Lane Splitting Article

[leebunyard]

I thought I saw some discussion on the lane splitting subject awhile back but I couldn't find any of it when I did a Search. Not sure what Forum to put this in but I thought someof you might be interested in an article on lane splitting, which apparently is only legal in California. And may not be much longer.

Lee in the Mountains of Northern California

https://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1...-14537393c.html

 

[GunMD]

For those who don't feel like registering...

This story is taken from News at sacbee.com.

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Back-seat driver: Drivers, motorcyclists split on sharing lane space

By Tony Bizjak -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, October 10, 2005

"Lane splitting," where motorcyclists straddle lane lines to pass cars in traffic, is one hot topic.

We wrote last week that lane splitting is allowed in California and immediately we were overrun with more than 50 e-mails and calls.

Plenty of car drivers were upset the CHP doesn't do anything about motorcyclists sliding into their blind spots with just inches between their car and the car in the next lane.

"If anyone were to put it to a vote, I have no doubt people would vote to outlaw it. Overwhelmingly," Lincoln resident Ralph Pease wrote.

Motorcyclists counter there are worse dangers, such as cars changing lanes without signaling.

"There is no safety issue if done correctly by a capable rider," Steve Martinez wrote. "Those who don't like lane splitting are jealous because they are stuck in crummy California traffic."

Motorcycle commuter Kurt Sunderbruch points out lane splitting allows cyclists to avoid being rear-ended. "An impact that might give an auto driver a sore neck can cripple or kill me."

Surprisingly, California may be the only state that allows lane splitting. Transportation safety officials and motorcyclists we talked to say they aren't aware of any other state that permits it.

Nevada law, for instance, reads: "A person, except a police officer ... shall not drive a motorcycle or moped between moving or stationary vehicles occupying adjacent traffic lanes."

The California DMV Motorcycle Handbook warns: "Riding between rows of stopped or moving cars in the same lane can leave you vulnerable."

How vulnerable? We know this much: Two weeks ago, a motorcyclist was killed on Watt Avenue while lane splitting. He clipped a big rig and fell under the big rig in the next lane.

And last week, a motorcyclist was seriously injured on Hazel Avenue, California Highway Patrol officials said, when he hit a bus while lane-splitting cars that had stopped for the bus.

But the CHP doesn't keep statistics on lane splitting. And federal highway safety officials and insurance industry safety researchers say they know of no studies focused on the topic.

A motorcyclist suggested checking with private researcher Harry Hurt in Southern California. Hurt told us he holds the scientific position that lane splitting cannot cause accidents because it merely refers to the place on the road the motorcyclist is traveling. Instead, his studies indicate most crashes are caused by car drivers not seeing motorcyclists.

But several motorcyclists told us they aren't comfortable lane splitting for just that reason: It puts them in spots where some motorists won't see them.

Some readers argued that vehicle code sections 21658(a) and 22350 allow officers to ticket lane splitters, if they choose to.

VC 21658(a)reads: "A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until such movement can be made with reasonable safety."

VC 22350 states: "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent ..."

But local CHP spokesman Max Hartley says 21658(a) allows officers to stop lane splitters only if they force a driver to take evasive action. Section 22350 does, however, influence the CHP's "unwritten" lane-splitting rule: If you go more than 10 mph faster than the cars, the CHP might ticket you.

We see another reason the CHP may not mind lane splitting. Its motorcycle officers do it themselves when responding to calls. That's one of the reasons they use motorcycles in urban areas.

Clearly, lane splitting poses dangers. Two serious Sacramento accidents in two weeks make that point. But a lot of things on the road pose dangers. Cell phone use, for one. A solid study homing in on lane-splitting crashes in California would be instructive.

This doesn't lead me to believe that we're in any danger of losing our legal protection to split lanes.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Need a password.

How about cutting and pasting the body of the article here?

 

[GunMD]

Captain Obvious, your name just paid for itself!

