Lane splitting situation questions

[jackliu239]

Hello everyone, I have recently start to lane splitting, but only at red lights and only when there are at least 2 lane on the road going the same direction, I split at middle, however I have some questions regarding line splitting in other scenarios

1. Can you lane split at red light wanting to go to the front of left turning lane? For example there is a long line for the lane that is turning left, and there is a line of parked cars on the right line going straight also waiting for traffic light for going straight, can you go pass between the line going left and going straight to the front of the lane going left and lane split that way? Or what happens if there is very little cars or no car parked at red light for the lane going straight.
2. Can you lane split to the front going straight when there is only one line of traffic at the red light? If so, do you go split that right or left side of the parked cars?
3. Can you lane split between the opposite side of road construction area and cars? This is more of a follow up to the previous question, what if the road usually have 2 lines, but the right line is blocked up by yellow road construction cones, and all the traffic is parked at left line, can I split between the construction cones and the cars?


Sorry for the noob questions, but I did a quick search and didn't find the answers, I am in California btw.

[Alex]

/moved to riding skills area

[CycleCam303]

I'm not going to be much help here. It's always bugged me that California motorcycle safety schools, our msf programs, never go over any of these laws. The DMV handbook doesn't cover any of your questions.

On BARF forum, sorry Alex, there is a sticky in the general forum about lane sharing. It's pretty detailed so I'm sure some of those questions can be answered.

1. I don't. But if it's really long I will split all the way up near the front and shove myself in between two cars. I'll be in the lane and not next to somebody. You didn't ask but if there are two lanes for turning left, I've seen a lot of guys split up to the front. I personally don't simply because most drivers don't stay in their designated lane throughout the turn and you might get bumped out if you're in the outside lane.


2 and 3. Read the sharing article. I actually think that's technically ok. But DON'T quote me on that. One time in Santa Rosa near the community college I took the right side and split all the way up to the front on a two way residential. The line was crazy long. The construction zones are probably no bueno.

Not that I condone illegal behavior. But, if there isn't an officer around, I get creative. I've hopped up on a sidewalk in San Francisco to "split" for example.

Just remember to not be a douche. If you're going to split don't half ass it. You'll see touring and harley riders constantly second guessing themselves and sharing with a car and not actually passing them. If you aren't comfortable for any reason don't throw yourself out there. Just crawl with traffic. You will get cut off, you do need to sometimes be very aggressive with the throttle, and sometimes you'll get stuck because someone doesn't like a motorcycle going faster than them, thus shooting in between lanes to continue splitting will be paramount.

[jackliu239]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

I'm not going to be much help here. It's always bugged me that California motorcycle safety schools, our msf programs, never go over any of these laws. The DMV handbook doesn't cover any of your questions.

On BARF forum, sorry Alex, there is a sticky in the general forum about lane sharing. It's pretty detailed so I'm sure some of those questions can be answered.

1. I don't. But if it's really long I will split all the way up near the front and shove myself in between two cars. I'll be in the lane and not next to somebody. You didn't ask but if there are two lanes for turning left, I've seen a lot of guys split up to the front. I personally don't simply because most drivers don't stay in their designated lane throughout the turn and you might get bumped out if you're in the outside lane.


2 and 3. Read the sharing article. I actually think that's technically ok. But DON'T quote me on that. One time in Santa Rosa near the community college I took the right side and split all the way up to the front on a two way residential. The line was crazy long. The construction zones are probably no bueno.

Not that I condone illegal behavior. But, if there isn't an officer around, I get creative. I've hopped up on a sidewalk in San Francisco to "split" for example.

Just remember to not be a douche. If you're going to split don't half ass it. You'll see touring and harley riders constantly second guessing themselves and sharing with a car and not actually passing them. If you aren't comfortable for any reason don't throw yourself out there. Just crawl with traffic. You will get cut off, you do need to sometimes be very aggressive with the throttle, and sometimes you'll get stuck because someone doesn't like a motorcycle going faster than them, thus shooting in between lanes to continue splitting will be paramount.

Thanks, very helpful response.

[JohnnyBravo]

If it fits... Ahhhh so not legal here

[Løckøut]

Yeah, it's not legal here in Oklahoma. Basically, if you want to lane split, make sure you have the room and throttle over the car or cars involved; and if you want to set up for a split, make sure you're at the left extremity of the vehicle in front of you so that tey can clearly see you in their driver side mirror. I stay in plain sight and remain vigilant when lane splitting; if I'm not visible or will not be visible during said split, I make sure to be moving faster so I can get there before they can merge on me. The best time to split is to literally split between cars; theyre not going to hit eachother , or want to get close to one another. And they already see the car in the lane next to them [hopefully], giving you an accident-free approach.

Hope this helped.

[Thorgrim]

I wish it were legal in TN, especially in slower town traffic (I'm not eager to do it on main thoroughfares). It actually eases congestion for the cars as you don't have a bike (that could split and be gone) taking up almost as much room as a cage. I imagine that there'd be an increase in accidents at first since it's a new idea and that may be why no one in the legislature wants to allow it. It would be good in the long run, though, and since I'm retired I'm never in a hurry anyway - it just makes sense from a traffic-flow point of view.

