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LAT: California could soon legalize motorcycle lane-splitting


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California could soon legalize motorcycle lane-splitting

 

Motorcycle lane-splitting — the rush-hour time saver for bikers that enrages many drivers — may be poised for formal legalization.

 

California would be the first state to sanction the traffic-evading tactic, already widespread on traffic-choked freeways of Los Angeles.

 

The state Assembly is expected to approve the legislation as soon as Thursday, and supporters believe it will clear the Senate as well.

 

The measure would allow motorcycles to travel between cars at speeds up to 15 mph faster than the flow of traffic, up to a speed of 50 mph.

 

The bill's legislative backers cite studies showing the practice is safer than trapping bikers behind cars, which leaves them vulnerable to more serious rear-end collisions. But their proposal has riled both detractors and supporters.

 

“Lane-splitting is inherently dangerous,” said Thomas Freeman, a passionate opponent of the practice who said his opposition movement, hosted online at stoplanesplitting.com, has more than 1,000 members.

 

While some motorcyclists applauded the action, the American Motorcyclist Assn. called for even less restrictive rules.

 

“We don't like this bill,” said Nicolas Haris, the association's western states representative. “It goes a long way in the right direction, but it falls short.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

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I'm pretty sure it is already allowed. I travel to San Diego/Miramar every so often, and on the freeways it seems like all motorcyclists zoom around with a deathwish. One dude almost bought it and I saw a girl on a moped with a top speed of like 35 mph in the middle lane.

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As a CA resident, I had no idea it wasn't already "legal."  I experience motorcyclists lane-splitting pretty much every day when I drive home in rush hour traffic.  I have no problem with it, but also feel it is kind of a "do it at your own risk" kind of thing. 

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As a CA resident, I had no idea it wasn't already "legal." I experience motorcyclists lane-splitting pretty much every day when I drive home in rush hour traffic. I have no problem with it, but also feel it is kind of a "do it at your own risk" kind of thing.

Agree with this. At first it freaked me out, but you get used to it.
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I could have sworn that was already legal in California. I see it all the time whenever I've been out there and stuck in traffic.  And I agree that it seems dangerous, without stats to back that up.

I thought it was legal everywhere. Stupid, but legal. Huh.

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As a long time sufferer of California traffic (lived here most of my life), I'll say that this might as well have been legal all along. Cops don't care. I'll see cops splitting traffic on their bikes, and then 4 or 5 other bikes following him, doing the same thing.

 

The only thing that bothers me are the big hogs with wide handle bars that come pretty close to my mirrors when they split. I don't have a problem with them doing it, but if they happen to clip my mirror and get flung off their bikes, then well, not my problem.

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I've never had the desire to ride one..but is insurance cost a deterrent to riding a motorcycle? Or is it more common sense? ;)

 

I wonder if legalizing lane splitting will effect insurance rates. The pro lane-splitters swear up and down that lane splitting is actually safer for bikers (because they are hard to see when stopped in traffic). We'll see.

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“Lane-splitting is inherently dangerous,” said Thomas Freeman, a passionate opponent of the practice who said his opposition movement, hosted online at stoplanesplitting.com, has more than 1,000 members.

 

 

A joke of a statement.  Study after study has proven this is incorrect, and furthermore it's been proven to be safer than waiting for someone texting to rear end you.  Everywhere else in the world lane sharing is practiced successfully.

 

It's safer and it helps reduce traffic (especially if it encourages more people to ride).

 

 

At the very least, every state needs to legalize the action of filtering (splitting the lanes when traffic is at a complete stop.  Motorcyclists don't have the luxury of sitting on an A/C or heated couch, there is no logical reason to prevent them from filtering through complete stoppage.

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I've never had the desire to ride one..but is insurance cost a deterrent to riding a motorcycle? Or is it more common sense? ;)

I wonder if legalizing lane splitting will effect insurance rates. The pro lane-splitters swear up and down that lane splitting is actually safer for bikers (because they are hard to see when stopped in traffic). We'll see.

