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So as many of you know I was involved in a hit and run accident on Memorial day Friday on my way home from work 2 years ago. I am going to be interviewed by the local NBC station next Friday about that experience and my thoughts about the bill that is going through he CA legislature to codify exactly what lane splitting is and that it is most definitely legal here.
Being a transplant from Illinois 8 years ago with 25 years of riding under my belt gives me a good perspective from both sides of the idea of lane splitting in that it is COMPLETELY frowned upon outside of CA and here, for the most part, I witness people making room for riders doing it. There are the few that still think that it's wrong and actively try to block you, but in my experience those people are few and far between.
Hopefully I will be able to either get a copy of the interview, or maybe even a link to it somewhere after it airs.
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Cool Randy, should be interesting. Not sure where I come down on this. I know when I was driving out there in a car lane splitters scared the absolute beejeesus out of me when they would come blasting by inches from the side of the car. If I saw them coming in the rear view and got prepared for it, it wasn't as bad, but still unnerving to have someone so close to your elbow.
But also after being in that traffic I can understand why motorcyclists are in favor of it. The traffic I was in was absolutely nuts, 105 degrees bumper to bumper for hours it seemed.
I've heard the safety stats and not sure I agree with them, but can't prove that they are wrong either. Personally I would be more afraid of being tagged from the side as you were, than being rear ended.
Either way it doesn't affect me because I don't live there, when I did ride out there I didn't do it because I didn't feel comfortable doing it, but who knows, maybe if I did live there I would get used to it.
At any rate looking forward to the interview. if we can't see it, maybe you can get a transcript we can read.
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(07-01-2016, 09:49 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Cool Randy, should be interesting. Not sure where I come down on this. I know when I was driving out there in a car lane splitters scared the absolute beejeesus out of me when they would come blasting by inches from the side of the car. If I saw them coming in the rear view and got prepared for it, it wasn't as bad, but still unnerving to have someone so close to your elbow.
But also after being in that traffic I can understand why motorcyclists are in favor of it. The traffic I was in was absolutely nuts, 105 degrees bumper to bumper for hours it seemed.
I've heard the safety stats and not sure I agree with them, but can't prove that they are wrong either. Personally I would be more afraid of being tagged from the side as you were, than being rear ended.
Either way it doesn't affect me because I don't live there, when I did ride out there I didn't do it because I didn't feel comfortable doing it, but who knows, maybe if I did live there I would get used to it.
At any rate looking forward to the interview. if we can't see it, maybe you can get a transcript we can read.
Just check out the number of videos on Youtube with motorcycles being rear ended and it might change your mind.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...rear+ended
I wasn't something that I thought about before the accident, but now I ACTIVELY watch the vehicles the come up behind be at a stoplight and I tend to give them the stink eye when I feel that they get too close.
I'm not in a car and I don't have a bumper, yet they still want to get as close as they can not even thinking about what "could" happen if the person behind them doesn't stop.
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yes but there are plenty of motorcycle sideswiped by car while lane splitting videos as well
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...+splitting
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Filtering, not splitting, is legal in NSW and some other States. When appropriate I do it. See [url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a8AQdVo7Vqg]this video from a motorist's organisation. If used responsibly filtering is very useful. Unfortunately some, but not many, motorcyclists raise car drivers' ire by aggressive or inappropriate riding when filtering.
Cheers
And Randy I'm looking forward to seeing that interview.
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So in NSW you can do it legally to pass stationary or slow moving vehicles as long as the motorcycle does not exceed 18 mph.
18 mph? Californians would get a good laugh at that one
Again, I am not against it, neither are my for it. I am in the I'm not sure which way I think phase, and have been for quite some time.
If done as Ptero says is legal in NSW I believe I would probably be for it. From what I saw in Cali with bikes passing at 40-50 mph I'm not so sure.
Btw I have seen the same thing done here ( bikes passing at 40-50 mph or more) where it is totally illegal.
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Well the proposed law that is basically setting the rules would basically leave things as the status quo for the most part, but limit the passing speed to something like a 15 MPH differential. That to me seems a bit too fast and 5 mph makes more sense in my mind, but that is what they are going with.
So splitting up to "the speed limit" will still be allowed if it passes, and as of right now there has been no opposition to the bill as written.
CA AB 51 is the proposed bill.
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It's legal where I live in Queensland and I'm trying to get better at doing it. Frankly, I often avoid it in bad traffic, but it's handy on the freeway when traffic has stopped and you're allowed to get on the shoulder.
I hope we get to hear the interview Randy.
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Looking forward to seeing the interview, Randy.
My position on this, as if anyone asked, is this: we expect cars to stay in their lanes and not enter into our "safety zone". Why should we be allowed to enter theirs? We are not lane splitting, we are lane SHARING since at least some part of our bike is overlapping the "neutral zone" of the white line. We would NEVER support a rule that would allow a car to take any part of our lane in order for that car to move through traffic faster. Lane split at your own risk (to an accident or to a ticket) just like you exceed the posted speed limit, even by 1 mph, at your own risk.
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Filtering is now legal in Victoria also.
Regards
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