Question for California Commuters:

[Silver Penguin]

I seldom see any cops on the freeways when I'm commuting, and frankly don't ever imagine I'd get pulled over for my average style of routine motocycle lane sharing in a crowded California urban area. Not saying it couldn't or wouldn't happen, just that it seems unlikely given the scarcity of cops and how innocuous I am compared with all the psychos out there.... ('course I thought crossing over that solid white was pretty innocuous: "Shouldn't you be out chasin' bad guys, officer?" :glare: )

You make a good point there JB. Why nit-pick a relatively insignificant transgression when there are so many richer pickings out there?

There are officers out there who practice common sense though. Andy met one of them recently, while following a wide, slow poke in the HOV lane. When the broken line appeared, the bike was put into warp drive, to get past the truck and back into the HOV lane without crossing the solid line. Warp speed may have slightly exceeded 65mph momentarily, so the pretty lights directed the rider to the next exit. The ensuing conversation took about 30 minutes and was a pleasant exchange. The cop had seen the whole situation, and the textbook demonstration of skill after the lights went on. He couldn't let the demonstration of warp speed go unnoticed though, so he gave a friendly warning, as well as nice chat about the bikes.

Jill

 

[Silver Penguin]

Jill, I'll have to find that blurb about the solid lines.
JB, there's a gent on ST.n that has, I believe, 3 tickets brought on by lane sharing. I few months ago, I actually got a wave by by a cage CHP at about 30mph. He waved, smiled and everything!

The solid lines I was referring to, are the paired yellow lines that separate HOV from regular traffic. It is my understanding that they cannot be crossed at any time, unless to avoid an accident or to allow an emergency vehicle to pass.

The DMV handbook isn't much help. I wanted to see what they had to say, in the latest edition, about lane sharing.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf

The best I could find was that lane sharing isn't illegal but it is unsafe. And I could name a whole lot of other driving behaviors that fit that description. Attempting to complete a crossword puzzle while driving, burger in one hand and cell phone in the other, morning coffee in one hand while applying make up (and trying to drive). None of those are illegal, but they are all unsafe.

Jill

 

[painman]

I was taught in MSF class that lane sharing is not illegal, but not legal either. It is a gray area legally. When done prudently, with good sense, you will not draw attention to your riding. And the opposite applies too. However, the rider remains responsible at all times for his/her actions.
Jill

Where are all these cops giving out all these hypothetical tickets for lane sharing unsafely? The only commute ticket I ever got was for doing a first gear cross-over from a "left lane must exit" lane back over the solid white to join bumper to bumper traffic.

I seldom see any cops on the freeways when I'm commuting, and frankly don't ever imagine I'd get pulled over for my average style of routine motocycle lane sharing in a crowded California urban area. Not saying it couldn't or wouldn't happen, just that it seems unlikely given the scarcity of cops and how innocuous I am compared with all the psychos out there.... ('course I thought crossing over that solid white was pretty innocuous: "Shouldn't you be out chasin' bad guys, officer?" :glare: )

Uh, JB just because your paranoid doesn't mean their not really out there....... I seem to remember when I went through truck driving school years ago it was said that if someone was doing 75 and one was doing 55 going to the same destination, the one doing 75 would only arrive a few minutes earlier than the one doing 55.......be safe my friend. PM. <>< :lol:

 

[madmike2]

The solid lines I was referring to, are the paired yellow lines that separate HOV from regular traffic. It is my understanding that they cannot be crossed at any time, unless to avoid an accident or to allow an emergency vehicle to pass.<snippage>

The best I could find was that lane sharing isn't illegal but it is unsafe. <snippage>

Jill

The point I was trying to make is, here in NorCal, the line between the HOV and the regular traffic lanes is a "typical" or "regular" dotted line, there are no solid or double lines. The HOV lane is marked with a diamond but not separated by a solid line. And yes, the same fine ($278 ??) is given if you get caught there in a "single occupancy vehicle" during posted commute hours.