There is a course you can pay for and if you pass, you don't have to take a driving test to get your motorcycle license. Also, if you do it, insurance is cheaper. I believe my brother said it would around 45 dollars for the bike.
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A joke of a statement.  Study after study has proven this is incorrect, and furthermore it's been proven to be safer than waiting for someone texting to rear end you.  Everywhere else in the world lane sharing is practiced successfully.

 

It's safer and it helps reduce traffic (especially if it encourages more people to ride).

 

 

At the very least, every state needs to legalize the action of filtering (splitting the lanes when traffic is at a complete stop.  Motorcyclists don't have the luxury of sitting on an A/C or heated couch, there is no logical reason to prevent them from filtering through complete stoppage.

 

Just looking at wiki, it doesn't appear as if a single study has really been done.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_splitting#Research

 

As a driver of a car, it seems pretty dangerous to me.  

 

I guess if traffic is completely stopped, that's one thing, but I don't sit in completely stopped traffic very often.

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The problem I have is the question of where does the traffic congestion come from? Are the motorcyclists essentially just cutting in line by lane-splitting to the detriment of car drivers, or is this a case where they benefit without making it worse for others?

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Just looking at wiki, it doesn't appear as if a single study has really been done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_splitting#Research

As a driver of a car, it seems pretty dangerous to me.

I guess if traffic is completely stopped, that's one thing, but I don't sit in completely stopped traffic very often.

Every time you stop for a red light.

http://youtu.be/JNGD9AAIfFU

http://americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/positionstatements/lanesplitting.aspx

The problem I have is the question of where does the traffic congestion come from? Are the motorcyclists essentially just cutting in line by lane-splitting to the detriment of car drivers, or is this a case where they benefit without making it worse for others?

There is no detriment to the car drivers. The average motorcycle will out accelerate the majority of 4 wheel vehicles without even trying when leaving a stop light, and they will filter at the next stoppage as well, never to be seen again by the vehicles they've already passed.

motorcycle-troll.jpg

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Every time you stop for a red light.

http://americanmotorcyclist.com/rights/positionstatements/lanesplitting.aspx

There is no detriment to the car drivers. The average motorcycle will out accelerate the majority of 4 wheel vehicles without even trying when leaving a stop light, and they will filter at the next stoppage as well, never to be seen again by the vehicles they've already passed.

 

Not in a position to watch the video at the moment.  The article you mentioned references one study from 1981 which found that lane-splitting "slightly" reduces crash frequency.

 

I'm not opposed to the idea that lane-splitting could be safer.  I wouldn't want to be sandwiched between two cars in stop-and-go traffic if I were a motorcyclist.  It doesn't appear that study after study has even been conducted though, let alone all agreeing on a specific result.

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Not in a position to watch the video at the moment.  The article you mentioned references one study from 1981 which found that lane-splitting "slightly" reduces crash frequency.

 

I'm not opposed to the idea that lane-splitting could be safer.  I wouldn't want to be sandwiched between two cars in stop-and-go traffic if I were a motorcyclist.  It doesn't appear that study after study has even been conducted though, let alone all agreeing on a specific result.

 

Ok, poor choice of words on my part.  There is not a plethora of studies that have been done, but some are linked here for your convenience since google must be hard for you.

 

http://lanesplittingislegal.com/resources-links

 

if it were actually dangerous and not beneficial to general traffic flow, you would think more than just the U.S.A would have caught onto it by now.

 

  The video shows some responsible lane sharing done within the guidelines that the CHP has been using.  Tip toeing a bike up to the front of a stop light in the state of Virginia is a reckless-driving ticket (which is absurd).  D.C. cops generally never ticket for sharing lanes, and they did it would be for a much lesser improper lane change ticket (for example).

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Ok, poor choice of words on my part.  There is not a plethora of studies that have been done, but some are linked here for your convenience since google must be hard for you.

 

http://lanesplittingislegal.com/resources-links

 

if it were actually dangerous and not beneficial to general traffic flow, you would think more than just the U.S.A would have caught onto it by now.

 

  The video shows some responsible lane sharing done within the guidelines that the CHP has been using.  Tip toeing a bike up to the front of a stop light in the state of Virginia is a reckless-driving ticket (which is absurd).  D.C. cops generally never ticket for sharing lanes, and they did it would be for a much lesser improper lane change ticket (for example).

