Ducati Monster Forum

Hello everyone!

I'm starting a bit of a research project on lane splitting and would love to interview lots of people on the subject.

I would like to talk to people from all over the country (and even outside the USA) about their experiences, techniques, and opinions.

Of course there are many riders who disapprove of lane splitting, and I want to talk to you too, maybe even especially you.

If you're interested in giving your opinion please send me a personal message with your phone number and/or email address.

Thanks.
NorDog

Ok, I am from Germany, living in Denmark, driving to Sweden and Italy from time to time.
Before I went to italy, I didnt think it could be socially accepted..but there it is.
Even the cops and every other 2 wheeler moves as much to the front as possible.
Standing traffic, roundabouts, even on the highway..
So if you are not used to it, go there and learn it.
In Germany cagers are aggressive and you can even expect people opening doors if you try it in a traffic jam on the highway.
In town traffic its illegal and cops will sack you, people will honk, its just no fun.
Denmark and Sweden are pretty relaxed and would never scare you or try to show you how small their ..uhh..respect is.
So you CAN do it all the time but you start to feel like an asshole and so you just go with the flow.
There not too many cars anyway.

Personally I try to adept to the local environment...i love doing it, but I wont do it in a renegade way [coffee]

ofcourse the point of his post was to see who knows how to read and follow instructions. you failed.  [laugh]


just poking fun. PM sent!

its legal in CA and i LOVE it!

Not legal in Oregon.. I have done it to avoid an accident though... and only for that reason.    [roll]

I might be wrong on this, as I often am, but I thought the case in CA was that there just isn't a law stating that lane splitting was illegal which one would think made it legal. My understanding is that they can still stop you, if they wanna give you a hard time, and write you a ticket for something like reckless driving? I'm actually curious about this and there might already be a thread about it. Does anyone know the real answer? I often split if traffic is really bad but I'm completely afraid to do it in front of a cop.

SoCal rider and daily lane splitting commuter...

PM sent

There's a good thread on it on BARF: http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154980 (http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154980)

are you going to take into account the density of penetration of motorcyclists versus cars in this project?

are you going to account for scooters also?

Thanks somegirl. Exactly what I thought. Kind of an "at your own risk" situation.  [thumbsup]

I have  a story about lane sharing.

On my way home from work, rush hour traffic on local surface streets.  I am lane sharing.  On one side of the street there is some sort of accident with a few police cars and a moto cop.  As I pass by one of the police officers yells and points at me.

Officer: "YOU COME HERE!"

I pull over in front of them, turn off the bike and proceed to remove my helmet.  The officer approaches, quickly removes the key from the ignition and puts it in his pocket.  He then proceeds:

Officer: "DO YOU KNOW WHY I STOPPED YOU?"

(please note, I'm typing in caps not as a dramatic effect but as the conversation simply took place).

I don't know and reply accordingly. 

Officer: "You were in the same lane as that car!"
Me: "Yes, but in California it's legal for two vehicles to share a lane"
Officer "What? Two cars can't share lane!"
Me "That's correct, two cars can't, but a motorcycle and car can"

He ask for the usual, license, reg and insurance info.

The officer walks away and goes to talk to the moto cop, I can't hear their conversation but I can only image.  The moto cop smiles and nods at the question being presented to him.

The officer comes back and tells me.

"I'm going to let you go because you were not being an asshole with me! Have a good day"

He returns keys and documents.  To this day I split lanes.  [thumbsup]

Ha!  :)

Thanks to everyone for replying, both here and via PM, and sorry for being dormant on this.  I hope soon to have a little questionaire for those interested and will be contacting you by email later this week.

Thanks again.

NorDog

This is exactly why I always act civilized and in control when talking to officers. I've gotten warnings, but never tickets for lane sharing and other minor traffic violations. (not saying lane sharing is a violation though)

I'll PM as well, but it may interest others to know that in Japan there are special bike zones ahead of the stop-line for cars at many/most intersections.  Cars stop, bikes weave to the front, and take off ahead of the 4-wheeled vehicles.  Great system.

They do that in South Korea too I think.

I'm in favor of "lane sharing" (another PC term...) but don't do it in NY because it's illegal and pisses people off. If I have a good reason like I have heat stroke or the bike will overheat if I keep idling in traffic, I'll split, very slowly through very slow traffic. "I don't want to sit in traffic" doesn't count as a good reason IMO.

Officially "lane sharing" is legal; it's legal as long as it's done safely.  Safely being in the opinion of the ticketing officer.  You can get ticketed for any number of offenses.  I have a friend who was cited for unsafe speed, and I have another acquaintance who received a ticket for passing on the right.

Technically two cars can lane share, but not safely. Maybe at a right turn and the right lane is two cars wide, I think that'd be called lane sharing actually since there's no marked lane.  Note: I am not an LEO.

Hiya,

I am from a lane splitting country.  It is not legalised, nor outlawed, so, like the path we use on the roads, the issue is grey in my country.

Lane splitting involves a lot of concentration, and one has to evaluate the drivers in the vehicles as well.  It's almost like a study in vehicle body-language - the driver, is he an old man who is unlikely to know you are there? is he a young man who is in a hurry? 

It gets more hairy when you have another bike that is lane splitting overtaking you or you have to work your way around a slower lane-splitting bike.  I usually travel about 50 to 100 km/h lane-splitting, and a lot depends on the mood when I get on my bike.

Fire away with the questions, and I'll try to give you the information that you need.

Cheers 

+1

Works for me...

In Belgium its legal to split lanes when their is a traffic jam, but maximum speed between cars is 50km/u, when theirs a slow moving traffic you may also split lanes with a max of 20km/u more speed then the moving cars.

You bike has "K" mode?!  :o ;D

AFAIK in California you can not be travelling faster than 10mph over the flow of traffic.

15 miles or so of sharing every day.  Below is from the CA Highway Patrol web site and is as much official written language that will be found:

"Can motorcycle riders "split" lanes and ride between other vehicles? Lane splitting by motorcycles is permissible but must be done in a safe and prudent manner."

A comment from a local news agency:
"The CHP adds that if traffic is moving at more than 20 mph, motorcyclists are expected to follow normal traffic and not split lanes. "

I've been told up to 35 mph is considered "safe" by most LEOs, but its reserved as a gray factor so other basic speed laws can be applied.  I've also had the opportunity to follow moto officers while lane sharing at speeds much faster than 35 mph.  I could add more but I'll take the 5th.    [moto]

Not exactly.  There's no set MPH over traffic at which you can lane share and be legal.  Used to be some mention of it from the DMV literature, not any more.

Like a lot of things, it's up to the officer's discretion if you're being safe or not.

illegal here in MA, and with the crazy cagers around here I generally don't want to risk it.

There is no law governing lane splitting in CA. There is none that makes it illegal or that stipulates MPH or any other aspect of splitting. It is entirely officer discretion. You could be cited for speeding, unsafe passing on the right, reckless driving, or a number of other violations if you choose to ride in an unsafe manner. It's just common sense. If traffic is moving at 30 and you are splitting at 60 that is unsafe. How could a slow moving car that has been waiting for a spot to slide over a lane be expected to see you as you try to pass him at twice his speed? If traffic is going 60 to 70 why are you splitting in the first place? Ride in a safe and prudent manner, at a reasonable speed, splitting safely and you will never get a ticket for it. 38 years old, splitting for 20 and never stopped a single time for splitting.