The comment about "not being illegal" is what I was told by a CHP officer I asked. He did say that should there be an incident the reponsibility would be on the motorcyclist unless one could prove otherwise, i.e., the 4-wheeler intentionally.....etc., etc. I guess I'm pretty lucky in that I find many people willingly pull over and let me by during commute times.

 

[rockwells]

What won't you do out there in the Land of High-Density, Weaving, Speeding Metallic Cages (aka, The Meat Grinder)?


What JB Won't Do (Much ):

• Pass on the right shoulder
• Lane share next to a moving truck or bus or otherwise long vehicle (car with trailer for example)
• Illegally go around traffic in a way a car could just as easily, if the driver were a prick (see JB's Principle of MC Advantage)
• Cut to the front of a line on the right next to the curb (when not intending to turn right)
• Throw something at a car, smash a mirror, or tweek an aerial
• In spite of evidence to the contrary in the video below, pass between a fast-moving car on the left and a line of slower or stopped cars on the right (mostly HOV lane issue)
• Weave through traffic at excessive speed (a very subjective measure--say, more than twice the average speed?)

Compilation Commute Video
Jb

Same here, for the most part. I'll laneshare up to about 60mph or so, and have passed CHiP's doing this numorous times. After seeing that MythBusters episode on exploding big rig tires, I don't dally alongside them.

 

[rayban]

Ray-ban's California Driving rules...

1. If on a local street and weaving up towards the light, I stop where I'm at once the light turns green and rejoin traffic

2. I never split if there's a solid line in my path. This by default stops me from going around on the "outside" or passing in the car pool lane as well.

3. I don't split above 45 or so. Let jdog and Fairlaner do the high-speed manuevers...

Past that, it's all fair game and I do a lot of it. I don't avoid large vehicles or any of that stuff, I kinda file that under the "and a meteor could fall out of the sky too" kind of probability, but I tend to lean towards that borderline-careless side of the spectrum anyway. Carpe diem!

Splitting as a norm is true especially if traveling down to one of my lady friends south of town in Chula Vista (Chula Mexico) near the border. The 5 and 805 down there are both packed and splitting is a necessity.

 

[HYCLE]

I am new to sharing a lane and usually not in that much of a hurry to get anywhere. That said I will share a lane if the traffic in front of me is stopped and there is enough room to stay in my own lane when sharing. I also have to consider my passengers comfort level in sharing lanes since I am mostly 2up when in traffic.

 

[Silver Penguin]

I am new to sharing a lane and usually not in that much of a hurry to get anywhere. That said I will share a lane if the traffic in front of me is stopped and there is enough room to stay in my own lane when sharing. I also have to consider my passengers comfort level in sharing lanes since I am mostly 2up when in traffic.

You could ask Fairlaner for lessons. Richard has a lot of lane splitting experience. However, both you AND your passenger might need to have your eyes tightly closed.

Jill

 

[Midlifefjr]

Okay - all I want to know is.......has Fang seen the video, is your life insurance paid up........and try not to get killed before the ride on the 26th. Now that the warning from fellow accountants is out of the way.....when are you opening the "James Burleigh Lane Splitting School for First Time Lane Splitters" - Mid

 

[Huck Fonda]

Wow. So many comments / variations. I do a total of 50 miles a day on the 405, plus some extra on surface streets. I use the HOV lane as much as possible, and do "share" it frequently. Here's my position.

I will not pass on the left in the HOV lane. Not getting me between the cage and the wall.

I will share at freeway speeds if:

The traffic in the adjacent lanes is going faster than the HOV lane

There is some tree hugging Prius driver ALONE, trying to get the asolute best fuel economy possible by crawling along

There's bus in front blocking both progress ad visibility

The crossover sections are typically slow as people try to figure out how to merge into one another without signals, but I still take careful advantage of the extra lane width to gain a few more positions

I will not make lane changes without signal, mirror, and head check. This applies all the time, but I make extra sure I can see first hand what's there. When entering the freeway and making my way across to the HOV lane, I usually use the left turn hand signalas well. It's pretty tight getting on sometimes.

