It's 105+ degrees here in central TX,,,if the red light is 10 deep with cars, trucks, stinky-ass diesel engines, etc.....I have no problem 'splitting' lanes to the front. I figure we don't have AC on these things! I do see the typical hooligan splitting lanes at 80mph, and as usual it only takes one to ruin it for all of us!
Lane Splitting.... yes or no ?
- Thread starter HardRacing
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=maz=
Member
That is what I understand you said...now you're asking me?
stevieboy
Member
I can only infer. You will know for certain. Lane splitting is not legal in Illinois so I don't know how well it would work but this "zipper merge" thing sure pisses a lot of people off-me included.
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commandodave
New Member
You need driver education and ongoing road signage alerting motorists to lane splitting.
For example, I almost took out a lane splitter on the 405 out of L.A. a few years ago. I have been an active motorcyclist since 1965. All of my riding was/is in East Coast states where lane splitting/filtering is illegal. Yes. I was peripherally aware that lane splitting was allowed in CA thanks to articles in the motorcycle magazines. One day i found myself at LAX and driving up to Tulare. It was not quite the worst of the afternoon rush hour. I was in the center lane and wanted to move into the left lane. An opening presented itself in the fast lane so I signaled and began to move left. Fortunately I saw the motorcyclist before I had moved over more than a few inches and immediately moved back. He was moving at a sane speed, so no harm. no foul. I was taken completely by surprise. This was the first bike I had seen lane splitting so I was not made aware of the possibility of lane splitting by seeing other motorcyclists do it.
Remember, I am a motorcyclist and watch out for motorcyclists when I am in my car. The rider may not know it, but I am protecting his back end. And I was shocked by my first encounter with lane splitting.
How many of those soccer moms heading north out of LAX are like I was in that situation? i was aware of lane splitting and oblivious to it at the same time. Imagine all those drivers experiencing LA rush hour traffic for the first time. Driver awareness must be a big part of any campaign to advance lane splitting.
That said, I wish we could do it on the East Coast!
For example, I almost took out a lane splitter on the 405 out of L.A. a few years ago. I have been an active motorcyclist since 1965. All of my riding was/is in East Coast states where lane splitting/filtering is illegal. Yes. I was peripherally aware that lane splitting was allowed in CA thanks to articles in the motorcycle magazines. One day i found myself at LAX and driving up to Tulare. It was not quite the worst of the afternoon rush hour. I was in the center lane and wanted to move into the left lane. An opening presented itself in the fast lane so I signaled and began to move left. Fortunately I saw the motorcyclist before I had moved over more than a few inches and immediately moved back. He was moving at a sane speed, so no harm. no foul. I was taken completely by surprise. This was the first bike I had seen lane splitting so I was not made aware of the possibility of lane splitting by seeing other motorcyclists do it.
Remember, I am a motorcyclist and watch out for motorcyclists when I am in my car. The rider may not know it, but I am protecting his back end. And I was shocked by my first encounter with lane splitting.
How many of those soccer moms heading north out of LAX are like I was in that situation? i was aware of lane splitting and oblivious to it at the same time. Imagine all those drivers experiencing LA rush hour traffic for the first time. Driver awareness must be a big part of any campaign to advance lane splitting.
That said, I wish we could do it on the East Coast!
reenmachine
Member
Warning: huge downer ahead.
One of the big safety benefits of lane splitting is not sitting between inattentive cars in stop-and-go traffic. There was insane traffic on the eastbound 210 freeway in the Pasadena, CA area yesterday. I was going the other way and got an all too clear view of the reason. One full-size pickup truck had rear-ended another...HARD...and there had been a motorcyclist in between. I honestly couldn't even tell what kind of bike it was. The rider was on the tarmac under a sheet.
One of the big safety benefits of lane splitting is not sitting between inattentive cars in stop-and-go traffic. There was insane traffic on the eastbound 210 freeway in the Pasadena, CA area yesterday. I was going the other way and got an all too clear view of the reason. One full-size pickup truck had rear-ended another...HARD...and there had been a motorcyclist in between. I honestly couldn't even tell what kind of bike it was. The rider was on the tarmac under a sheet.
WA390
New Member
Moved up to WA from CA where I commuted and split all the time. About to get back to riding up here. The fact that I cannot split lanes and use the cages around me at stop lights freaks me out. I will probably piss of some folks, but I am sure I will split at some point.
rick
New Member
FWIW, lane splitting doesn't require drivers to do anything different than they're already supposed to: look and signal before switching lanes. That's about it. In cali, cars usually leave a little more space for motorcyclist than they need to but, they certainly don't have to - there's plenty of room most of the time.
Huh, I split lanes in California for almost two decades, and never knew about the legal underpinnings (or lack of).
