Lane splitting (sharing) interview

[Randy B]

I hope the CHP and/or DMV puts out rider safety "minimum guidelines" while lane sharing. The new law seems sorely lacking without some sort of safety guidelines.

I think a speed limit of 10 to 15 over surrounding traffic should be recommended and a maximum speed of a lane splitter no higher than 25 mph.

Surely, the relative difference in speed (i.e. 10 to 15 mph) has a crucial affect on rider safety's reaction time with respect to defensive driving and "AVOIDING" would-be collisions.

A maximum speed of 25 MPH would never fly. There would be open revolt and just about nobody would follow that rule.

[dsinned_imp]

Without data to support it, a speed limit is really just a shot in the dark, so initially a conservative recommendation seems prudent.

[Randy B]

Without data to support it, a speed limit is really just a shot in the dark, so initially a conservative recommendation seems prudent.

I understand what you are saying, but it wouldn't fly with the VAST majority of riders in the state.

[dsinned_imp]

Its kind of subjective, but I feel much less "safe" while lane splitting over 25 mph. Granted I'm an older guy with less than optimum accident avoidance reflexes to protect me from being in harms way. Its the relatively high unpredictableness of the surrounding cars and blind spot visibility that I worry about.

[jerrycon_imp]

I am the guy who recently claimed to filter only (stopped traffic) and not lane split (moving traffic). Imagine my surprise today to find myself splitting through lanes of slowly moving cars at 56 kph (35 mph). It felt safe up until that speed. That's when I stopped splitting.

But I must confess that Black Beauty seems to have a mind of her own. Leaving the pool hall today, I was firm in my decision to take local streets home. Minutes later, there I was on the freeway once again, at one time doing 137 kph (85 mph). For me, it is good that the CB is no more of a sport bike than it is. I often tell people that I am an old guy who likes to ride slow. It is possible that scientific measurements might indicate otherwise, at least occasionally--if not often...

I hope the CHP and/or DMV puts out rider safety "minimum guidelines" while lane sharing. The new law seems sorely lacking without some sort of safety guidelines.

I think a speed limit of 10 to 15 over surrounding traffic should be recommended and a maximum speed of a lane splitter no higher than 25 mph.

Surely, the relative difference in speed (i.e. 10 to 15 mph) has a crucial affect on rider safety's reaction time with respect to defensive driving and "AVOIDING" would-be collisions.

A maximum speed of 25 MPH would never fly. There would be open revolt and just about nobody would follow that rule.

A maximum speed of 25 MPH would never fly. There would be open revolt and just about nobody would follow that rule.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

I am the guy who recently claimed to filter only (stopped traffic) and not lane split (moving traffic). Imagine my surprise today to find myself splitting through lanes of slowly moving cars at 56 kph (35 mph). It felt safe up until that speed. That's when I stopped splitting.

But I must confess that Black Beauty seems to have a mind of her own. Leaving the pool hall today, I was firm in my decision to take local streets home. Minutes later, there I was on the freeway once again, at one time doing 137 kph (85 mph). For me, it is good that the CB is no more of a sport bike than it is. I often tell people that I am an old guy who likes to ride slow. It is possible that scientific measurements might indicate otherwise, at least occasionally--if not often...

I hope the CHP and/or DMV puts out rider safety "minimum guidelines" while lane sharing. The new law seems sorely lacking without some sort of safety guidelines.

I think a speed limit of 10 to 15 over surrounding traffic should be recommended and a maximum speed of a lane splitter no higher than 25 mph.

Surely, the relative difference in speed (i.e. 10 to 15 mph) has a crucial affect on rider safety's reaction time with respect to defensive driving and "AVOIDING" would-be collisions.

A maximum speed of 25 MPH would never fly. There would be open revolt and just about nobody would follow that rule.

A maximum speed of 25 MPH would never fly. There would be open revolt and just about nobody would follow that rule.

I just started riding again after taking a month off. Too hot for leathers, so I broke out the road bicycle for the last few weeks.

