Lane Splitting Legalization

[nickjpass]

Who can I write a letter to?

[Alex]

Santa.

[Sirref]

your congressman, governor, etc

It's not going to happen in NY though, people hate bikers there and I can't blame them due to the groups that they get from time to time. One bad impression makes a bigger difference than several good impressions

[terasu12]

lane splitting is so much fun and practical, I mostly do it when theres a red light with traffic because i rarely drive when there is traffic on the freeway. It cant hurt to contact your representative/congressman, etc. good luck..

[c-dog]

I still don't understand why California has it and no other state does. It is unfair. Never understand how the law needs to differ so much from state to state - really makes me mad.

The AMA. I should join it but haven't. They are the guys trying to get it done. How effective are they? If they had millions upon millions of dollars like the NRA we might have a chance of changing things. Since they don't have the money or power of the NRA I don't think any other state will get it ever. And I wouldn't be surprised if CA ended it someday as well. Unfortunate.

[MillerTime]

I don't think they'll ever make it legal in other states. I used to do it anyways in Charleston, SC rush hour traffic. 45+ min. to go 4 miles or head down the middle of the stopped traffic?

[greenaero]

While the ability to lane-share here in California is a great blessing I worry that its abuse by some riders will eventually get it banned here too. Unfortunately many riders ride way too fast for conditions or disrespect drivers who they feel didn't move over for them fast enough. They forget that lane-sharing is a privilege not a right and that cars are under no obligation to make splitting easy. I encourge Cali riders to follow the CHP guidelines for lane sharing and be considerate to drivers in congested traffic.

[nickjpass]

I can rant about this for a long time.

[broilmebk]

Originally Posted by greenaero

While the ability to lane-share here in California is a great blessing I worry that its abuse by some riders will eventually get it banned here too. Unfortunately many riders ride way too fast for conditions or disrespect drivers who they feel didn't move over for them fast enough. They forget that lane-sharing is a privilege not a right and that cars are under no obligation to make splitting easy. I encourge Cali riders to follow the CHP guidelines for lane sharing and be considerate to drivers in congested traffic.

Most of the time it's because the car doesn't even know you're there, but if the car does see you and won't move over even a little bit, he's a douche. Also, intentionally blocking is actually illegal IIRC.

[JohnnyBravo]

Folks here oddly move over as if to allow you to lane split than to try and make it hard... Odd it's not legal here :/ where can I join this Santa organization to legalize lane share equality? Ill bring the gays along, we bout done with marriage.

[MrAtom]

Its kind of impressive that, in of all places, lane splitting is legal in California. I mean, its almost like fun itself is illegal here sometimes.

[alex.s]

you can't have any kind of aftermarket exhaust because that might screw with my precious air. but feel free to ignore traffic laws since that's for the best.

[Chicagobob]

In my area, you are likely to be cursed, chased, harassed, and even shot at, for passing some people even in when you are in your own lane. I can't imagine doing it in THEIR lane.

[JohnnyBravo]

remind me of that if I ever think of goin to Chicago!

[flitecontrol]

Lane splitting, if done properly, is allowed in California because there are no specific regulations against it. All other states have regulations prohibiting the practice, so it's illegal there. If you want your state to allow lane splitting, you need to contact your state representative and senators. The U.S. representatives have no say in the matter as it's a state issue.

[broilmebk]

Just saw this posted. I wasn't aware CHP removed those guidelines about lane splitting.

[Hero Danny]

http://blog.caranddriver.com/califor...a-safe-really/

[ninjamunky85]

No way I could see lane splitting working in Ohio, or the rest of the U.S. outside of Cali. Even if they decided to make it not illegal in the other states. American drivers are way too competitive and feel like they are somehow being cheated if you don't have to wait in line like they do.

[nickjpass]

...stupid people.

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

No way I could see lane splitting working in Ohio, or the rest of the U.S. outside of Cali. Even if they decided to make it not illegal in the other states. American drivers are way too competitive and feel like they are somehow being cheated if you don't have to wait in line like they do.

Honestly they often still feel that way in cali but for the most part I think drivers just get used to. People can learn.

[alex.s]

i often get people who don't know the laws of the road and i need to educate them on lane-splitting. but if they try to block me with their car, well. in cali that's called attempted vehicular manslaughter. so they get spoken to a bit differently. i doubt they make the same mistake after i'm done educating them on the crimes they've just committed. they get worried when you start calling the police.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i often get people who don't know the laws of the road and i need to educate them on lane-splitting. but if they try to block me with their car, well. in cali that's called attempted vehicular manslaughter. so they get spoken to a bit differently. i doubt they make the same mistake after i'm done educating them on the crimes they've just committed. they get worried when you start calling the police.

I think I'll make some business cards to carry with me while riding that contains all this info.

[SlowBoyRacing]

I think it should be legalized, allowed in congestion situations. Because if you are just speeding and splitting lanes while there is no traffic, that is plain stupid and dangerous.

[ninjamunky85]

There's a petition going around right now for legalization.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...roads/qP86QbjN

[AlanDog]

Originally Posted by greenaero

While the ability to lane-share here in California is a great blessing I worry that its abuse by some riders will eventually get it banned here too. Unfortunately many riders ride way too fast for conditions or disrespect drivers who they feel didn't move over for them fast enough. They forget that lane-sharing is a privilege not a right and that cars are under no obligation to make splitting easy. I encourge Cali riders to follow the CHP guidelines for lane sharing and be considerate to drivers in congested traffic.