FWIW, I never had anyone try to stop me, spit at me, any any of the other negativity mentioned. Most of the people I ride with would give a nice wave if a car gave way. If nothing else, it would just say that we're not being jerks. I guess Californians just see lane splitting all the time.
In a car, I also give extra space to lane splitters for a few reasons.
1. Shows the rider that I definitely see them (and not just randomly weaving).
2. Gets the attention of other cars around me, and hopefully, they'd look out for motorcyclists.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk
FWIW, I never had anyone try to stop me, spit at me, any any of the other negativity mentioned. Most of the people I ride with would give a nice wave if a car gave way. If nothing else, it would just say that we're not being jerks. I guess Californians just see lane splitting all the time.
In a car, I also give extra space to lane splitters for a few reasons.
1. Shows the rider that I definitely see them (and not just randomly weaving).
2. Gets the attention of other cars around me, and hopefully, they'd look out for motorcyclists.
Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk
orangepetrolcrush
New Member
This probably is one of the truest statements I have read from the thread. Lane-splitting is the advantage of motorcycles over four-wheels, however, caution must be applied. You must be well-aware of the general traffic around you so as not to jeopardize the safety of others in the lane.
Seth
Member
I have a better solution. Make the shoulder availible for Transit/Police/Fire/Towtrucks/Motorcycles. This group will not be texting ( we hope). That way the shared use shoulder will serve alert drivers only. I would feel very safe in this lane.
Seth
Member
I saw this in the Seattle 405. Shared use shoulder. Make use of the " break down lane". If someone was broke down, then transit/police/fire/tow trucks/motorcycles can move around or Assist. BTW, the shoulders in Seattle were so clean that you could eat dinner off of them. I think they clean them often. I mean why not use something that is already there.
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Treachery
Moderator
Wouldn't want to use the shoulder for travel. State and municipal budgets are not so flush that they'll appropriate funds to keep those clean. Glass, road gators, nails, screws, cans, and all sorts of other jetsam are there waiting to either put us on our arses or damage our tires/bikes.
ToraTora
Member
I much prefer to call it sharing, or filtering. Splitting has really bad PR connotations. Sharing is Caring.
It's always been legal in CA. For it to be illegal there has to be legislation prohibiting it. Sometime ago the CHP did publish some guidelines for about sharing to encourage riders to do it in a more friendly fashion. I can't remember his name, but some busybody got his panties in a bunch, and complained about the CHP claiming that they were in effect creating legislation (which they were not). So the CHP pulled the guidelines from their website.
The reason people advocated for, and eventually got the legislation passed is because there were other people actively working to ban the activity. By putting something on the books it makes it that much harder to ban the activity--or at least that is the thought process. If you look at the wording of the text it basically doesn't creature any restrictions. All it does is define the activity. However, there is a mandate to create some guidelines--which will probably end up looking a lot like what the CHP had posted. lolz
Personally I find sharing to be safe as long as you do it in a safe manner. High speed differentials are not safe, nor is doing it at high speed. Because there are people actively working at banning sharing it is important that we encourage ALL moto riders to work on better PR, and not be assholes when sharing. Knocking off mirrors and such behavior should be extremely ridiculed. Many cagers already hate on us so we have to work hard at developing good public relations with them.
When you talk with non-riders let them know that when someone is on a bike lane sharing that means the folks in their cars will get home quicker. If just ten percent of the car drivers would start riding bikes the congestion would effectively disappear. It's amazing how much motos help the daily commute.
It's always been legal in CA. For it to be illegal there has to be legislation prohibiting it. Sometime ago the CHP did publish some guidelines for about sharing to encourage riders to do it in a more friendly fashion. I can't remember his name, but some busybody got his panties in a bunch, and complained about the CHP claiming that they were in effect creating legislation (which they were not). So the CHP pulled the guidelines from their website.
The reason people advocated for, and eventually got the legislation passed is because there were other people actively working to ban the activity. By putting something on the books it makes it that much harder to ban the activity--or at least that is the thought process. If you look at the wording of the text it basically doesn't creature any restrictions. All it does is define the activity. However, there is a mandate to create some guidelines--which will probably end up looking a lot like what the CHP had posted. lolz
Personally I find sharing to be safe as long as you do it in a safe manner. High speed differentials are not safe, nor is doing it at high speed. Because there are people actively working at banning sharing it is important that we encourage ALL moto riders to work on better PR, and not be assholes when sharing. Knocking off mirrors and such behavior should be extremely ridiculed. Many cagers already hate on us so we have to work hard at developing good public relations with them.
When you talk with non-riders let them know that when someone is on a bike lane sharing that means the folks in their cars will get home quicker. If just ten percent of the car drivers would start riding bikes the congestion would effectively disappear. It's amazing how much motos help the daily commute.
myorangetracks
New Member
I think that is fine. Just be careful
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