I believe helmets are required on River road. Was riding there a few weeks ago and saw two people get tickets for riding w/out a helmet. It's a good habit to always wear one anyways.

Absolutely required.. I was riding on River Road with a friend who was not wearing a helmet. The police officer told him to get off his bike and walk.

I got them to wear helmets.

"The sign at the entrance to River Road reads thus:

Bicycles on Henry Hudson Drive

Requirements

Bikes -- Multi-Speed

Minimum Wheel 24 inches

Cyclists -- Wear Protective Helmet

Minimum Age 14

I have ridden River Road many times on my track bike, and have never got a ticket for riding a single-speed. And I highly doubt that someone would get ticketed for riding a folding bike with 20"" wheels. As I said, the rules were meant to keep hordes of BMX bikes out of the park. But the ignorant PIPC officers single out the helmet rule for enforcement. If you ask why, the answer would be ""Because we say so."""

Why give the PIP cops a reason to stop you? Those signs are clear: wear a helmet. Good Idea. Ignore it at your own peril, or if you have deep pockets to pay a citation

Also, Bikes are not allowed on the steep Palisade Avenue connection to River Road. I know somebody who was ticketed for riding it.

Come to think of it, why give any policeman ANYWHERE a reason to stop you? BTW, the Alpine police have a nice hidden spot to catch cyclists blowing off the red light on route 9W. Much easier to see it on the climb, almost invisible to see while cranking it at 30 MPH.

When I go out on solo rides, or with 1 or 2 other people, I will often ride without a helmet. (I'm not seeking advice or debate on the subject by writing this). River road is a standard ride for me at least once a week during the season, usually lidless. I have been passed by the police on the road itself, and I've chatted with them on numerous occasions both in the station house and outside. I am not saying you CAN'T get a ticket for riding there w/o a lid, or even that I won't tonight. As was pointed out by another posting, there is a sign explicitly stating that wearing one is required when riding on that roadway. But I can tell you that in my years of experience riding there, I was never stopped for not wearing one, or even given a warning regarding their necessity. And Jersey Troopers don't have a reputation for being shy about expressing displeasure at that which irks them.
In closing, however, it should be noted that the present economic environment finds the majority of the states in miserable shape with regard to their budgets. In such times, the probability of a capricious swing in sentiment toward enforcement of any law that has the potential to bring in revenue goes up significantly. Lidless riders and red light jumpers may want to keep a bit of extra cash available to compensate for their transgressions.

Friends don't let friends ride without helmets.

So if you're solo and you don't wear a helmet? Well, 90% of all bicycle fatalities result from head injuries.

I will gladly stop to aid any fallen cyclist who wears a helmet. But if you're lying there on the ground with no helmet on, you owe your plight all to yourself. I might just be tempted to ride on and thumb my nose at your bleeding head.

Why should I ruin my day because you are too arrogant to wear a helmet?

"http://www.crca.net/news/200407.htm#2"

"The CRCA newsletter correctly suggests there was a time River Road was closed to cyclists. Charlie Komanoff lead the negotiation to get it opened to us fulltime.

There was a trade-off: in exchange for our getting this ""privilege,"" we are barred from riding up or down that wonderful, serpentine road connecting River Road to Hudson Terrace just before 9W (the climb to Englewood Cliffs), and we must now wear helmets.

I was none too happy to read in this thread a PIPC cop, having ticketed a rider for not wearing a helmet, then compelled him to walk. That could have been as much as a 4 mile walk...slipping in cleats which would endanger the rider-walker; but, of course, very likely the police told him it was for his own safety the police obliged him to walk.

After I was ticketed for riding that wonderful climb from River Road to Englewood Cliffs, I asked the cop if I could at least ride out. ""No,"" he said, ""for your own safety, walk.""

I explained to him I would have a higher profile to drivers if I were on my bike, I would get out faster if I rode, and if I walked there was a danger of my slipping because of the cleats on the pavement. He repeated, ""For your own safety, you'll walk.""

One more recollection. A helmetless rider crashed on River Rd. He had to be evacuated by an ambulance. The cop on the scene took the time to first give him a ticket for not wearing a helmet, as he lay on the ground bleeding, before calling for medical assistance.

"