I have the same concerns. I was riding to and from work (over 80 freeway miles/day for a couple months) and saw some crazy riders--I would say about 50% of the motorcyclists I saw were riding in a way that can only be called 'rolling the dice'. Yes, you can weave between cars and rocket down the gap at 50 mph, but if riding without a helmet is agreed to be stupid, what are these guys? I can easily imagine the state can add more rules to keep the really dangerous behaviors illegal (although any of these riders could have been pulled over for reckless driving). I listen to the morning radio traffic reports and there are so many cases of "motorcyclist down" despite riders being a tiny fraction of the vehicles on the freeway. Motorcycle accidents on the freeway are ugly and tie up traffic for everyone. When will be the tipping point where drivers get fed up and start calling for new laws?

Which brings me to the report (http://www.ots.ca.gov/pdf/Publicatio...tingReport.pdf). I spent some time reading it and I think the headlines (and the authors) seem to conclude from the data that lane-splitting is safer than not lane-splitting. But they didn't collect data on that, so they can't draw any conclusions on that point. In other words, there is no data on the *rate* (or likelihood) of accidents when riders do not lane-split versus when riders do. I want to know, when I go to work, or from point A to point B, will my chance of getting into an accident go up or down if I lane-split? This study has no data on this.

The study is simply data to say that the motorcyclists who get into accidents while lane-splitting (versus riders who get into accidents in other situations) are actually more 'serious' riders (more likely to wear a full-face helmet, have a license, not riding drunk, etc) and that the injuries are consistent with the speed of travel and speed differential.

What is really interesting is that out of about 7,700 total accidents, about 15% involved people lane-splitting. If motorcyclists during this time period spent less than 15% of miles lane-splitting, it would mean that lane-splitting is more dangerous than not lane-splitting. The authors don't make this point, they don't discuss this. They could have analyzed this at least subjectively (for example, a random survey of riders analyzing how many miles traveled are actually in the act of lane-splitting).

I have to comment that despite all the lane-splitting that I do (safe, low-speed, between stopped cars, etc) I have never yet had a problem with a driver trying to squeeze me out of a gap. And I don't think drivers should feel obligated to move. If there isn't enough room for me to get by, then there isn't enough room, I have to wait like everyone else.

I think it's easy to read into driver behaviors as being aggressive but if you're zipping past drivers at a rate where even careful drivers who are checking their mirrors and looking over their shoulders can't see and react to you, who's fault is that?

A driver can't move into a lane when they are side-by-side with another car--this is the ONLY thing protecting you when you lane-split. When there are gaps you are (foolishly, IMO) betting your life that the driver sees you and will not move into the nearby lane across your path. It's a really stupid assumption, but it's very tempting because you can technically fit between lanes and just ride as if the cars do not exist.

[MrAtom]

^Well said, and +1 on not all drivers are aggressive. I give a friendly hello to the cars I'm inbetween at intersections and usually they return it I try to remove negative stereotypes that all motorcyclists are jerks, and I recommend everyone to do the same. It's better for both parties.

[snot]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

There's a petition going around right now for legalization.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...roads/qP86QbjN

+1. Signed this a few days ago.

[c-dog]

I just signed it as well. I hope this is being promoted on lots of different motorcycle forums. It is one of my dream to be able to lane split in heavy traffic.

If anyone is on other forums please promote this there as well.

[AlanDog]

A 35 mph max speed and 10 mph differential is being proposed in California:

http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums...lane-splitting

[scorch]

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-motorcycle-lane-sharing-all-public-roads/qP86QbjN



if you havent signed it, please sign it. Even if you dont lanesplit, others do. I dont anymore, but damm it would be nice if it were legal.

[Ghostt]

Done

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by scorch

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-motorcycle-lane-sharing-all-public-roads/qP86QbjN



if you havent signed it, please sign it. Even if you dont lanesplit, others do. I dont anymore, but damm it would be nice if it were legal.

I signed. I do not split but I would if it were not illegal.

[NevadaWolf]

This sounds familiar...

Newsbot
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=209185

Thread with link:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=193448

[allanoue]

need 100,000 in a month and after 3 weeks it is under 15,000

[Ghostt]

I have split in heavy stopped traffic, even though isn't illegal in Kentucky ( coming up that hill on I75 after crossing the Cincinnati bridge)

I have also shared the link on my Google+, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to help put the word out there.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by allanoue

need 100,000 in a month and after 3 weeks it is under 15,000

screams disorganized

there are enough riders out there who want to lanesplit for this, the problem is that they aren't aware of the petition

[scorch]

Originally Posted by Sirref

screams disorganized

there are enough riders out there who want to lanesplit for this, the problem is that they aren't aware of the petition

True, people need some good leadership. Im guessing thats why we dont have any great moto organizations.

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by Sirref

screams disorganized

there are enough riders out there who want to lanesplit for this, the problem is that they aren't aware of the petition

Hence why I shared it all over the place, I would advise everyone one to do this.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by scorch

True, people need some good leadership. Im guessing thats why we dont have any great moto organizations.

maybe we can get one of these petitions advertised during motoamerica races on tv or something down the line. As it is I don't expect this one to pass

[shereth]

Unfortunately it looks like this little petition isn't going to reach its goal. Even if it did, I don't really see what it would change; other than laws relating to vehicle safety and certain highway safety rules, traffic laws are created on a state by state basis. The better approach would be to petition one's state lawmakers, rather than the White House.