Let me say that again - It was nighttime, and it was raining.

I was bewildered, but I wasn't unsympathetic. Not everyone can afford a vehicle, or even an Uber. And for him to be pedaling a bicycle along a major highway in a rainstorm... I can only assume this poor soul was in desperate need to be somewhere. But these circumstances were just entirely too dangerous.

So it made me wonder...

Is riding an unmotorized bicycle along highways illegal in New Jersey?

The answer is mostly, yes. According to NJDOT, these highways and freeways are off-limits to unmotorized bikes in New Jersey:

Technically, my occurrence took place in Pennsylvania, so is this illegal in Pennsylvania?

Yes. According to PennDOT:

"Bicycles are not permitted on freeways in Pennsylvania without permission of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation."

It's way too dangerous. Freeways and highways were not built for bicycles. Travel safely!