OR WA Lane Sharing Legistlation

[Ignacio]

And there's an unscientific online poll with a marginally appropriate picture at Seattle PI on this very legislative question for those that might want to participate.

 

[exskibum]

And there's an unscientific online poll with a marginally appropriate picture at Seattle PI on this very legislative question for those that might want to participate.

Figuring this shouldn't just be Washingtonians voting since I ride in the state on occasion and lane sharing is a big positive that I always hate to have to leave behind when I cross the border out of California.

 

[SacramentoMike]

And there's an unscientific online poll with a marginally appropriate picture at Seattle PI on this very legislative question for those that might want to participate.

Figuring this shouldn't just be Washingtonians voting since I ride in the state on occasion and lane sharing is a big positive that I always hate to have to leave behind when I cross the border out of California.

Absolutely agree, Rich. I voted--hope everybody here does.

 

[Panman]

A lot of haters up here, I'm on the fence as our lanes are narrow up here.

A read from the local news, go down towards the bottom and read the comments.

https://www.komonews.com/news/local/Controversial-bill-would-allow-motorcycles-to-pass-between-lanes-290652671.html

 

[escapefjrtist]

And there's an unscientific online poll with a marginally appropriate picture at Seattle PI on this very legislative question for those that might want to participate.

Thanks for the find Matt.

Seattle news reports already have a State Patrol spokesman saying the practice is too dangerous to allow...

--G

 

[Ignacio]

Seattle news reports already have a State Patrol spokesman saying the practice is too dangerous to allow...

And that's going to be the $64,000 answer to this and any future legislation in Washington. Unless the WSP wants to do it themselves....like CHP did...it ain't gonna pass. I *think* the only way it would is a long, sustained, and responsible effort to change their mind. Or at the very least get the WSP to not oppose it.

 

[redneckj]

I am torn on this issue. There are SOOOOOOO many inattentive drivers out there. It would only take one of those drivers when you are doing a legal lane split and you would be paying the price. I would like to be able to go through while traffic is stopped but even then things can happen real quick. Moving to the front of the line at a traffic light, that would be nice. Its not the motorcyclist that will cause the accidents, it is the inattentive drivers that you would have to look out for. I spend alot of time riding I-5 to north seattle for business. The drivers that have a drivers license amaze me. It is simply amazing how many people simply cannot navigate their own car while on public streets and highways. Through in lane sharing/ lane splitting and "Oh Boy". I am sure there are other people that feel the way that I do on this subject. I just wanted to give my 2 Cents.

Could this happen to you? https://youtu.be/Kz4ZGqfwNEM

 

[Denver_FJR]

I am torn on this issue. There are SOOOOOOO many inattentive drivers out there. It would only take one of those drivers when you are doing a legal lane split and you would be paying the price. I would like to be able to go through while traffic is stopped but even then things can happen real quick. Moving to the front of the line at a traffic light, that would be nice. Its not the motorcyclist that will cause the accidents, it is the inattentive drivers that you would have to look out for. I spend alot of time riding I-5 to north seattle for business. The drivers that have a drivers license amaze me. It is simply amazing how many people simply cannot navigate their own car while on public streets and highways. Through in lane sharing/ lane splitting and "Oh Boy". I am sure there are other people that feel the way that I do on this subject. I just wanted to give my 2 Cents.
Could this happen to you? https://youtu.be/Kz4ZGqfwNEM

No, I don't think it could if you're following the proposed Wa law:

(3) No person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of trafficor between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles unless the operator of a motorcycle is traveling at a rate of speed no more than ten miles per hour over the speed of traffic flow and not more than thirty-five miles per hour.

The video is titled "Careless motorcyclist...". It should be renamed to "Reckless..."

 

[ahchiu]

Being rear ended 2x in traffic on the fwy, I could have avoided it if I was able to lane split.

 

[audiowize]

I did my first 2 years of riding in San Diego. To me, lane splitting was mostly about filtering to the front of the line at stop lights, and I really felt a lot safer with my front wheel sitting in the crosswalk and a stopped car on either side of me. Coming to a stop is always one of those situations now where I have to check my mirrors to see what's going to hit me (I do this in the car as well).

On the few occassions where I split lanes on I-5, it was because traffic was absolute gridlock, and meandering through at 10-15 MPH seemed like a better idea than getting cooked in the sun for an hour. Sure, cars changed lanes and things happened out there to impede the path, but if you stick to the law, you can stop quite easily. If you're between two cars and you come to a quick stop, there isn't anything behind you to run into you.

That dumbsh!t in the video above would've hit somebody eventually without lane splitting. There were plenty of guys on GSXR's doing stuff like that in SD, and plenty of law enforcement around writing huge tickets for it. (Isn't that what the WSP would want? Another revenue source?)

 

[redneckj]

The cars in the video are barely moving. The car the bike kit couldn't merge all the way over because the car it front of it was stopped. Go pro fish eye videos, like that video, makes the bike in the video looks like it is going faster than it really was. Yes, he was being reckless just as the video was titled, but I wanted to point out how fast $hit happens. WSP will never back the lane splitting law.

The cars in the video are barely moving. The car the bike kit couldn't merge all the way over because the car it front of it was stopped. Go pro fish eye videos, like that video, makes the bike in the video looks like it is going faster than it really was. Yes, he was being reckless just as the video was titled, but I wanted to point out how fast $hit happens. WSP will never back the lane splitting law.

