Lane Splitting. Good or Bad?

<object id="otvPlayer" width="400" height="268">http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7531214

Sorry couldn't get it to embed for some reason.
</object>

Was that police officer wearing a bowtie? :huh

I wish it was legal outside of CA.

Sure wish it was legal here in Texas.

The woman in the video that originally complained just rubbed me wrong with her comments. I'm paraphasing here but it was something like this:

"Motorcyclists think they own the road and take up the whole lane." :huh

This is the kind of mentality that gets us killed.

I was a bit put off by that comment as well.

Agreed. The fat cunt really pissed me off because I deal with people like her every single day on the roads. They resent the fact that someone is getting to work quicker than them.

I've never been through LA, but I've driven through Atlanta numerous times during rush hour in a car. Talk about a nightmare.

Going to be doing it in a couple days as a matter of fact.

Probably part of it. I think this particular woman is of the spectrum that thinks all bikes are dangerous death traps. We do something she comprehends as dangerous to begin with. Throw in lane splitting and in her mind it is instant death.

Just more of the nanny state mentality permeating the country and people that think they know what is best for everyone else. Hopefully some stupid politician doesn't latch onto this and try and make it illegal.

Is it good or bad? Good, when conditions are right, ie. heavy traffic during rush hour, road works, etc. when you can ease ahead, but only between the two far left lanes. I think most cagers would understand that. Bad, because it doesn't help our already bad image. On the Paris ring road at any given time are scores of scooters and bikes ridden by couriers and they don't give a shit about any of the rules. (Two-thirds of all bodily injury accidents on the ring involve two-wheelers, mostly couriers). Yet there are lots of us who are reasonable and I find that many cagers, of the ones who see you, will squeeze left or right to let you through. It's not legal but tolerated if you don't go more than 20 kph faster than the flow of traffic.

Personally, I do it only under certain conditions, as mentioned above. Even then it adds an additional risk to an already elevated risk activity. That said, I didn't always adhere to that policy....age has a way of bringing such things into better focus.

Well, couldn't hear what the talking heads were saying but I thought interesting that the vid. Had multiple long shots of some guy doing something completely illegal (crossing a double yellow), a lot of shots of motorcycles not splitting at all and one shot of a huge touring bike splitting a couple of cars and not much further, (Hard to split well on those). Maybe it was stock footage and all they had. But show a line of 5 bikes splitting reasonably in almost stopped traffic or working up to a light and the other side of the coin emerges.

Some people don't like splitting because a bike going past closee startles them out of their dreamy reveries. Nobody likes to be startled.

Some are afraid they'll get hit or have a mirror knocked off (I hit one mirror in 16 years of daily splitting and it was on a large truck and just got swiveled forward an inch. I felt bad about it tho')

Some people resent the idea someone is getting some thing they ain't---like getting down the road when they're rotting in traffic or on the end of a long line at a light. When possible I point out to these people (party conversation...) that if I was in my truck instead of on the bike I would be one more vehicle making traffic worse---and I'd bee in front of them. "Heck, if half the people were on bikes there would be no traffic and we'd all be flying along---including you in your sedan".

That said, some riders abuse it and split at high speed with lots of dodging around. They DO get in accidents and unlike the heavy traffic fender benders the cagers get in, they get hurt. Everything gets good and snarled with an ambulance and a firetruck and some police cars and everyone rubbernecking the bike upside down against the concrete divider.. It pisses on everybodies day because someone had to be a jerk. It forms opinions and feeds rationalizations to the other issues mentioned above.

As far as actually doing it, it's not as weird as one would think. Do do need to control your sight line, know, intuitively, exactly how wide your bike is, be able to manage a parallel crack (and in Ca., Botts Dots) and be able to sustain complete concentration. You also need the judgment to know what to do, when, and how fast. You can be reasonable with it and you can be an idiot with it a couple ways. Up to the rider.

I love it.

After traveling in California I got really used to being quite close to cars. While a lot of drivers in California are used to it, the drivers here at home get a little freaked out. I'm not lane splitting here but I do get a bit closer than most.

This.

It's the single best, sometimes only, reason for living in California. For every one pain like the woman in the video there are thousands who move over just a little to help you get by. It's the CHP officer that worries me. They just can't start enforcing the limited access lanes. I learned to split lanes by going to school on those guys. They're generally fast and totally ignore the carpool double yellow and I do my best to emulate them.

One factor in me getting a bike, and now riding so much is because I can split. It makes me sick that people will drive alone in big SUV's, taking up tons of road space in a 1 or 2 ton vehicle just to transport 150-200lbs. I split because I hate sitting in traffic, and stop and go SUCKS on a bike.

I split when Im in the mood and when traffic is moving less than 10mph less than the speed limit. When people move out of the way for me I make a point to wave and thank them. I use my blinkers whenever I cross a lane or to indicate my intetions to drivers around me as a courtesy. In 123k miles I have clipeed one drivers mirrior. I immediatley pulled over and appologized. people that clip mirros and ride on frustrate me.

I find the DS, crotch rocket, touring bikes are more often than not polite to other drivers. The guys on the big loud chrome covered bikes are the ones that hog the road, rev their engines and make people move.

Lane splitting keeps traffic moving as its one less car, its just the few that screw it up for hte rest of us. And to that woman they interviewed: :fyyff

If you emulate violating double yellows you will regret it eventually. The CHP gets to blow them off because they ain't gonna write themselves tickets.

Enforcing the carpool lanes is tough. There often isn't room to pull the offender over safely without jamming the lane. So every time you pull someone over you slow or kill the lane. If you pulled them all over the lane would be useless.

Personally I think MUCH higher fines ($325 is bullshit) and a scanning video camera on the CHP bikes would go a long way. Take a 180 degree video of the offender as you pass them on the bike and let them go on. They get the ticket in the mail and the vid. goes to traffic court with all the other photo enforcement stuff. Auto timestamped, there are your plates and there is a clear picture off not enough occupants in the wrong lane.

I ride year round to my work.

alot of cagers will move over/make room for you IF they know you're there. if you're not flying by them at 30+ they might have a chance to know you're approaching and make room.

then there are people like the dumb cunt in the video. who will passively fuck with you by hogging the left of the #1 lane. she's also the type that's texting or phoning. riders are giving her that push away hand gesture to tell her to stop her passive aggressive behavior.

of course riders are at fault as well. I've seen that riding between the two DY,etc. riders needs to chill and just be patient. it's not a RIGHT to be able to lane share. cars blocking you? just wait a few seconds and you'll find an opening (unless traffic is stopped). since we're the minority cagers tend to lump us all together. a few assholes makes all of us look bad to the lemmings.

That part really bugged me also, somebody needs to explain to her that we are entitled to an entire lane whether she likes it or not.

And I really wish it was legal in the areas I have to commute through.... I have been considering taking my chances with the police and filtering anyways.

In CA it is called lane sharing.
http://laneshare.org/index.html

In my mind, there are only three good things about living in the "ungovernable state" of Kalifornia...

1. Lane Sharing
2. Proposition 13 (which prevents property taxes from increasing more than the rate of inflation)
3. Napa Valley