 

[Getsum]

I had this last Thursday off and I was heading to my gym at 7:00 on interstate 8 in San Diego. The morning commute on the 8 gets pretty packed so I was lane splitting off and on as I could. There was a good stretch just before SDSU that I was following a CHP and then some guy on a Suzuki was following behind me, the CHP stayed on the 8 and me and Suzuki took the 15 north. Damn that was great following that cop through traffic; it was like having an escort.

I really hope they don’t outlaw this.

 

[meosborn]

Wouldn't be surprised either way. Any legislature that can pass a tripling of the car tax (yes, it was repealed soon after) is capable of just about anything.

I was out of the state for about 5 years and since moving back (3 years ago) I have been surprised at how crazy it has gotten. Admittedly, I was 21 when I left and wasn't paying much attention but it seems to me that I should have noticed it before.

Personally, I love CA and have struggled to find somewhere in the US that has anything close to what we have here (beaches, mountains, deserts, weather, etc...) but it just seems that things have gotten way out of hand. "Land of Fruits and Nuts" seems pretty accurate sometimes.

I've still got 10 years until I retire from the US Navy so I will be keeping an eye out for what sort of changes happen in Sunny CA but the way it looks now, who knows.

 

[Vstar2FJR]

Like Getsum, I live and commute in the San Diego area. Many times this commute includes the clogged and stopped I-15 corridor. I do split lanes, but do it at no more than 10 MPH faster than the traffic, wait for the opening to be there, watch for inattention, have the high beams on. Most of the time, there's no problem and the cages move slightly out of the way. For those few instances where the ass wipes purposely crowd the center, it's a matter of a few seconds before the opening is there in the adjacent lane and you take it to go around.

What irks me (and ALL of the cagers) are the guys (mostly on crotch rockets) that split at way faster than 10 over traffic and can't decide what lanes they want to split, so they're all over the place. I even let them pass me when I'm splitting. These are the ones that should be ticketed. Heck, we have a toll free number to the CHP to report the plate # of the idiots that throw cigarette butts out their windows. They get a nice letter from the CHP as a result. Maybe something like this for unsafe lane splitting???

 

[leebunyard]

Sorry I didn't post the text of the article instead of the weblink, I didn't realize you all would have to register on the Sacramento Bee's website to access the article.

I lane split on occasion myself, altho I don't do usually do it unless traffic is at almost a total standstill, so I don't want to see the law changed to prohibit lane splitting either. I'll clarify my comment above about the California law possibly changing but I have to be careful not to identity my source, for obvious reasons. Let's just say I have a close relative whose oldest son is a CHP Captain, who is also part of a legislative review team for the CHP. As many of you are aware, for a number of years, bills have been introduced in the California legislature each year to prohibit lane splitting. The bills have never passed, in large part because the CHP itself has always taken a "Neutral" position on the bills. That may change shortly. In part because of the deaths of a half dozen motorcyclists in California over the past few months due to their striking vehicles while land splitting--including two recent deaths in the Sacramento area--the legislative review team is considering recommending a "Support" position for future legislation that would prohibit lane splitting. The expectation is that if the CHP formally changes to a "Support" position, the legislation is likely to pass.

Let's hope not.

As an aside, I was not aware that Nevada prohibited lane splitting until two weeks ago. I was lucky I didn't find out the hard way. My son and I were riding our bikes to Reno to take in the SuperMoto races. After going into Nevada via South Shore Tahoe, we ran into a total backup of both lanes going in our direction as we approached Zephyr Cove. We didn't know it at the time but there was a major accident a couple miles down the road that had resulted in 3 of the 4 lanes in both directions being closed. After sitting for 15 minutes, I told my son "let's do some lane splitting". We did and rode about a mile between the two lanes of stopped vehicles, until we rode up beside a pair of Nevada plated HD riders, who waved us to stop and told us that lane splitting was illegal in Nevada. We were lucky, there were about 6 Nevada Highway Patrol vehicles about a quarter mile up the road around a turn.

Lee in Mountains of Northern California B)

 

[twowheelnut]

Banning lane sharing would be a real bitch. I would predict that the majority of bikers would continue the practice. I would.

