Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Legislation Lane splitting

I'm for lane spliting. Hell I'm for banning the use of any multipassenger vehicle if its not being used to to convey multiple passengers. I would love to see everyone that is not car pooling of carrying a cargo that is too heavy for a motorcyle have to ride a motorcycle. Of coarse you could make inclement weather, and illness an exception too. Then each lane be comes two and lane spliting becomes normal practice.

A little video about this

http://jalopnik.com/5974948/heres-why-lane-splitting-should-be-legal-for-motorcycles

VERY, VERY GOOD ADVICE THERE!

(but thankfully the lane splittin' part of it is illegal here in Florida )

I've split lanes in standing/slow traffic, don't have anything against it when conditions are safe, but don't advocate it becoming legal here.

Maybe because I have a serious problem with car drivers that think, because I'm not using the entire lane (at speed), they don't need to change lanes to pass me.

It's probably going to get me shot some day, because that's one thing that will get me to chase your ass down and get in your face.

While driving my pick up truck the other day I thought I was on one of my bikes. Not good.

Too wide. No acceleration. No worries though, all is alright. But for a moment there it was like oh sh...

While the guys made some good points in this video, unfortunately what was shown in many of the spots in this thing was NOT "lane splitting" in slowed traffic, but was IN FACT cutting through traffic while the rest of the traffic was flowing at what appeared to be near the posted speed limits of the roads.

And thus unfortuantely I felt these guys gave out "mixed-signals", and as such undermined their, and by association in a manner of speaking, MY argument.

Yes, attempting to ride slightly faster than the traffic flow IS usually a safer manner in which to keep from being caught in a cager's blind spot, BUT there are times in which a rider CAN and SHOULD do this and times when they CAN'T and SHOULDN'T, and I felt these guys did this WAY TOO often in this video at times when they SHOULDN'T be doing this.

Once again, it makes TOTAL sense and IS safe for EVERYONE on the road to be able and ALLOWED to pull between stopped traffic at red lights, and then once the light changes to green, pull ahead and away from all the sheet metal out there with your name on it AFTER you've made that final last-second check for cross-traffic, OR while on a nearly stopped line of freeway traffic and "lane-split" at THAT time...BUT like I've said here, what these guys did too many times and what THEY referred to as lane-splitting but WASN'T and when it wasn't necessary OR prudent to do so.

(...in OTHER words, these guys were NOT the best of advocates for what I'VE been tryin' to get across in this thread...hell, maybe I SHOULD make a freakin' video and show how to do it CORRECTLY...eeh, but then again, what's the use!...like I've already said in this thread more than a few times, the people in the rest of the 49 states will NEVER "get it" 'cause they have NO HISTORY of this concept and it's contrary to their established "culture")

Your right on all counts dwight. There is a right and a wrong way for lane splitting and these guys really didnt show the real proper use of it. There inlies the problem, ya see people will watch something like that and will say oh no we can't have that. But in reality when done right it works so well. I found this out when I was in cali on a bike that wasn't comfortable to ride on 5 .....dam raingrooves with knobby tires make for tricky rideing. .. and I found that by rideing the line people could pass me and not want to shoot me. Lol I know that people on this side of the country will never accept it because if your moveing and they are sitting still they would be angry and jealous and some fool would open hs car door just out of spite. But you are right my friend done right splitting works very well

Now Rich, don't go gettin' all THAT excited here, Bro!

Remember, I didn't use the phrase "High Culture", now did I?! I just said "culture", RIGHT?!

(...of course I suppose in YOUR case SPECIFICALLY, we COULD legitimately use the phrase "Elevated Culture", huh!)

No way lane splitting should be legal. Some clown will eventually cut you off on purpose or open a door in front of you where I live and then claim they didn't see you. At an intersection here a cager will make eye contact with you then pull out in front of you anyway, 99% of the time that cage has a NY tag on it. Truckers try and cut you off even when going slowly up the shoulder in stopped traffic even though that is legal here.

Aah, with your ongoing descriptions of the locals there, you ALWAYS make NE PA sound like SUCH a great location to live, Ian!

(...saaay, you wouldn't happen to work for the NE PA Chamber of Commerce OR the NE PA Tourist Bureau in your spare time, now would ya???)