 

[exskibum]

I did my first 2 years of riding in San Diego. To me, lane splitting was mostly about filtering to the front of the line at stop lights, and I really felt a lot safer with my front wheel sitting in the crosswalk and a stopped car on either side of me. Coming to a stop is always one of those situations now where I have to check my mirrors to see what's going to hit me (I do this in the car as well).
On the few occassions where I split lanes on I-5, it was because traffic was absolute gridlock, and meandering through at 10-15 MPH seemed like a better idea than getting cooked in the sun for an hour. Sure, cars changed lanes and things happened out there to impede the path, but if you stick to the law, you can stop quite easily. If you're between two cars and you come to a quick stop, there isn't anything behind you to run into you.

That dumbsh!t in the video above would've hit somebody eventually without lane splitting. There were plenty of guys on GSXR's doing stuff like that in SD, and plenty of law enforcement around writing huge tickets for it. (Isn't that what the WSP would want? Another revenue source?)

Exactly!
I've been riding motorcycles on the street since late 1967, 95% of which time has been in California. (I've also lived and owned high performance street bikes in Nevada and Colorado.) That doesn't make me or other Californians the experts on all issues related to lane sharing, but it probably makes us the most experienced at doing it and watching it done . . . by far. So, FWIW, how many of us do you see decrying the dangers of having this option available? Is that because we're all easy to dismiss, hurried, self first crazy Californicators? Why isn't YouTube full of videos showing lane sharing (that is done in a manner that won't draw a citation) resulting in crash after crash after fatal accident? I submit that is because, done properly, it is safe and provides a means of avoiding vulnerable situations caused by cager inattention.

I'll be the first to agree that 75% of cagers on the road do not give driving the degree of attention that operating a potentially deadly weapon deserves and should require. I think that the percentage of motorcyclists doing the same or acting like candidates for a Darwin Award is far lower, but they damn well do exist. The idiot in that video is one of those, and I would not follow or ride with him.

Having said that, there are plenty of voters with other biases against lane sharing. Probably the biggest is a pissy envy of filtering motorcyclists who are not as delayed as they by traffic gridlock. And then there are the asshats among our brethren who tar us all as antisocial and dangerous. Clearly, the perspectives of LE are critical to the education and votes that are necessary to have a measure like this pass. In LE, we have some great folks who do get it (see those among this board's membership). OTOH, I've also seen an occasional contrary, anti-motorcyclist attitude that defies belief. (E.g., the asshat attitude of the CHP officer who attended the accident that BBIII had out of Georgetown in November 2006 - did his wife run off with a motorcyclist?) How do we address that, when that may be most important determinant in allowing lane sharing in any state?

 

[huckstr]

I always note that in discussions regarding lane sharing it is ALWAYS brought up that many car drivers are not safe, and that is a reason to not allow it. I wonder why the motorcycle riders are always penalized, not allowed to use there bikes to best advantage because of this... And no comments are made to the effect that car drivers need more training. This practice, lane sharing/lane splitting is allowed in many countries and is not the cause of any excessive accident rate increase. It has been normal practice since the end of WW2 when motor scooters and motorcycles became popular and affordable transport alternatives. It is a safe practice that uses one of the MC aspects, a narrow foot print to help more efficiently use road space than a gigantic car with only one person on board. But, in these other countries, getting a license to drive a car or bike is much more difficult and intensive process requiring a much greater degree of training.

The real issue here is that in the US we do not adequately train drivers or riders for that matter... Using single track vehicles to help increase the efficiency of road ways is encouraged in many countries by not charging congestion taxes and providing free parking and other incentives.

Unsafe drivers are not the fault of motorcyclists. Lane sharing is an efficient use of road space, and is not intrinsically unsafe.

 

[audiowize]

Are you sure they get better training in other countries?

https://youtu.be/oCwdcUnQCHc

 

[huckstr]

Good point. I said many countries... not all countries!

 

[twisted]

Well, color me skeptical, but I seriously doubt it will go anywhere in either state...

 

[Denver_FJR]

Hey, if the King of Cool did it with one arm behind his back, who are we to argue?

Probably on his way to see Ali too.

 

[eg23232]

There's now a bill in Oregon that would allow motorcycles to ride on the shoulder. While some might see this as safer than lane sharing, I just see lots of flat tires. I'd rather lane share.

 

[motoxr124]

I just emailed Senator Jeff Kruse. I shared with him my perspective as a LEO and how I am in favor of the practice. I even offered to testify before the legislative body. Hopefully, he will take me up on the offer. Dems like cleaner air. Sitting in traffic on a bike does not contribute to that goal. Reasonable guidelines and responsible riders can make this work. I've seen my share of automobile vs. motorcycle rear end collisions. No surprise that bikes don't fair as well as automobiles. I referred to the crashes as collisions not accidents. Accidents are preventable. If a rider chooses not to do it, fine. No one is saying he or she has to. Worried about riders that abuse it? There are those that are going to do just that. Does a speed limit actually limit anybody?!

 

[eg23232]

There is a bit of good news. The bill made it out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation. However, there were three changes: The speed has been reduced to maximum 25 mph; The language requiring three feet of distance when passing a bicycle or pedestrian was reinstated; The law expires after two years.

It now goes to the Rules Committee.

I also note that my senator, Annette Cleveland, who is on the Transportation Committee voted against this. Two phone calls, an email, and a written letter to her office (the latter requesting her reasoning for note voting for this) and have only heard crickets.