I went for a short ride yesterday evening and took the fastest bike in my garage, the 2015 ZX-10R. I just wanted to make sure I still knew how to ride.

That bike seemed to have a mind of its own. Swift, comfortable, agile, and of course very fast.

I really think you have to ride the bike the way your mind tells you to ride it.

Trying to "take it easy" is going to get you into more trouble. Motorcycles need to be ridden to the advantage of the owner, not to follow rules designed for pedestrians, bicycles, or automobiles.

We can't be seen very well and have no real protection. Unlike bicycles and pedestrians we cannot just jump off the roadway or stop on a dime. (OK, bicycles can't stop on a dime but we can jump onto the sidewalk.)

Motorcycles are the most vulnerable, but most agile, vehicles on the road but those advantages have to be exploited through skill and good judgment.

That's why you ended up back on the freeway, and why you found yourself splitting lanes.

Otherwise, why not just leave the bike parked in the garage? Use it. After a month off, the thrill is back, bigger and more addictive than ever.

[Riko_imp]

From an European perspective

I watch a lot of youtube videos, also about motorcycles and vlogs worldwide.
While lane-splitting is accepted in Europe, I have the impression it is indeed frowned upon in the US, even in the only state where it is allowed (or is it in more than one state now?)

I cannot understand why its not regulated or even not allowed in certain states.
You guys are famous for having long roads and when I see videos I see roads that are broad enough for a bike to lane split.

Why would one forbid a motorcycle to use its full potential?
Because if you forbid a motorcycle to lane split, why even buy a motorcycle, would be the conclusion in Europe
People buy a motorcycle here to lane split as one of the main reasons...

In Belgium there is even a specific law that explicitly allows lane splitting, be it under certain conditions:
- no faster than 50km/h = 31mph
- there has to be a speed difference between the car and the motorcycle no more than 10km/h = 6mph
- only allowed between the 2 most left lanes.

Also, go to Italy or Rome, your eyes will fall off with what you see there

Just saying, forbidding lane splitting is plain stupid.
Arguments against them are funny as heck and seems a good excuse to harass motorcyclists.
The so called safety argument to forbid this practice to protect the motorcyclist is a joke, if car drivers would be more alert and actually take into account that they share the street with more nimble motorcyclists that lane split, you got no safety argument left.
Again, with those kind of streets you would have to open your door wide or actually steer your car into the path of a lane splitting bike to actually make lane splitting dangerous.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

From an European perspective

I watch a lot of youtube videos, also about motorcycles and vlogs worldwide.
While lane-splitting is accepted in Europe, I have the impression it is indeed frowned upon in the US, even in the only state where it is allowed (or is it in more than one state now?)

I cannot understand why its not regulated or even not allowed in certain states.
You guys are famous for having long roads and when I see videos I see roads that are broad enough for a bike to lane split.

Why would one forbid a motorcycle to use its full potential?
Because if you forbid a motorcycle to lane split, why even buy a motorcycle, would be the conclusion in Europe
People buy a motorcycle here to lane split as one of the main reasons...

In Belgium there is even a specific law that explicitly allows lane splitting, be it under certain conditions:
- no faster than 50km/h = 31mph
- there has to be a speed difference between the car and the motorcycle no more than 10km/h = 6mph
- only allowed between the 2 most left lanes.

Also, go to Italy or Rome, your eyes will fall off with what you see there

Just saying, forbidding lane splitting is plain stupid.
Arguments against them are funny as heck and seems a good excuse to harass motorcyclists.
The so called safety argument to forbid this practice to protect the motorcyclist is a joke, if car drivers would be more alert and actually take into account that they share the street with more nimble motorcyclists that lane split, you got no safety argument left.
Again, with those kind of streets you would have to open your door wide or actually steer your car into the path of a lane splitting bike to actually make lane splitting dangerous.

America is a very strange country. Believe me there is no where else in the world I would want to live, but we Americans are a proud, tough-bitten breed of people.

The disdain for motorcycles and bicycles in our country stems from a couple of philosophical reasons.

