I don't understand why the rest of the United States doesn't allow lane splitting...

[SDRider]

Like California does.

I hear people from other states say it is dangerous, despite them having absolutely no personal experience with it. Most of the rest of the world allows this practice and some studies have shown it is safer for motorcyclists to lane split instead of sitting in stop and go traffic like a car. I've also heard people in other states say it isn't fair and that it makes them angry when they see motorcyclists splitting traffic. To that I have just one response: BOO HOO!!! Get on a bike and enjoy the benefits then.

I drove to work yesterday and as I was sitting in a 1/4 mile long line of cars waiting to get through an intersection I saw a motorcyclist filtering between cars coming up behind me and I realized that there wasn't much of a gap between me and the car to my left so I crept up a bit and moved my car farther to the right so he could squeeze through. I noticed other people around me did the same. Why do some people get angry? It's really no skin of their back and it is just common courtesy really. Plus, a motorcycle lane splitting is one less car on the roads. Less cars equals less traffic.

Anyway, when/if you ever see it on the ballot in your state, vote to allow lane splitting. It makes sense.

[singe89]

I've seen more than a few lane splitters get tagged by a car changing lanes on the 5 freeway coming out of Pendleton. Rush hour/stop and go and motorcycles come up fast and tag the rear/side of the car. Even if you look over your shoulder, in the side mirror and with blind spot monitors its very hard to see some motorcycles with how fast they travel vs traffic. I've also seen a few bikes with side cases try to split and scratch a car and keep going. I travel in the far left lane and try to pull over to give them extra room but its still a risk riding a motorcycle.

[Abdullah71601]

I’ve seen lane splitters splattered trying to weave through traffic. Maybe your state doesn’t care if you end up as a grease stain on the pavement.

[Headshrinker]

Nope, rather be safe than have some idiot pull out in front of me. Here in NJ, we have groups of motorcycles (racing bikes) that will cut in and out of traffic at well over 100 MPH!

[CDNWatchNut]

I'm for it, I rather like being able to lane split when in California.

[HL65]

Thankfully we don’t and can’t say I miss that aspect of California.

[Bigblu10]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

I’ve seen lane splitters splattered trying to weave through traffic. Maybe your state doesn’t care if you end up as a grease stain on the pavement.

Well said.

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by singe89

Rush hour/stop and go and motorcycles come up fast and tag the rear/side of the car. Even if you look over your shoulder, in the side mirror and with blind spot monitors its very hard to see some motorcycles with how fast they travel vs traffic.

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

I’ve seen lane splitters splattered trying to weave through traffic. Maybe your state doesn’t care if you end up as a grease stain on the pavement.

Originally Posted by Headshrinker

Nope, rather be safe than have some idiot pull out in front of me. Here in NJ, we have groups of motorcycles (racing bikes) that will cut in and out of traffic at well over 100 MPH!

All the motorcyclists you mention are doing it wrong and they will probably become grease spots or have a scare big enough that they'll stop riding dangerously.

Lane splitting is not any of the things you three mentioned. What you are talking about is reckless driving/riding. It is not legal and it is not what lane splitting is. Weaving in and out of traffic at 100mph is not lane splitting and it is not legal. Those people are idiots.

I don't like it when motorcyclists lane split when I'm driving along at 65-70mph. I don't think that is particularly safe. I will only lane split if traffic is stop and go or just plain stopped. CHP will not bother you if you are lane splitting at a speed that is within 10-15mph of the traffic around you (assuming traffic is moving that much slower or more than the speed limit).

I've been doing it for more than a decade and it saves me time and makes me less likely to get rear ended. And I was rear ended in my car about a year ago. If I were on my bike I wouldn't have been hit in that situation because I would have been lane splitting. If I was on the bike and hadn't been able to legally lane split I probably would have been seriously injured or killed.

We've all seen motorcyclists do stupid shit. Don't paint all of us with those incidents that stand out in your memory. It's not fair.

[MP5]

No I hated the splitters in California. Way too much to have to worry about what is behind you too. While were at it, I would vote to put emission control/cats and mufflers on motorcycles. Cant believe they get to break every noise and emission codes on the planet.

[MP5]

Thats wonderful in theory and it doesnt occur like that at all in the real world. The Highways are solid lines of vehicles going a decent speed and the California lane splitters are blasting through at 60+ every second of every day.

