07-06-2016, 12:36 AM
Lane-sharing is not against the law now in California; the current efforts underway are to educate the public about it to make it safer for everyone.
The two main factors are:
a) We have many more motor officers than ever before and their motorcycles allow them to be first responders to some of the bad stuff we have happening nowadays. Motor cops are allowed and encouraged to take their motorcycles home so they are available to them at all hours. That's why the officer was going home on his motor. These guys constitute a very important first line of defense and response; if motorists are educated to expect lane-sharing and to look for it in traffic, our officers are safer and able to do their jobs, which might save one or more lives.
b) Motorcycles are considered fuel-efficient and can use carpool lanes in California. They are populous and are not going to go away, and after these many years of being part of the traffic pattern, the notion of banning lane-sharing would be preposterous. We'd just keep doing it anyway. One thing I did not see mentioned is that it is not as much a problem of the bike overheating in traffic as the RIDER overheating. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are big problems in the desert southwest; a biker needs to keep moving to keep himself AND his bike cool.
These efforts are to educate new drivers as to the reality of how motorcycles fit into the traffic flow and what is acceptable, and how to anticipate it.
The two main factors are:
a) We have many more motor officers than ever before and their motorcycles allow them to be first responders to some of the bad stuff we have happening nowadays. Motor cops are allowed and encouraged to take their motorcycles home so they are available to them at all hours. That's why the officer was going home on his motor. These guys constitute a very important first line of defense and response; if motorists are educated to expect lane-sharing and to look for it in traffic, our officers are safer and able to do their jobs, which might save one or more lives.
b) Motorcycles are considered fuel-efficient and can use carpool lanes in California. They are populous and are not going to go away, and after these many years of being part of the traffic pattern, the notion of banning lane-sharing would be preposterous. We'd just keep doing it anyway. One thing I did not see mentioned is that it is not as much a problem of the bike overheating in traffic as the RIDER overheating. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are big problems in the desert southwest; a biker needs to keep moving to keep himself AND his bike cool.
These efforts are to educate new drivers as to the reality of how motorcycles fit into the traffic flow and what is acceptable, and how to anticipate it.