Work it to your advantage. Maybe he's just letting you see what's ahead so you can safely pass. You know you don't really want to be behind him.

I used to split lanes in California, until I was cut off twice coming back from Venice on the 405. The 1st time was waiting for the green light at the onramp, the second was about 5 miles from that onramp. Seems that commuters stuck in traffic are ill tempered.

Oh yeah, sorry Leonard. I guess I failed to mention that lane-splitters have to be ESPECIALLY careful around the Venice and Wilshire Blvd On/Off ramps on the freakin' 405, didn't I??! Yep, those West Side gangbangers can be ESPECIALLY irritable sometimes, ya know!

(...yep, sorry...my bad, dude!)

Lane splitting and filtering at stop lights should be legal and common place. With all the politics around green transport it seems that cities would promote the use of motorcycles as they are the most efficient mode of transport, to date as it were. If I had my way in town parking would be cheaper, and lane filtering and splitting would be legalized. I think some other cool incentives like free passes for toll ways, and lower registration rates for motorcycles would be good too.

Went for a ride with Bedouin....it was fun but cockiness will get ya killed and it helps to do it in a country where the drivers are attentive too.
Lane Splitting with Bedouin

They do that sh.t here too Ian.I've been going up the shoulder past a 3 mile jam , a fu...r in a 4 wheel drive tries to close the shoulder off so I can't get past.I got past.
It's just jealousy.

I've also had a guy in a truck move over so I had room to get through[obviously a biker]

It's illegal here but we do it when we need to [if we can].

I've also seen the cops waiting for bikes and ticketing them for going up the shoulder to filter to the head of freeway jams.

I'm not advocating splitting lanes in moving traffic but filtering through stopped traffic is a different thing.

I regularly filter to the front of stationary traffic at the red lights. Yesterday I was going between two queues of cars when the lights turned green and I was still about six cars from the front when they began to move. No problem, I'll just slot in fron of one of the slower cars. A pick up on the left was ideal so I slowed down to match my speed. As I began to merge the car on the right ahead of me opened the door while he was moving and a guy leaned out and spat on the ground. If I hadn't have merged when I did I would have taken his head off! I don't know if he realized how close he came to becoming road kill but the driver took off at a great speed so he may have thought "oh sh1t I hope that biker isn't unhappy with me".

I will still lane filter, despite this incident and also being fined a couple of months ago for filtering. I'll just be a weeny bit more cautious. I also try to not filter past cop cars these days.

PM sent Richard.

I was heading up Cunninghams Gap a few months ago and I was stopped at roadworks [no overtaking] behind a long line of cars and Semi-trailers heading uphill.Cops where stopped on the side of the road so I yelled to them was it ok If I moved to the front of the queue about 500 yds away.They said ok so off I went.
The next bunch will probably book me.

Came across this

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/07/5171619/california-highway-patrol-posts.html#storylink=cpy

Great find, Bryn! Thanks for posting it.

For once it seems we have a well-written and informed article about an aspect of motorcycling which has appeared in a mainstream publication. I'm actually somewhat pleasantly surprised.

And, I think all of these "new guidelines" which this article says the CHP has decreed are rational and well-considered, and that it's about time that these have been "codified" to a certain degree.

(...and ALL of which I ALWAYS adhered to when I lived in California, and as I mentioned earlier when I took exception to some of the practices those so-called "expert motorcyclists" pushed in their video)

That seems sensible to me Bryn.
I wish our lawmakers would use some of the same common sense sometimes but it's a vain hope.

I would never lane split or filter. I just don't trust most average American drivers because they don't pay attention. Between texting, talking, eating or drinking, or whatever, many just have too much going on to bother concentrating on driving.

Thoughts on white lining:

Space and time. Chess. Results.

Space and time
Do you have speed on the cagers? Should they change lanes is there enough room for a hole shot by (with the speed advantage you have)?

Chess
One has to see three or four moves ahead. Doing a hole shot only to slam on the brakes is not going to mellow your nerves.

Results
Think ahead (see chess above) if lane filtering leaves you in the same relative situation, then do not execute the maneuver.

This is one of those arguments where the miss informed are the people who have never tried lane splitting/filtering. They really don't have a clue or understand, and probably never will until they try it. Those that have, well they do understand, and it makes perfect sense when done correctly.