I won't share if there is no need. About 75~80 indicated and I'll tuck in behind.

I don't grossly exceed the speed of cars I'm passing. If all lanes slow down, I slow down too. I usually figure +10 is OK.

On surface streets, I do what I can to get to the front at red lights, but only if the lanes are all stopped. I have only tagged one mirror, and I stopped to check it out, gave it a friendly buff with a glove, and got a friendly smile back. I do sometimes share both sides of the center lane if the gaps change size. If traffic starts to move at any speed, I tuck in line.

One thing I think helps, is that I give a wave to cars that see me approaching from behind and move over some. Some will put two tires in the shoulder, others just slide over some. Either way, want them to know I appreciate the fact that they saw me at all

 

[Silver Penguin]

Oh dear - this is getting scary. I had HF pegged as being all kinds of undesirable things and now I read that you feel pretty much the same way as I do about lane sharing? Either you're like me or.........

I have had to practice my technique for entering/exiting the HOV lane. When I rode the VStar, I didn't make the effort to get all the way across six lanes of busy traffic and back, since there often isn't much time to do so. The exit for my work gives a very short space to get over. Of course, things are different with either my FJR or my Ninja. One morning, I whipped across all the lanes, using turn signal and head check for each individual lane change. OK, now I've got my place in the HOV lane, it's time to lay on some gas and get moving. NOT!!!!! I was already over the ton, so it seemed more prudent to slow down a little. The FJR can be deceiving!

Jill

 

[Silver Penguin]

Okay - all I want to know is.......has Fang seen the video, is your life insurance paid up........and try not to get killed before the ride on the 26th. Now that the warning from fellow accountants is out of the way.....when are you opening the "James Burleigh Lane Splitting School for First Time Lane Splitters" - Mid

The Graduation test for this class is to follow Fairlaner for an hour, and stay within five miles of his tail lights.

Jill

 

[madmike2]

Okay - all I want to know is.......has Fang seen the video, is your life insurance paid up........and try not to get killed before the ride on the 26th. Now that the warning from fellow accountants is out of the way.....when are you opening the "James Burleigh Lane Splitting School for First Time Lane Splitters" - Mid

The Graduation test for this class is to follow Fairlaner for an hour, and stay within five miles of his tail lights.

Jill

BTDT! Let's just say I DID NOT get a diploma. :dribble: :lol:

Just WHO did you think came up with his "title" under his avatar. That's the sound he makes as he passes you and disappears towards the horizon,

[SIZE=18pt]"tchoo[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]oo[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]oo[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]oooo[/SIZE]". :yahoo:

 

[Silver Penguin]

BTDT! Let's just say I DID NOT get a diploma. :dribble: :lol:

BTDT too. Richard was kind enough to wait for me to catch up, frequently enough that I didn't get lost, then we both waited off the highway for the other riders to catch up. I believ I got an honorable mention for effort, but no diploma.

Jill

 

[James Burleigh]

The Graduation test for this class is to follow Fairlaner for an hour, and stay within five miles of his tail lights.
Jill

I've never had the terror pleasure of riding with Freightliner, but to the point of this thread, What are your boundaries? We all have boundaries, as evident in the responses here (and thank you all for your thoughtful replies). I suspect those whose boundaries are inside of our'n' tend to think we are crazy, all the way up the line of increasing boundaries.