[sparklenation]

Originally Posted by Løckøut

Yeah, it's not legal here in Oklahoma. Basically, if you want to lane split, make sure you have the room and throttle over the car or cars involved; and if you want to set up for a split, make sure you're at the left extremity of the vehicle in front of you so that tey can clearly see you in their driver side mirror. I stay in plain sight and remain vigilant when lane splitting; if I'm not visible or will not be visible during said split, I make sure to be moving faster so I can get there before they can merge on me. The best time to split is to literally split between cars; theyre not going to hit eachother , or want to get close to one another. And they already see the car in the lane next to them [hopefully], giving you an accident-free approach.

Hope this helped.

Well you just helped me. I do not know how to vote it helpful but it is....

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by sparklenation

Well you just helped me. I do not know how to vote it helpful but it is....

You need a bunch of posts before you can start voting on others posts. Stick around a while and you will eventually get the privilege.

[Burphel]

Not legal here. Doesn't mean it never happens anyway .

I wouldn't split to the front of a left turn. Filtering at stoplights is predicated on the idea you're gonna out-accellerate the cars. Which is usually the case as long as you don't stall and there's not a riceburner with a chip on his shoulder up front. But with the left turn, your acceleration is limited, and street cagers aren't known for their ability to hold a line in a turn. As for getting near the front and cutting in - Probably doable, but basically you're proving the one rational complaint against splitting/filtering, that it's only for the motorcyclist's benefit.

Dunno about the second question. Unless there's plenty of room, I'd probably just wait my turn. Single-straight intersection means you're basically drag racing the cage for a single lane on the opposite side of the intersection. You're probably going to win, but the alternative may not be pleasant. Also, there's the chance the car in front may be planning to turn and you either don't find out until you get to the front, or they may not be bothering with signals at all.

As for construction, I'd go with a case-by-case evaluation. If the center is just a double yellow, probably not. If there's an island/barrier, I might. Basically, what are the chances of the construction causing traffic to impact your side of the street? Also, are people rubbernecking or paying attention to what's going on around them?

All of these are gray areas. I'm going to bet the CHP guidelines are going to say no to all of them when they are released. Also, the kind of streets you're talking about are going to be policed by city cops and sheriffs, who may have very different views about splitting/filtering than the staters.

[ally99]

Wish splitting were legal here in GA. The UGA campus traffic would be so easy to filter through if I were allowed to do it. When I pedal commute, I always ride to the front of the line.

[sparklenation]

I am still not doing the splitting thing. For one, I am not in that much of a hurry and I just don't trust people to not be dumb. I figure until I am comfortable with doing it, then I won't do it. I am in no hurry, not trying to race anybody or be an Ahole. Just responsible, safe, alert and courteous. So far it seems to be working.

[CaliGrrl]

Seems reasonable. And I agree, you shouldn't trust drivers.

I started splitting with traffic totally stopped at a light. Just a few cars. So it's definitely a learning curve.

[akima]

Hello!

Originally Posted by jackliu239

Hello everyone
1. Can you lane split at red light wanting to go to the front of left turning lane? For example there is a long line for the lane that is turning left, and there is a line of parked cars on the right line going straight also waiting for traffic light for going straight, can you go pass between the line going left and going straight to the front of the lane going left and lane split that way?

I don't know about the legality of it, but practically speaking; yes, you can.

My approach is to pull directly in-front of the first vehicle in the line. This means there is no chance of ending up side by side with the vehicle, while we are both moving and attempting to turn left. It also means there's no need to even have to consider out-accelerating it while turning in order to get in front of it when the lights go green.

When accelerating and turning there's a lot to think about already without having to also think about beating a vehicle in a race and not colliding with that vehicle while doing it.

If you are going to pull in front of the vehicle at the front of the line as I do, you may want to do the following:

1. keep an eye on the lights as you pull in front of the vehicle. It's easy to just focus on coming to stop in front of the vehicle and loose track of the lights. If you do this there's a chance the lights will go green just as you roll to a stop in front of the vehicle. At best you will piss off the driver. At worse you'll get run over. I actually learned this the hard way; from experience. Luckily I didn't come off my bike, but the car bumper did make contact with me and the driver was quite [rightfully] angry at me.

2. if the lights go green before you've made it in front of the vehicle you have 3 choices:
a. gun-it and get in front of the leading vehicle
b. slow up and find a space in-between one of the queued vehicles as they begin to move off. Note: gaps will appear between the cars, as drivers don't react immediately to the car in front moving off. Another note: you need good slow speed riding skills to do this as you will potentially have to slow up quite a lot while maintaining a clean-straight line between 2 rows of traffic.
c. abort the left turn and continue straight

Which option you choose is very much dependent on your speed, the behaviour of the drivers and your position in the line.

3. keep shifting the gears as you slow down ensuring you are always in a low enough gear that you can move off quickly if you suddenly need to. We always have 3 main options to escape from danger: braking, turning... and accelerating. That third option is only available if you're in the right gear.