Am I saying lane splitting is for everyone. No, there are riders that should never filter. Most of the time they can't even stay within one side of their own lane, let alone share a lane. Or they ride a bike that takes up as much room as some cars.

Also, what gives lane splitting a bad rap is as usual the 1% that feel they should be able to do it at whatever speed they like, which just upsets people in cars and continues the negative perception of lane splitting/filtering.

It's like talking to someone about riding who has never been on a motorcycle in any form. They just think it is unsafe and don't understand why anyone would want to ride, and until they go for a ride they probably never will understand.

Tom

I totally disagree, I think lane splitting and filtering takes more intestinal fortitude than brains. One wrong move by a cager and you are road burger. It should never be legal. I have done both in my younger days and it was a bad idea then and still is now.

Ever do it out there in Cal-if-orn-i-a, Ian?!

(...and if NOT, then sorry dude...like Tom said right above ya there, you just don't know what the heck you're talkin' about then, 'cause evidently you've been stuck ridin' around with all those rude-ass EASTERN cagers back there, HUH?!...though I'll bet THAT'S all 'cause of all those "rude-ass NEW YORKERS" movin' into your town, HUH!!!!)

Sorry Dwight, doesn't matter where you live it's a bad idea. A cager on a cell not paying attention is the same no matter where you live. Being in a blind spot with no room is being in a blind spot with no room no matter where you live. Stupid thing to do no matter where you live.

By the way, if you never did it in Pa or outer Mongolia or Bejing then you don't know what you are talking about.

(I'm sorry, guess they don't have blind spots in Ca and drivers are never on cell phones there)

Ian, I'm gonna give this ONE MORE freakin' shot at TRYIN' to get you to understand the LOGIC here, dude!

Ya see, EVEN the freakin' cagers holding a freakin' cellphone up to their freakin' numskull ears while DEAD STOPPED and LINED UP behind all the OTHER freakin' cagers at a freakin' red light DO NOT present a freakin' DANGER to you as a motorcyclist while you'e ridin' up BETWEEN 'EM at WALKING speed....ESPECIALLY out there in "The People's Repubic" of California where the vast majority of cagers KNOW and ACCEPT this practice.

(...and UNLIKE back were YOU live, which is evidently FULL of "Rugged Individualists" who apparently believe it to be their freakin' duty to stop a rider from doin' this because of some freakin' EGO problem!!!)

until said cager decides they want to be in the other lane while you are along side them or decide to open the door to empty the ashtray. I realize it is too late to change your over inflated ego that prevents you from ever considering your point of view may not always be right. I am entitled to my opinion, even if it doesn't agree with yours. That doesn't make either of us wrong in itself, but your ego prevents you from seeing that. Therefore you must belittle who ever disagrees with you. Such as suggesting I can't see logic, I do, but mine does not agree with yours.

"Empty the ashtray"??? That's the BEST argument ya GOT here, dude?!

Nope, once again, it's ISN'T my "ego" which is makin' your "opinion" incorrect. Nope, it's just, ONCE AGAIN, like Tom said up there and like I'VE been tryin' to tell ya here for YEARS now in this thread, you just don't know what the heck you're talkin' about here 'cause this is a "foreign concept" to ya, THAT'S all.

(...and btw...I also think it's kinda ironic that YOU of all people who so often proudly boasts of your "Rugged Individualism" and/or "That bad ol' Guv'ment ain't gonna tell ME what to do" attitudes around here, thinks "there ought to be a law" against this practice...yep, that's pretty darn "ironic" in MY "ego-driven" mind, alright!)

Of course I'm wrong, I disagree with you. I have actually seen the ashtray door hit happen and the bike hit the door right on the edge. It resulted in a broken leg ,a bunch of stitches, an insurance claim, and both a messed up bike and a messed up car. You conveniently ignored the blind spot part or decided lane change and jumped right to the ashtray to try and make your view more credible, again, by trying to belittle me by suggesting all I could come up with is ashtray. Cell phone too among many other distractions, woman doing make up, man shaving , texting, reading the paper, reading a book , etc.... I have seen all of the above and more while driving. Again your ego makes me wrong and you right in your eyes where I state it is my opinion, I feel I am correct but I do not emphatically insist you are wrong and insist you must agree with me.

OK, you two love birds (Dwight Ego & Ian Tuffass) need to get a room!