Lane splitting (sharing) interview

[curlyjoe_imp]

Yes, joe, I think that's a view that informs many opponents of lane splitting and filtering. But, what then of overtaking?

Overtaking (legal) is allowed for all motorized vehicles. I think laws that only benefit a subset of motorized vehicles is unfair.

[Cormanus]

I would normally be inclined to agree with you, but it seems to me there are some complex issues for regulators in the question of whether to allow lane splitting which have to be weighed against fairness.

The first is whether you want to do whatever you can to reduce congestion. Allowing motorcycles to do what they can to get out of the way helps with at, albeit to a limited extent, particularly if you use the speed rules that apply in Australia.

The second is whether you want to reduce the number of motor vehicles on the road, particularly those carrying only one person. If it becomes a great deal quicker and more efficient for people to use scooters and motorcycles to commute, it may turn people from cars to bikes. Allowing motorcycles to filter will also reduce the amount of time they are sitting in traffic burning fuel when it isn't necessary.

I don't know about the USA; but elsewhere in the world, having come to the realisation that building more and better roads simply encourages the appearance of cars, governments are doing what they can to reduce the number of them. They are building dedicated bikeways for cycles, legalising filtering for motorcycles under prescribed conditions, imposing stiff tolls on cars in some city areas, and building lanes that can be used only by cars with more than one or two occupants. Such transit lanes can usually also be used by motorcycles. I read yesterday that that the City of London is thinking of imposing an additional toll on vehicles entering the city which do not meet a very high standards of emission control (Euro 4, I think).

So, consideration of filtering is not so much about advantaging motorcycles as taking steps to decrease the attractiveness of commuting by car.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Yes, joe, I think that's a view that informs many opponents of lane splitting and filtering. But, what then of overtaking?

Overtaking (legal) is allowed for all motorized vehicles. I think laws that only benefit a subset of motorized vehicles is unfair.

Overtaking (legal) is allowed for all motorized vehicles. I think laws that only benefit a subset of motorized vehicles is unfair. The particular vulnerabilities of each class of vehicle are considered. 18-wheelers have an enormous body of regulations, not to mention fees, which apply to the vehicles as well as their drivers. As you move further down the food chain, the regulations become less and less, and the privileges increase. Pedestrians always have the right of way, as do bicycles. They can do the least damage and pose the least threat, and have the least advantages and protections. Motorcycles are only a step above bicycles; any practice that allows motorcycles to use their maneuverabilty to flow more effectively through traffic, and to park in a smaller space not usable by an automobile, is advantageous and safer for all motorists. Such practices reduce the exposure to risk and the elements that the motorcyclist has has to incur while in traffic.

As with flying, the biggest, heaviest craft or vehicle (think A380) is the most regulated. The lightest, least maneuverable craft (the balloon) has the most privileges and the least regulation. Helicopters have some additional privileges and strictures based on their maneuverability.

I would normally be inclined to agree with you, but it seems to me there are some complex issues for regulators in the question of whether to allow lane splitting which have to be weighed against fairness.

The first is whether you want to do whatever you can to reduce congestion. Allowing motorcycles to do what they can to get out of the way helps with at, albeit to a limited extent, particularly if you use the speed rules that apply in Australia.

The second is whether you want to reduce the number of motor vehicles on the road, particularly those carrying only one person. If it becomes a great deal quicker and more efficient for people to use scooters and motorcycles to commute, it may turn people from cars to bikes. Allowing motorcycles to filter will also reduce the amount of time they are sitting in traffic burning fuel when it isn't necessary.

I don't know about the USA; but elsewhere in the world, having come to the realisation that building more and better roads simply encourages the appearance of cars, governments are doing what they can to reduce the number of them. They are building dedicated bikeways for cycles, legalising filtering for motorcycles under prescribed conditions, imposing stiff tolls on cars in some city areas, and building lanes that can be used only by cars with more than one or two occupants. Such transit lanes can usually also be used by motorcycles. I read yesterday that that the City of London is thinking of imposing an additional toll on vehicles entering the city which do not meet a very high standards of emission control (Euro 4, I think).

