08-19-2015, 02:34 AM
I spent some weeks in India earlier this year. The concept of a lane is hard to imagine , let alone splitting the lane by motorcycles. EVERYONE splits lanes: trucks, cars, motorcycles, scooters.
Yet, nobody there did anything "unsafe" (save for the father with his 10 year old daughter side straddling the back seat and his 4 year old on the gas tank, or the guy on the 125cc going 50mph down the highway with a live goat strapped to the rear seat...). Horns were used appropriately, and high beams were used to signal passes. Their traffic is nuts. As someone else stated, this is precisely why people ride motorcycles instead of cars.
I think the problem is a fundamental issue with American drivers. I'm entitled to eat my double cheese burger and talk on my phone, not use my blinkers, and expect you to make room for me when I change lanes. While I think lane splitting could be beneficial in reducing traffic here in the states, I personally wouldn't do it even if it was legal (here in Ohio), simply because I don't trust American drivers. I am of course over generalizing for effect (but I really did see a guy on the freeway with a goat strapped to the back seat).
Yet, nobody there did anything "unsafe" (save for the father with his 10 year old daughter side straddling the back seat and his 4 year old on the gas tank, or the guy on the 125cc going 50mph down the highway with a live goat strapped to the rear seat...). Horns were used appropriately, and high beams were used to signal passes. Their traffic is nuts. As someone else stated, this is precisely why people ride motorcycles instead of cars.
I think the problem is a fundamental issue with American drivers. I'm entitled to eat my double cheese burger and talk on my phone, not use my blinkers, and expect you to make room for me when I change lanes. While I think lane splitting could be beneficial in reducing traffic here in the states, I personally wouldn't do it even if it was legal (here in Ohio), simply because I don't trust American drivers. I am of course over generalizing for effect (but I really did see a guy on the freeway with a goat strapped to the back seat).