Bicycles, Play Vehicles, and Unicycles - Authorizations and Requirements (Jay's Law)
Summary
HB375, known as Jay’s Law, updates Maryland’s transportation code to expressly allow a person to ride a bicycle, play vehicle, or unicycle on a sidewalk or sidewalk area unless a local ordinance prohibits it. It also confirms that a person may ride from the roadway into or through a crosswalk where sidewalk riding is permitted. The bill applies the pedestrian-style rules already used for these users when they are lawfully on sidewalks or in crosswalks, while preserving the requirement that they obey traffic control signals at intersections.
The bill adds a new safety rule requiring anyone operating a bicycle, play vehicle, or unicycle on a sidewalk, sidewalk area, or in or through a crosswalk to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and to people using electric personal assistive mobility devices. It also clarifies that the existing rule in § 21-506 does not apply to these users. The act takes effect October 1, 2025, and amends Maryland Transportation Article §§ 21-1103 and 21-1202.
Impact
HB375 changes Maryland law by shifting sidewalk riding from a more limited or locally framed allowance to a statewide authorization unless a local ordinance bans it. It affects cyclists, users of play vehicles, and unicyclists, while preserving local control for municipalities that want to restrict sidewalk riding. It also strengthens pedestrian protections by codifying a right-of-way duty in favor of pedestrians and electric personal assistive mobility device users, and it updates related traffic and sidewalk-use provisions in the Transportation Article.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House 133-0 and the Senate 45-2, indicating strong overall approval. The available record does not include committee debate, but the vote totals suggest the measure was viewed favorably as a safety-and-access clarification rather than a controversial policy change.
Contention
The main policy tension in HB375 is between allowing sidewalk riding for bicycles, play vehicles, and unicycles and protecting pedestrians on sidewalks and in crosswalks. The bill resolves that tension by permitting sidewalk use statewide unless a local ordinance says otherwise, while requiring riders to yield to pedestrians and electric personal assistive mobility device users. Any remaining point of contention is likely local control versus uniform statewide rules, since the bill expressly preserves local ordinances that prohibit sidewalk riding.