So, consideration of filtering is not so much about advantaging motorcycles as taking steps to decrease the attractiveness of commuting by car.

Paris recently enacted regulations similar to this, banning all cars not made after 1997 (over 20 years old).

California is building high-speed rail now, and Los Angeles is hard at work on creating bicycle routes and lanes. Anything that will reduce the number of cars is a good thing, but these efforts also improve the quality of life in these locations.

[curlyjoe_imp]

Your points are quite valid, Cormanus. The Australian rules look reasonable and perhaps motorist behavior is more civilized there. In the Northeast metro areas, roads are deteriorating, vehicles are getting bigger and it seems drivers are getting more aggressive every year. If you add lane splitting and filtering to the mix in the Boston metro area, I would fear for motorcyclist safety. I certainly wouldn't do it for fear of assault by an angry motorist.

However, it may work just fine in some parts of the world.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

To me, lane splitting and filtering is anti-social behavior and is equivalent to cutting in at the front of the que. I doubt any of us would cut in front of the que at a grocery store check out line so why do it on the road?

At a line in the grocery store, everyone has the same destination. How can it be "cutting in front" when the motorcyclist is going somewhere else? Also, he or she is only using the pavement under their wheels, not the pavement any automobile or truck is using. It's like shifting at a high RPM, we taxpayers paid for all the pavement so why not use it to get where we are going?

At any rate, in California this practice has been going on for a very long time, many decades. It works here. It's never been against the law. And maybe what it shows is that people tend to tolerate, for the most part, things that help everyone get along better.

[the Ferret]

On todays ride I thought a lot about this thread. I tried running 18 mph for awhile as is the limit in Australia when filtering. Imagined running between a line of cars. It is kind of slow lol. Tried in first and second gears. In second it's like 1500 rpms. in first IIRC it was around 3000 rpms? The line had better be short that you're filtering on because you are not going to pass many unless it's a long light. If there are a lot of cars you have to pass I imagine they will be taking off before you get to the head of the line and you are going to have to merge left or right into a lane. A better speed for me seemed to be between 25 and 30 mph, in second gear.

So I headed to the freeway since I had to run across town to the Guzzi dealer to pick up a can of Plexus for my brother. Yea at this time of day there wasn't enough traffic to play the splitting game unless you were just picking off 1 vehicle at a time.

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF4075_zpsadqan7cj.jpg.html]

one thing I noticed on our roads were hthe pot holes all seemed to be right where a motorcycle would be splitting on the striped lane divides

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF4073_zpsdh2rz9zo.jpg.html]

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF4074_zpsg9n6ffrc.jpg.html]

here you can see where the state has come thru and just patched right where the lane dividers are

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/DSCF4071_zpspoutcoet.jpg.html]

I did come up behind vehicles that were running side by side and skooched over on the lane divider looking at the distance between them to imagine going through. I thought Naaaa not me lol. Could probably do it, but I don't have to...... thank goodness

[Rebel73_imp]

My rule of thumb:

No lane splitting if traffic is going 30+ mph. At anything below 30, I do lane split but no more than 15mph above the speed of traffic. I also turn on my headlight modulator and cover my brakes.

[Cormanus]

You were scooting along there, Ferret.

[the Ferret]

speed limit is 65, I was +5, my usual lol ...and getting passed on both sides

[lola_imp]

Look at how clean that freeway is... No tar snakes and little bitty pot holes, wish California roads were like that.

Efforts are being made to make Californians even more aware of motorcylists out in the wild concrete jungle in general using Radio and TV ads and even a billboard near where I live which is cool to see every now and again. It's just that some motorcyclists abuse that privilege we have (lane splitting) speed and aggressiveness in its action is what makes it dangerous in the eye of the public and some riders as well that are not familiar with lane splitting. We Californians are just lucky I guess.

I cant see myself sitting behind a lifted diesel truck with a 4 barrel 4 inch diameter exhausts in front of my face and my air cooled CB cooking legs to a crisp in 100 degree weather.