Bicycles went through a phase of being extremely popular with the upper classes in the late 19th century; "A Bicycle Built for Two" is one example of popular culture being enamored of two-wheelers.

When automobiles became viable transportation, bicycles fell out of favor, and those who continued to ride them were viewed as lower-class people who could not afford a car. This was especially true after Ford began selling the Model T.

The same thinking applies to motorcycles. A certain percentage of people want to believe they are better than you, locked securely in an automobile, and you are not worthy if you can't even afford a car.

Another other reason is the adoption of the motorcycle post-WWII as an emblem of anti-social behaviour and rebellion.

Yet another reason is that this country was settled, very rapidly, by what Theodore Roosevelt and others of his time called "borderers". These borderers were considered necessary to carve out a nation, but were also a very hard-bitten, uncouth breed of folk, and necessarily so. They were rightly suspicious of anything strange or unusual, because in the wild, strange and unusual could mean deadly and dangerous.

Biker movies in the 1960s continued to portray motorcyclists as wild, strange, unusual, deadly, and dangerous.

So, our cultural background doesn't include a great deal of tolerance for motorcycles or bicycles.

In Europe, bicycles and motorcycles to this day are a very common and well-integrated form of transportation and are not dismissed or looked down upon in any way.

[Randy B]

Then there is the always popular belief that "YOU CAN'T CUT IN FRONT OF ME!!! I CAN'T DO THAT, SO NEITHER CAN YOU!!!". Such a nice mentality to have, wouldn't you say?

[the Ferret]

From an European perspective

I watch a lot of youtube videos, also about motorcycles and vlogs worldwide.
While lane-splitting is accepted in Europe, I have the impression it is indeed frowned upon in the US, even in the only state where it is allowed (or is it in more than one state now?)

I cannot understand why its not regulated or even not allowed in certain states.
You guys are famous for having long roads and when I see videos I see roads that are broad enough for a bike to lane split.

Why would one forbid a motorcycle to use its full potential?
Because if you forbid a motorcycle to lane split, why even buy a motorcycle, would be the conclusion in Europe
People buy a motorcycle here to lane split as one of the main reasons...

In Belgium there is even a specific law that explicitly allows lane splitting, be it under certain conditions:
- no faster than 50km/h = 31mph
- there has to be a speed difference between the car and the motorcycle no more than 10km/h = 6mph
- only allowed between the 2 most left lanes.

Also, go to Italy or Rome, your eyes will fall off with what you see there

Just saying, forbidding lane splitting is plain stupid.
Arguments against them are funny as heck and seems a good excuse to harass motorcyclists.
The so called safety argument to forbid this practice to protect the motorcyclist is a joke, if car drivers would be more alert and actually take into account that they share the street with more nimble motorcyclists that lane split, you got no safety argument left.
Again, with those kind of streets you would have to open your door wide or actually steer your car into the path of a lane splitting bike to actually make lane splitting dangerous.

I've ridden in Europe (5 countries) and the vehicles there for the most part are much smaller than the vehicles here. Never saw a semi, a class A motor home or 5th wheeler, a full size pick up truck (much less king cab dually), full size Van, or full size SUV for that matter over there (although I am sure some people have them). Get an SUV and full size pickup side by side both in the middle of their lanes and see how much space is left between them, not much, which is why motorcycles with wide bars and saddlebags don't split much. Read the tests in the motorcycle magazines like Cycle, Rider, Motorcyclists, Road Runner etc and they will mention bag width and the fact that the bags make splitting difficult and dangerous because there isn't that much room between vehicles. You don't have to open doors to narrow your lane here, the size of your vehicle does that automatically.

Since it has been going on in Europe and California for so many years, residents of those areas have become accustomed to it. In the rest of the United States it would take another 30 or 40 years for drivers in those states to become accustomed to it, and in the meantime, there would be a lot of animosity and accidents (darn safety thing rearing it's ugly head again). I suspect eventually it will become accepted practice in this country, but probably not in my lifetime.