 

[Ghost Dog]

Jeez you guys have never been to a third-world city? I was in Taipei last year riding in a taxi and had to keep my eyes closed. I wouldn't call what the scoots do there "lane splitting" - I'd call it "road anarchy". The lane markings, stop signs, the traffic lights, right-of-way... these are all just optional concepts.

 

[twowheelnut]

See? There's the problem. You guys keep referring to the practice as 'splitting lanes'. That's so hooligan. C'mon, get in the California groove, man! 'Lane sharing' has oh, so much better kharmatic vibe to it. Think positive. Sffffft. Hit?

 

[madmike2]

Of course, splitting 2 big rigs is just plain stoopid . It wasn't the lane sharing that caused the cyclist death, it was his failure to assess the risk, and most likely at speed. Dayang! Sadness for the whole family and those of the driver who ran over him...prolly ruined his life, too. What a thing to have to live with.

I am amazed at the number of irate citizens who will "block" me when I try to share (split). It's no accident when they look in their mirror and swerve to impede. As with any who ride the streets daily (combat commute?), I've had my share of purpose-driven incidents. I had 1 fellow in a pickup look over his shoulder, through the open back window of his 4X4 Chevolay and force me over 2 lanes. The person on my right saw the incident and was honking and ranting at the pick-up driver. It happens!

At a time when they are courting riders to use their bikes to cut back on precious dinosaur by-products....it might not be wise to bring this subject up.

As with others, I wish they would enforce illegal lane changes, not signaling, cell phone use, etc. But since that is the majority of the citizenry, I doubt it will happen.

 

[Toecutter]

As with others, I wish they would enforce illegal lane changes, not signaling, cell phone use, etc. But since that is the majority of the citizenry, I doubt it will happen.

Word.
Heck, people get killed on bikes every day in California and all over the globe. Why not just outlaw motorcycles altogether and make us all drive Hummers? Or just let Darwin's theory play itself out. I've been splitting/sharing since I got the bike. I can't go back. They won't take me alive! When lane sharing is outlawed, only outlaws will share lanes!

Damnit, where's my medicine?

 

[SoCalMike]

This is ridiculous. I bought this bike BECAUSE I could lane-split (I was getting jealous of all the bikes passing me as I sat in traffic).

If they outlaw lane splitting I'll just keep doing it anyway until I get a couple of tickets. The question I have is if there is an accident of any type and I was performing an "illegal act" (lane splitting) what happens with insurance/liability? Would I be 100% at fault now because I wasn't supposed to be lane-splitting in the first place?

 

[XJRGUY]

There are more accidents due to cell phone usage then lane sharing.

I propose DIFFERENT CLASSES of license.

Those that can demonstrate you can use cell phone while operating car - different endorsement

Those that can lane share without causing an accident - different endorsement

Etc, etc

I've never ever understood why the will of the stupid end up also charting the way of the enlightened in today's society.

 

[tel]

I'm from the UK and been here (CA) 20 years. I was amazed when someone told me there was even such a thing called lane-splitting. I thought this was the land of the free?? I worked as a dispatch rider in London one summer and without lane-splitting I'd still be on my first job. What a stupid law the other States have! We've got way too many attorneys in this country.

tel

 

[Vstar2FJR]

For those of you that aren't members of the AMA in CA or anywhere else for that matter, this may be a good reason to join up and get your voice heard. You can bet that the AMA will strongly oppose any sort of legislative action in CA on the lane sharing issue, even if the CHP takes the endorse stance the Lee mentioned. We, the AMA members in CA will NOT take this one sitting down.

John

 

[XJRGUY]

For those of you that aren't members of the AMA in CA or anywhere else for that matter, this may be a good reason to join up and get your voice heard. You can bet that the AMA will strongly oppose any sort of legislative action in CA on the lane sharing issue, even if the CHP takes the endorse stance the Lee mentioned. We, the AMA members in CA will NOT take this one sitting down.
John

Post a link, some doofuses like me are too lazy to google or type www.ama.com or whatever it is.

I'll sign up right away.

 

[DucatiSS]

I understood another reason lane splitting was allowed was due to high temps and I think we all know what it like to be stuck in traffic on a fjr an a hot day.

Cheers,

Bryce