 

[James Burleigh]

Uh, JB just because your paranoid doesn't mean their not really out there....... I seem to remember when I went through truck driving school years ago it was said that if someone was doing 75 and one was doing 55 going to the same destination, the one doing 75 would only arrive a few minutes earlier than the one doing 55.......be safe my friend. PM. <>< :lol:

Thank you, Pain. I have a saying (one of many ) about motorcycling... Okay, actually, here's two three:

• I'm not rushing. I'm motorcycling.
• I like to go fast. But I don't like to be in a hurry.
• Corollary to the previous: Being in a hurry on a motorcycle is a bad combination.

So it's not about getting there faster. It's about getting there on a motorcycle. Jb

 

[James Burleigh]

Okay - all I want to know is.......has Fang seen the video, is your life insurance paid up........and try not to get killed before the ride on the 26th. Now that the warning from fellow accountants is out of the way.....when are you opening the "James Burleigh Lane Splitting School for First Time Lane Splitters" - Mid

Fang is not allowed to watch any of my videos. :no2: Makes her wonder about, well, you said it--is the insurance paid up?

After about four years of SF urban commuting--which accounts for the majority of the approx. 80K miles logged in that time--I tried at one point to articulate some of my lessons learned here. Anybody got anything to add?

One thing I've learned more and more is to be real moderate with the throttle in thick traffic. If you open the bike up big time, it's amazing how quickly a car can shut the door on you, because everyone's trying to gain that one car length advantage, and will jump out to grab it. I tend to fry my clutch when commuting, just feathering the hell out of it to have immediate engine response up or down as needed.

 

[Huck Fonda]

JB, how long is your commute, and is it moslty like that or just in portions?

My trip on the 405 can get sketchy, but this morning was down right boring.

 

[James Burleigh]

JB, how long is your commute, and is it moslty like that or just in portions?
My trip on the 405 can get sketchy, but this morning was down right boring.

Howdy, Huck. My commute varies. I work in the consulting business, with clients or other obligations all around the Bay Area. For over a year I was commuting 90 miles / day to a client site (round trip). More typical is probably 60 miles round trip, or about an hour. But what's so cool about commuting by M.C., as you know, is that what is for most people the worst part of the day--we get to go on a motorcycle ride!

The lane sharing like in the video is spotty. I mean, it's the same in some bottlenecks every day, but most of my commute is moving at a pretty good clip. I noted once that, given that my average commute from home to the San Francisco office is one hour, on the WORST back-up day, with multiple bottlenecks and accidents, the difference in time is 10 minutes.....

But if traffic is backed up for a long way, it CAN be challenging, because you're brain bulb is turned up full strength, so it can be mentally exhausting, particularly in the evening commute when you're tired, and particularly in the evening in the dark in the rain.

Sometimes I will get home from an evening commute and just mentally crash, and Fang wonders how come I don't have any conversation in me, and she wants a divorce. She just needs to be willing to talk about motorcycles. Duh! :blink: But that's probably off topic somewhat.... :huh:

What's your commute? Where do you live? SoCal? I'm from PV. Jb

 

[Midlifefjr]

Okay - all I want to know is.......has Fang seen the video, is your life insurance paid up........and try not to get killed before the ride on the 26th. Now that the warning from fellow accountants is out of the way.....when are you opening the "James Burleigh Lane Splitting School for First Time Lane Splitters" - Mid

Fang is not allowed to watch any of my videos. :no2: Makes her wonder about, well, you said it--is the insurance paid up?

After about four years of SF urban commuting--which accounts for the majority of the approx. 80K miles logged in that time--I tried at one point to articulate some of my lessons learned here. Anybody got anything to add?

One thing I've learned more and more is to be real moderate with the throttle in thick traffic. If you open the bike up big time, it's amazing how quickly a car can shut the door on you, because everyone's trying to gain that one car length advantage, and will jump out to grab it. I tend to fry my clutch when commuting, just feathering the hell out of it to have immediate engine response up or down as needed.

Okay..I did the pre-read assignment, now ...step one, remove hard bags. Step two, think skinny. Step three, go back and watch the video again. Step 4, go for it. - :assassin: :assassin: :assassin: