Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Legislation Helmet and lane splitting laws

SB969 in CA would modify the existing helmet law to make helmet use optional for adult riders who have taken an approved safety class or have had a motorcycle license over 2 years.

Washington state is considering a bill to permit lane splitting. They are working out details such as guidelines and enforcement.

In the Phillipines, helmet use in banned in several cities due to terrorist activities.

In Pakistan, the helmet law that was passed some years ago and ignored is now going to be enforced.

The Texas lane splitting bill is still stuck in committee. Not holding my breath...

"In the Phillipenes, helmet use is banned in several cities due to terrorist activities"

I'm sorry, but that just creased me up

There goes my dream vacation... A Triumph tour of Pakistan...

lane splitting should not even be a question!!!! i have always thought that was why i liked haveing 2 wheels. i discoverd lane splitting while visiting cal. and cant for the life of me figure out why that isnt the norm everywhere??? traffic at a standstill and my air cooled engine burning up??? more govt. control, big brother telling me what is best for me!!! lane splitting should not even be a law, it should just be a given!!!

Anti-lane splitting laws are among my pet peeves -- I got busted here outside of Washington, DC about a year ago -- took my license for 6 months for moving through STOPPED TRAFFIC at 15 MPH.

For those who may not know, the traffic here is truly unspeakable -- worse than LA, from what I'm told and have seen -- and every rush hour is terrible. However, traffic enforcement is rabid, and they will not allow ANY such activity if they see it. Automatic "reckless driving ticket."

It's absurd. While I like living in Virginia for a lot of reasons, ANYTHING pertaining to the roads, be it traffic, enforcement, taxes, road care, whateterer... it all sucks.

--Jaeger

[quoteDo you lot have mandatory exercize and hate sessions in front of the telly like Orwell predicted?

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Exercise - thats just a very distant memory!

Nobby

Ps AbFab is not a hate session, that's just mental torture!

Nobby --

Actually, I HAVE been to the UK -- my better half and I did 1k miles through England, Wales, and Scotland last summer. I got tagged on both the Scottish and Welsh border for speeding -- typical -- and believe me, while the speeding cameras there are a pain, it ain't got NOTHING on around here. Seriously.

I've done Cardiff to Edinburgh to London, and I'll rather deal with ANY of those cities -- driving on the left side, no less -- than deal with traffic here on a day-to-day basis.

I don't mean to belittle the traffic in London, for example, but I've been there enough to have seen the diff in the driving tax -- good idea! -- and it's a damnsight better there than here. Sad, I know, but... *shrug*

As far as the Orwellian aspect of it all, I have four words for ya:

Department of Homeland Security.

I live 10 miles from CIA headquarters and used to live about 10 miles from NSA HQ. My old next door neighbor was a cryptologist for NSA. Creepy stuff. Like living under a microscope.

You guys get Tony Blair, hell, look what WE get!

I admit, though, that I've heard your sentiment expressed from other Brits... Sucks. 'Nuff said, I guess. *sigh*

--Jaeger

Say what you want about us "crazies" out here in California,(okay, I heard that!) but I could never figure out the reason that most states(and apparently some districts...D.C.) are so dead-set against lane-splitting, a practice that is NOT prohibited out here.

My guess has always been that the cagers, who we all know outnumber us 500 to one, are just jealous that our commuting time is going to be shorter than their's and our parking problems, when we arrive far earlier at our destination than them, will be far less of a headache too.

Oh, and of course the usual human practice of people assuming some endeavor is "dangerous", when said humans haven't the foggiest idea of what they're talking about because of their collective(read: lawmakers and the public at large)lack of experience and knowledge of an issue.

I'll state this one more time(and I know I'm preaching to the choir here)...Done with caution, lane-splitting CAN BE and often IS SAFER than holding lane position!!!

This is the one thing that I'll dread when I retire to Arizona in a few years....They still don't "allow" this practice there.

Dwight

Yup. Agreed -- it's largely about jealousy. When I got pulled for splitting lanes in VA, the cop noted in court that "the other drivers were cheering as the cop wrote me a ticket," presumably because it meant that I was stuck in stopped traffic too. This was proof of guilt in court, by the way.

And yes, I've read reports that indicate that you're better off beside a car than behind it, in that you won't get rear-ended.

What's ironic, of course, is that cops ride motorcycles so they can -- you guessed it -- move through traffic. I've seen DC cops split lanes so often it hurts.

--Jaeger

Jaeger,

You see, what is needed is some education presented to the general public about motorcycling, in a manner that does not anger their sense that they're entitled to their ill-considered ideas, unsupported by inconvenient facts.

And...and....Oh give it up,Dwight.......The masses are asses!

Dwight
(I'm too young to be this cynical)

I'm rather fond of the term "sheeple." Pretty much summs it up.

What really blows my mind is when I hear BIKERS talk about "if i saw someone splitting lane I'd open my car door, 'cause lanesplitting is OBNOXIOUS" or some such dreck. I can't fathom it.

Yes, most people are stupid -- so sayeth statistics.

Yes, most people are ignorant of what they do not know or understand (e.g., motorcycling). This ignorance breeds fear and hate. (Yoda can explain this progression better than I.)

Yes, most people are jealous of the freedom, both physical and spritual, that can be found on two wheels. The gods only know why they don't pursue it for themselves... oh, wait -- fear. Right.

--Jaeger

Here in australia lane splitting isn,t actually illegal yet{tell the cops that, they don,t seem to know .}a bill is before parliment to make it illegal but it could take some time before that happens.Probably put foreward by some #*#*# who can,t stand lowlifes on bikes beating him to the next set of traffic lights.

Hi Pom,
im down here in NSW and yep ride in and out of traffic all the time to get from a to b, road works slow moving cars and trucks its what riding a bike is all about. if your going to sit there in a line of still traffic whats the point of using your bike. no dout if you get it up there then our (im a idiot) Mr Carr will have it here in no time. all the same these buggers

Herbz,
Hi how ya doing? Your right on the button about all of it,i can,t remember where i read about it but i got the impression it was going to be australia wide,could be wrong though,the thing is ,they gotta catch you first!
Also just so you know,our idiot is bigger than your idiot,then again your guys name kind of goes against him really doesn,t it?

Hey! i just worked out how to add the smiley faces,this tecno stuff isn,t so difficult afterall ye har!

Hiya Pom
I'm not actually sure if lane splitting (filtering over here) is legal or not!

I've done it loads and near coppers too.
I imagine you would have to be pretty unlucky to get nicked for it over here.
You'd have to find a copper that:
1. Had loads of time on his hands for the paperwork,
2. Was having a particularly bad day and wanted to take it out on someone OR
3. The coper had his 'quota' of tickets to keep up with!!

The other obvious one is if you were going too quick or doing it dangerously.

I guess it's a fine line between filtering and plain overtaking on the inside (illeagal over by the way to all you Americans who CAN do it).

In slow moving motorway trafic, I'll filter up to around 40 mph with the traffic.
Any slower and I slow too, but still filter.

Adey

Quote:

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Hiya Pom
I'm not actually sure if lane splitting (filtering over here) is legal or not!

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Don't think it is illegal over here as I did it during my bike test ( to get past all the queues for fuel during the 2000 fuel protest/shortage) Mind you, during the same test, was over the speed limit (75'ish in 70), and went the wrong side of a pedestrian island to avoid fuel queue. The examiner didnt say a word!

I think that the official "recomendation" when going to the front of a queue is that you pull up behind the lead car not go right to the front.

Have never had any problems with the cops either.

Shaun

Hiya Shaun
A 'kid' (at 21, he is a kid, right?) I know, recently took his test and thought a car was going right because of his appalling road positioning.
Not indicating though ..
He went past to continue on his merry way .. but so did the car.
He failed!!!

Hi Pom
Yep your right about his name, glad you worked out the smileys. law or no law , dont think it will stop anyone.
the poor old TBA has been in the garage most of the week due to real crap weather down here, even the rain is getting wet. weather men say sun will be back out on sunday lets hope so, ill be out for a long ride to make up for the missed days. should have me new corbins on by then so looking forward to it.
Hope your getting out on yours and dodging in and out of the lanes while you can.
Safe riding
Herb

ooooooops, weather man, thats better.

Hi Herbz,yea the weather is much the same up here, still we really could do with the water.I still ride even if it,s raining don,t have a choice really,anyway it,s better than riding in the snow,been there done that.I,m having one of those intermitant electrical problems at the moment,indercators keep blowing the fuse,i,ve checked everything found nothing yet,i think it might just be moisture,seems to be ok today.
Just out of interest(Adey)when i first moved to Aus.in 1986 i got myself a Harley (sorry guys)got pulled by the cops far to often so i kept a diary and in the first two yrs.i got pulled over 176 times,i only ever got 4 tickets plus a gun drawn on me(i didn,t have passenger footpegs,it really upset the guy) and arrested for obsene language(after i was given 3 tickets in 1 go)luckly harleys became trendy so the cops didn,t know if they pulling over a doctor a lawyer or a indianchief,hardly ever get stopped now,(maybe its ,cause i ride a triumph now),kinda feel leftout. I never got stopped once in england and only once in germany in 5 yrs.(pissed) so it was a shock to the system.
All part and parcel of riding a bike i suppose.
I tell you what, you guys in England i came over here solely so i could ride in decent weather and it doesn,t get better than here,i highly recomend it to anyone thinking of making the move.