02-24-2026, 03:51 PM
I don't know about Socal but in Norcal I found drivers surprisingly accommodating to lane splitters. If I was lane splitting, I would try to get into a group of motorcycles so the cars were further apart by the time I got there.
Another funny thing about Norcal traffic was that I found people quite willing to accommodate my merging into traffic (whether I was driving a car or riding). At least they never tried to block me out as you might experience in the beltway traffic of some US cities. But the bad part was, when they were merging into traffic, they would just merge in without yielding. It seemed like they felt they had a right to merge without looking, or like they had never heard of yielding right of way. I haven't seen that reverse-right-of-way behavior anywhere else. I'm curious if others have noticed that or if it's only in my mind.
Another funny thing about Norcal traffic was that I found people quite willing to accommodate my merging into traffic (whether I was driving a car or riding). At least they never tried to block me out as you might experience in the beltway traffic of some US cities. But the bad part was, when they were merging into traffic, they would just merge in without yielding. It seemed like they felt they had a right to merge without looking, or like they had never heard of yielding right of way. I haven't seen that reverse-right-of-way behavior anywhere else. I'm curious if others have noticed that or if it's only in my mind.