4. be confident in whatever it is you do. For me, this has been the most important thing I've had to learn while riding and even more so while splitting. You have to claim your line on the road and you need to commit to your plan regardless of whether you feel you've accidentally done something illegal or whether some angry bastard has started beeping their horn at you. It's your life on the line.

Originally Posted by jackliu239

Or what happens if there is very little cars or no car parked at red light for the lane going straight.

In this situation you don't technically have to filter. Just use the straight-lane to get to the front of the turning lane and then pull in front of the lead car of the turning lane when you're up there.

Originally Posted by jackliu239

2. Can you lane split to the front going straight when there is only one line of traffic at the red light? If so, do you go split that right or left side of the parked cars?

Assuming there is only 1 lane going in your direction, I almost always split on the drivers side between my lane and the on-coming lane. It's very unlikely that an oncoming vehicle will hit you, but it's quite common for passengers to pop open a door on the pavement-side of the car to jump out.

I do sometimes ride on the pavement-side. I just tend to do it very very slowly so there's no chance of a door hitting me.

Originally Posted by jackliu239

3. Can you lane split between the opposite side of road construction area and cars? This is more of a follow up to the previous question, what if the road usually have 2 lines, but the right line is blocked up by yellow road construction cones, and all the traffic is parked at left line, can I split between the construction cones and the cars?

I'd give the same answer as above, except if there is enough space between the construction-cones and the cars that I could keep a wide enough gap that a door couldn't hit me if a passenger suddenly popped it open.



Note: I know nothing about your laws out there or the attitudes of the other road users. I'm from England. Lane splitting is completely legal here, most drivers just accept it and most riders do it; especially in the cities. If attitudes and laws are different where you are, you may have to do things differently.

[Ralgha]

I've done some splitting in California. I never split through construction zones, and never between traffic and parked cars. You'll eventually get taken out by an opening door if you split next to parked cars.

It was pretty nerve-racking the first time I did it, but I quickly started loving it. I didn't go fast, maybe 10 mph over traffic or so, and I used the puny horn if I thought someone was going to be a dumbass.

[SLOWn60]

For those that call it soccer; substitute the word "right" wherever below that Akima has used the word "left"

Originally Posted by akima

Hello!



I don't know about the legality of it, but practically speaking; yes, you can.

My approach is to pull directly in-front of the first vehicle in the line. This means there is no chance of ending up side by side with the vehicle, while we are both moving and attempting to turn left. It also means there's no need to even have to consider out-accelerating it while turning in order to get in front of it when the lights go green.

When accelerating and turning there's a lot to think about already without having to also think about beating a vehicle in a race and not colliding with that vehicle while doing it.

If you are going to pull in front of the vehicle at the front of the line as I do, you may want to do the following:

1. keep an eye on the lights as you pull in front of the vehicle. It's easy to just focus on coming to stop in front of the vehicle and loose track of the lights. If you do this there's a chance the lights will go green just as you roll to a stop in front of the vehicle. At best you will piss off the driver. At worse you'll get run over. I actually learned this the hard way; from experience. Luckily I didn't come off my bike, but the car bumper did make contact with me and the driver was quite [rightfully] angry at me.

2. if the lights go green before you've made it in front of the vehicle you have 3 choices:
a. gun-it and get in front of the leading vehicle
b. slow up and find a space in-between one of the queued vehicles as they begin to move off. Note: gaps will appear between the cars, as drivers don't react immediately to the car in front moving off. Another note: you need good slow speed riding skills to do this as you will potentially have to slow up quite a lot while maintaining a clean-straight line between 2 rows of traffic.
c. abort the left turn and continue straight

Which option you choose is very much dependent on your speed, the behaviour of the drivers and your position in the line.

3. keep shifting the gears as you slow down ensuring you are always in a low enough gear that you can move off quickly if you suddenly need to. We always have 3 main options to escape from danger: braking, turning... and accelerating. That third option is only available if you're in the right gear.

4. be confident in whatever it is you do. For me, this has been the most important thing I've had to learn while riding and even more so while splitting. You have to claim your line on the road and you need to commit to your plan regardless of whether you feel you've accidentally done something illegal or whether some angry bastard has started beeping their horn at you. It's your life on the line.



In this situation you don't technically have to filter. Just use the straight-lane to get to the front of the turning lane and then pull in front of the lead car of the turning lane when you're up there.



Assuming there is only 1 lane going in your direction, I almost always split on the drivers side between my lane and the on-coming lane. It's very unlikely that an oncoming vehicle will hit you, but it's quite common for passengers to pop open a door on the pavement-side of the car to jump out.

I do sometimes ride on the pavement-side. I just tend to do it very very slowly so there's no chance of a door hitting me.



I'd give the same answer as above, except if there is enough space between the construction-cones and the cars that I could keep a wide enough gap that a door couldn't hit me if a passenger suddenly popped it open.



Note: I know nothing about your laws out there or the attitudes of the other road users. I'm from England. Lane splitting is completely legal here, most drivers just accept it and most riders do it; especially in the cities. If attitudes and laws are different where you are, you may have to do things differently.

[akima]

Originally Posted by SLOWn60

For those that call it soccer; substitute the word "right" wherever below that Akima has used the word "left"

(wrong thread)

(not sure how you did that)