lane splitting

How do you guys feel about lane spiltting? What State are you allowed to do it. It suprises me that they encourge it in some states(traffic flow) and others it is big ticket. Whats your take?

 

I live in Illinois where lane splitting is illegal. I agree with Derstuka that there is proper etiquette. I ride frequently on I-90 which really clogs up heading into Chicago near O'Hare. When it stops I simply ride slowly between the left lane and middle lane.No faster than 30! Some cager usually will honk and I have had cars try and block my path on several occasions. I just wait 10 seconds and go around them. I rarely lane split at red lights. I have seen young guys lane split at speed 80-100 mph around here which in my opinion is plain crazy.

 

In BC it is illegal. There is no specific offense for this but to do so would likely result in a charge of Drive Without Reasonable Care and Consideration or Drive Without Due Care and Attention. Both are two of the more serious offenses under our Motor Vehilce Act and carry fairly stiff penalties. Driving on the shoulder, either fast lane or slow lane are specifically illeagal.

I would discourage this practice as it is unsafe. Not that you the driver are being reckless, but for fear of other users not expecting it. If there is a collision between you and a cage, who do you think will end up the looser?

I commute the freeway every day to and from work. Going to it is not an issue. I am on the road by 2:30 , 3:00 at the latest in the morning. The commute home is another thing being on the freeway 3PM to 4PM. I have really been tempted but I try to do my part to improve the image we presently have, and it is not an acceptable risk for me.

People on air cooled bike use the excuse that they need to keep moving to cool their bike. A scooter hooter police officer I know drives a HD as well and he has no problems with his bike. I know that in the hotter climates, this argument may not hold true but it does here in the north.

 

It's also illegal in Oregon, which is where I live. I don't think I'd even be tempted, I know it makes some drivers angry, but I don't ride my bike to work, so generally it is not an issue for me.

So pay attention Derstuka when you travel up this way.

 

I was in my cage in New York city stuck in traffic about five cars back from a cop when a few bike are splitting the lane, the cop does nothing. It got me thinking is it legal or just tolerated?

 

A lot of times it's not worth the added risk for a cop to jump into rush hour traffic to go after the lane splitter. After all, even of the bike was only going 10mph it would still be chaos when the cop tried to get through with his car.

 

Never really did it until last year, when I started commuting on 495 north of Wash. D.C.
Everyday its like a can of sardeens (Spelling?)

I too only do it with caution, and at very low speeds.
Not sure about the legality of the act here in MD? But who wants to sit on a bike in 2hrs of traffic anyway?

The PoPo wouldnt be able to do anything about it even if they wanted to, as they are subject to sitting there with every other cage in that mess.

 

I agree but I have been behind an Illinois Trooper when lane splitting. I decided not to push my luck and pass him. Contempt of cop is never a good idea. I regularly ride safely and with gear so I really dont condsider this reckless.
Sardines!!!

Randy can I still keep my stripes?

 

Careful here Bud,

In most jurisdictions, maybe not yours, all they need is the plate. Here anyways police can charge the Registered Owner of a vehicle for a traffic offense, If the RO spits up who was driving, the police may go after the driver, but they need not. They can just lay the ticket on the RO and it carries the same financial penalties. Only thing is the RO does not get the points attached to his/her license.

In reality though, in the larger centres, I doubt the police will take the time to do this. But you never know when you will run across a traffic cop who is dedicated to his responsibilities

 

Not that it's not a bad idea, but brother I have trust issues, so no lane splitting for me unless it's stopped traffic, I'll use the shoulder even then.

 

No ... and you can't celebrate a birthday for two years either.:wedgie:

 

Renegade! VFR

 

And I would be extremely careful here too. People just don't look and don't expect a vehicle to come along and undertake on the shoulder. Also, if there is going to be glass and nails and the such on the road, it will be on the shoulder.

 

Not needed here as there is few roads that are conjested enough to do it on.
I do think it should be legal but with restriction(ie 10km faster than cagers are traveling) and at stop lights.
It may be better if bikes and splitting was more common, but here there is not enough bikes or conjestion to make it common thus it would be reckless as it would be unexpected.

 

:thumbsup:

Another thing I never see mentioned, splitting lanes at traffic lights greatly decreases the likely hood of being hit from behind.
I got rear ended waiting for a freeway onramp light a couple years ago, ever since I pretty much always lane split at lights, and rarely stop at those pos onramp lights anymore either.

 

I don't like lane-splitting because there's just too much room for error and you're really riding on the faith of your fellow motorists. What if the driver up ahead is having a bad day and isn't paying attention?

The only "lane-splitting" I've done is on the shoulder at 10 mph when all lanes are completely blocked. Even then I try to ride the shoulder as little as I need to because I'm a little scared of that cager that wants to pop his door open and block me off.

As for the bikers on air-cooled engines they do have a valid defense. That's one of the reasons lane-splitting is legal in california. Without that you'd be seeing motorists stuck on the shoulder waiting for their bike to cool down. I once rode a buddy's air cooled kawasaki zx-14 and the engine automatically shut down on me to prevent overheating. I had no choice but to roll the bike to the shoulder and wait for the engine to cool down.

 

From what I was told by my MSF instructor it is legal here in Texas. He didn't recommend it but did say you will not get a ticket for it.

 

Being able to split lanes here in CA is one of the main reasons i ride. if you've only experienced rush hour traffic on a daily basis in 90+ degree heat, you too would be splitting the lanes. "Most" cars are used to bikes cruising by while they're stopped for a light so they generally leave you enough room. and dusting everyone at the light when it turns green is wonderful. but the real risk is making sure no one is running the cross traffic red light which is far too common here.

as far as freeway lane splitting, only if traffic is slowed or stopped. then it's kind of satisfying passing everyone. thankfully there's usually an extra 18 inches or so of extra space between the carpool lane and fast lane for us to utilize. i can get from LA to San Diego in 2 hours flat just by being able to split the lanes. in a car, 3 hours if i'm lucky.

scary it may seem, but it's so common here. in stopped or slowed traffic there's no way a car can merge into you or your "middle" lane because there's just nowhere for them to go. it's actually safer then you'd think. as for those that split while doing highway speeds, well, far too many times have i rode past an ambulance and a group of those "sport bike guys" (you know the one's i'm talking about), as they help hoist their budding into the back.

 

Pretty sure its illegal in all USA states except CA.

I'm from MA and there's a petition going around to see if legislature will legalize this. The stipulations would be more or less as Derstuka mentioned in his post (<30mph traffic speed, speed delta between bike and traffic <10mph, in between lanes [not w/in breakdown lane]).

Lots of pros- and cons. I like the idea, but its something that could be abused easily. And lots of ignorant (& jealous?) drivers.