Thanks for posting those.  Reading through them I think there are arguments to be made both ways.

 

For example, from Safety implications of lane-splitting among California motorcyclists involved in collisions, "LSM were also less likely to be rear-ended (Table 3) by another vehicle (2.7%) than were other motorcyclists(4.6%). LSM, on the other hand, were much more likely to have rear-ended another vehicle (36.4%) than were other motorcyclists(14.9%)(Table 4)."  (LSM means Lane-splitting motorcyclist.)

 

LSMs tend to have fewer head, torso and fatal injuries from accidents, but one interesting detail is that they are significantly more likely to be wearing a proper helmet and less likely to be driving under the influence.  I wonder how much of the difference in injury rate has to due with those precautionary factors and how much to do with the idea that lane-splitting is the safest practice.  I also wonder why it is that there's a significant correlation between alcohol use and whether one chooses to split lanes.  Maybe people who are driving under the influence are afraid that splitting lanes makes them more likely to get caught, and/or they're afraid they don't have the level of control needed to drive between cars?

 

Other highlights include that lane-splitting appears to be fairly safe when the difference between the motorcyclist's speed is within 15MPH of the speed of traffic and the speed of traffic is less than 50MPH.  Most motorcyclists operate within those parameters, but a significant number do not.

As I stated above, I'm not predisposed to be against the idea of lane-splitting.  It's very frustrating when a few irresponsible people give the 90% of _____ users who are reasonable a bad name.  (Fill in the blank with guns, fireworks, bicycles, motorcycles, you name it.)  I do think it's very easy to read a study in a way that fits what one's perspective already is, and from that standpoint I don't know that the studies fall as conclusively in favor of lane-splitting as you seem to claim.  I would love to see more research published on it, as I think the potential is definitely there for it to be borne out as the safest riding strategy.

 

If you'd actually like to discuss the content of the studies I'm happy to.  If you'd rather make snarky comments about googling, that's up to you.

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Every time you stop for a red light.

There is no detriment to the car drivers. The average motorcycle will out accelerate the majority of 4 wheel vehicles without even trying when leaving a stop light, and they will filter at the next stoppage as well, never to be seen again by the vehicles they've already passed.

 

I don't sit at many lights that are really backed up where you actually just sit.

 

In real traffic in my experience, lights tend to cause a trickle effect.  Where, especially if you are further back, you sort of trickle your way forward.  There isn't at least much of a period of time where you are just sitting.

 

On local roads where there is a few cars, then sure, red light you sit.  But I then don't consider that sitting in traffic.

 

That's sitting at the red light, and then there is no huge advantage to the idea of motorcycles getting far ahead.

 

The wikipedia link specifically mentions the Hurt study, and states how it doesn't actually mention lane splitting so citing something that then cites that is sort of odd.

 

**EDIT**

I can only tell you my experience from driving a car where I've never hit anybody doing it, but my sense is that I've been in my lane and suddenly there is a motorcycle somewhere that I didn't expect them to be, and I at least feel like I almost hit them (or they almost hit me in that they weren't coming up into the lane where my car already was), espeicially if you are in a left hand lane and a truck or big SUV is behind you, it is hard to see a motorcycle coming up down the middle.

 

I've had situations where I'm moving in my lane for some reason (avoid a pot hole, avoid somebody on the side of the road, avoid something in the road, trying to see traffic ahead of where I am and moved over to see around the cars in front of me, thinking about switching lanes, etc) where I'm moving over, but staying in my lane and there is then unexpected a motorcycle in part of my lane.

 

Especially in traffic because you really are focused on, is the guy ahead of me going to slam on his breaks suddenly.  To worry about that and if I scoot over in my lane, I might hit a motorcycle who is coming up the middle isn't trivial.

 

Maybe the motorcyclists see it coming and easily avoid me, but that isn't my sense and from having that sort of situation happen where I'm driving and my wife is a passenger, as a passenger that isn't her sense.

 

The sense/feeling you get is you almost hit the guy on the motorcycle, and your heart starts racing.

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