Originally Posted by SDRider

All the motorcyclists you mention are doing it wrong and they will probably become grease spots or have a scare big enough that they'll stop riding dangerously.

Lane splitting is not any of the things you three mentioned. What you are talking about is reckless driving/riding. It is not legal and it is not what lane splitting is. Weaving in and out of traffic at 100mph is not lane splitting and it is not legal. Those people are idiots.

I don't like it when motorcyclists lane split when I'm driving along at 65-70mph. I don't think that is particularly safe. I will only lane split if traffic is stop and go or just plain stopped. CHP will not bother you if you are lane splitting at a speed that is within 10-15mph of the traffic around you (assuming traffic is moving that much slower or more than the speed limit).

I've been doing it for more than a decade and it saves me time and makes me less likely to get rear ended. And I was rear ended in my car about a year ago. If I were on my bike I wouldn't have been hit in that situation because I would have been lane splitting. If I was on the bike and hadn't been able to legally lane split I probably would have been seriously injured or killed.

We've all seen motorcyclists do stupid shit. Don't paint all of us with those incidents that stand out in your memory. It's not fair.

[imperio]

As a cyclist I lane split at times and don't have an issue with that. I'm always on the lookout for drivers looking to cut into a gap in the lanes next to theirs though.

[tritium8]

An extremely dangerous practice only because it seems everyone is on their phones and not actually paying attention while they drive. Also, like it was stated, bikes going 80+ mph splitting lanes are idiots. I'm pretty certain CHP has limits to when bikes can lane split. I have no issue with it when people use common sense and I huge the left shoulder when I see a bike coming.

[CRM114]

When traffic is stopped it's not that big of a deal, but if congested, multilane traffic is moving along at, say, 40 or a jam-up is breaking free and lane-splitters are moving at 60-65 (the speed limit) problems arise because cars are jostling for position between lanes to exit while mainly looking ahead, avoid others cutting over, road debris, etc etc.

When motorcyclists reckon they "own" an imaginary lane between lanes moving faster than the regular flow of traffic it sets up the conflict. Disparate rates of speed for vehicles using the same finite space is inherently more dangerous and likely to result in collisions or near-misses no matter how well the users are "paying attention" because human monitoring capabilities and assimilation of rates of closure to react are finite as well. Ask any air traffic controller. Car drivers are aware of large proximate vehicles moving in their periphery and mirrors. Many can't even do that very well, but now you're asking them to assimilate and monitor behind them narrow, imaginary lanes dedicated to faster traffic that pop-up, but only when someone is actually in it.

Nobody can see everything all at once, yet the attitude of too many motorcyclists is that a motorist is to constantly monitor the exact spot from which they've decided that moment to quickly overtake from behind instead of ahead, beside, etc. A motorcycle moving fast up between lanes is far, far less likely to be seen because the lane-changer's vision is tracking the car ahead and behind the space he/she is going for. Adding a fast-moving variable into the mix is going to force the driver's eyes away from the car ahead, the car ahead in the lane over, and the car behind the space in the lane over.

Mom with the kids coming home from daycare isn't a trained fighter pilot with her head on a swivel anticipating fast-moving bandits at 5, 6, 7 o'clock that can jump out from a lane and accelerate 5 car lengths between them within 1 second. Nor should she have to be in order to use a public road in relative safety where imaginary lanes appear and disappear depending on the whims of a motorcyclist.

This is quite the opposite of aircraft rules where slower, less maneuverable aircraft ahead have the right-of-way over faster, more maneuverable traffic overtaking from behind. The faster aircraft can overtake but must give the slower one ahead room to maneuver based on the given than most of a pilot's attention is given to looking forward to operate safely. That this division of attention (mostly forward, where one is directing a vehicle) also applies on the ground but seems to be lost many motorcyclists who, at the same time, want to be the fastest thing moving. In a lane-splitting scenario on a highway, the faster splitters are giving slower cars/trucks no room to maneuver. The entire point of lane-splitting is to move faster than the rate of proximate traffic flow, and given the space on the same 2-dimensional surface, it's an automatic near-miss maneuver sandwiched between the cars/trucks that always win in any match-up with a motorcycle.

Not a good idea. Lane-splitters frequently get greased. I actually feel worse for the car/truck driver when it happens, and I used to ride all the time.

[superstarmar]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

I’ve seen lane splitters splattered trying to weave through traffic. Maybe your state doesn’t care if you end up as a grease stain on the pavement.

Other day a motorcyclist died in between a semi and
passenger car or truck on 295 beltway in Jacksonville, FL.
Don’t know if he was Lane splitting but it is sad !!!

[dba]

Originally Posted by MP5

Cant believe they get to break every noise and emission codes on the planet.

They don't. It was one of my pet peeves when I was working and I wrote many, many tickets for that. But I'm also man enough to admit it was mostly the riders of certain V-Twin engine motorcycles that had their exhausts modified. I probably hate that sound more than a baby crying.


As far as splitting lanes, Julian (SDRider) is right. Everything described would be considered reckless driving/riding. California for years didn’t have an opinion on splitting lanes. I think it was actually codified in January of 2017, (long after my retirement). IIRC, it reads something like the motorcyclist is allowed to travel no faster than 10 mph faster than the flow of traffic, up to 40 mph. Once traffic reaches 40 mph, lane splitting is not allowed.

That said, most people know how fast they’re going but they don’t know how far they’re traveling at any particular speed. If interested, it’s just under 1.5 feet per second per every mph. So 60 mph is 90 feet per second or the distance from home plate to first base in major league baseball.

Factor in reaction times for seeing a hazard, reacting to said hazard and these nitwits that split lanes at 60 mph are done. The best thing that can happen is they don’t injure anyone else.

[subtona]

Splitting lanes at slow or stopped traffic should be mandatory.

Many motorcycles can not stay cool enough if sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

Many drivers ignore and jeopardize riders safety with their carelessness and callousness. Texting and phone calls and whatever else drivers do while driving exasperates the dangers. I will wager incidents and accidents from these behaviors are far more of a cocern than a motorcycle expediting the flow of traffic.

Much of the joy of riding is not getting stuck in ridiculous traffic for no reason and not searching for parking.

The average motorcycle rider has two hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road...can we say that about those who drive automobiles?



However, Lane splitting or weaving at normal or above highway speeds can be dangerous and is generally not necessary. I can’t/won’t defend it.


Ps. You know what’ I think is dangerous ? ... hitting a dear on a motorcycle doing 70+ mph...I tried that.


My 2¢

[Andad]

As usual we have those who have seen all the terrible things that happen.

I have been riding on the road for more than 50 years and I have never seen a lane splitting accident.

Lane splitting is legal over here but has speed requirements and rules just like any other country where this is allowed.

I would rather be ahead of the tin top drivers (who are usually in their own little world or on their phones) and be well out if the way.

[SearChart]

Over here lane splitters are only allowed to drive 10km/h faster than the slow traffic, if completely congested then they'll have to go very slowly. Still beats standing still in traffic I guess.

[GB-man]

If I was on a motorcycle I would probably do it. Easier to manage traffic ahead of you rather than ahead and behind.

You need huge balls to ride these days. Everyone is on a cell phone. You’re rolling the dice.

[Old Geezer]

I ride a motorcycle. As a biker, I’m often embarrassed by other biker’s behavior. Lane splitting is safe and shouldn’t bother anyone when everyone plays nice. The problem is bikers sometimes, knock off mirrors, scratch cars and move way faster than motorist can see and respond to in their mirrors.
Maybe CA knows something other states don’t, but I think maybe 49 states have decided against lane splitting. Go figure.

[bayerische]

I would have thought it to be illegal in most of the world...? Certainly not legal here. For a good reason IMHO.

[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by MP5

Thats wonderful in theory and it doesnt occur like that at all in the real world. The Highways are solid lines of vehicles going a decent speed and the California lane splitters are blasting through at 60+ every second of every day.

Yes it does in the real world. More than 40 years in CA, both No Cal and So Cal...there is too much traffic, splitting at 60mph is rare given the # of riders on the road daily. M License for over 30 years.

Splitting is great.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Old Geezer]

Originally Posted by BrazenC5

Yes it does in the real world. More than 40 years in CA, both No Cal and So Cal...there is too much traffic, splitting at 60mph is rare given the # of riders on the road daily. M License for over 30 years.

Splitting is great.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

My sample of 1 is different. I was in the Bay Area in February going from San Francisco airport to Walnut Creek on a Friday evening. Every manner of motorcycle from crotch rocket to full dress Harley splitting at ridiculous speeds and generally being a$$es. I don’t condone it but could easily see a frustrated cager getting pissed and taking one out. It wasn’t exceptions, all the bikes were doing it.

[Cru Jones]

It's totally normal in urban traffic in France. Just a question of everyone being used to it. And for car drivers to accept that bikers are always correct.

It also helps all riders to have the occasional angry rider who smashes the rear view mirrors of those who wander into the "bikers' lane".... encourages respect by all. ;-)

[Spartacus]

I’m not sure about other areas, but around here, it’s Motogp on the streets. I’ve had police officers tell me they won’t chase some of these riders doing high speeds.

[MP5]

Originally Posted by BrazenC5

Yes it does in the real world. More than 40 years in CA, both No Cal and So Cal...there is too much traffic, splitting at 60mph is rare given the # of riders on the road daily. M License for over 30 years.

Splitting is great.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I saw it multiple times a day on my daily commute when I lived in the bay area. Even across the bridges. I think you are too passionate about your want to ride free and lane split to see the abuse, infractions, and common real world behavior of riders

[Rolex addict]

Originally Posted by GB-man

If I was on a motorcycle I would probably do it. Easier to manage traffic ahead of you rather than ahead and behind.

You need huge balls to ride these days. Everyone is on a cell phone. You’re rolling the dice.

Amen. Part of the reason I sold mine. You can do everything right and still get ran over by someone on their cell phone.

Lane splitting is good in theory like others have said, but the real world is a different place.

[never2late]

Well if you can't lane split I guess its just as you said . . . boo hoo!!

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by subtona

Splitting lanes at slow or stopped traffic should be mandatory.

Many motorcycles can not stay cool enough if sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

Many drivers ignore and jeopardize riders safety with their carelessness and callousness. Texting and phone calls and whatever else drivers do while driving exasperates the dangers. I will wager incidents and accidents from these behaviors are far more of a cocern than a motorcycle expediting the flow of traffic.

Much of the joy of riding is not getting stuck in ridiculous traffic for no reason and not searching for parking.

The average motorcycle rider has two hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road...can we say that about those who drive automobiles?



However, Lane splitting or weaving at normal or above highway speeds can be dangerous and is generally not necessary. I can’t/won’t defend it.


Ps. You know what’ I think is dangerous ? ... hitting a dear on a motorcycle doing 70+ mph...I tried that.


My 2¢

Don't buy a bike that overheats while idling if you ride in an area that is usually congested.

I go to India often. Everybody is on bikes and scooters, and nobody pays heed to lanes. It's mob traffic with tons of accidents and injuries. Chaos doesn't work as well as organization, and lane splitting promotes chaos.

Lane splitting doesn't fix congestion by allowing bikes to get there faster. It does enable knot heads on overpowered machines to do stupid things in public. The safest approach is for everybody to be doing the same thing, at the same speed, within the confines of the organized flow of traffic (lanes).

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

I ride a motorcycle. As a biker, I’m often embarrassed by other biker’s behavior. Lane splitting is safe and shouldn’t bother anyone when everyone plays nice. The problem is bikers sometimes, knock off mirrors, scratch cars and move way faster than motorist can see and respond to in their mirrors.
Maybe CA knows something other states don’t, but I think maybe 49 states have decided against lane splitting. Go figure.

So am I. That said, I can only account for my own behavior as a rider. The idiots need to be handled by law enforcement.

To those who think lane splitting is more dangerous, 40% of all traffic accidents in the U.S. are rear end collisions, that is a fact. Would you rather be rear ended on a motorcycle or side swiped? I’ve been side swiped on my bike by a car and was able to keep from going down. Did no damage to my bike other than a deranged mirror and a sore wrist for having my handlebar wrenched sideways.

Yes, people are distracted. And I think that just makes the case for sensible lane splitting even stronger. It is the better place to be with all the distracted drivers on the road. I drive a car most days (although I rode to work 3 times this week) and I see many riders lane splitting. Most of them are sensible about it. Doing crazy things on a bike is a sure way to get yourself seriously injured or killed... it will catch up with you.

Speaking of which, nearly half of all motorcycle fatalities are single vehicle accidents. Nearly half of those involve alcohol. So simply by not drinking and riding and riding within your abilities greatly increases your chances of survival. Still, I know that riding is dangerous but I try to minimize the risk by being alert and anticipating danger. Always scanning the road ahead, watching those front wheels when lane splitting through slow moving traffic. Most people see you coming and make room. I appreciate that and I do the same when I’m behind the wheel.