Lane splitting to be considered again in Texas

[il d00d]

Senate Bill 506.  w00t!
Strangely, this is the only news article I could find on it...

[Howie]

Let's hope this bill passes in Texas and sets a pattern for other states.

[ScottRNelson]

Maybe if a few other big states change the rules, the rest of the country will follow.

I expect that it will take a long time to educate the public in Texas if it passes.  I would be hesitant to split between a couple of rednecks in big pickup trucks.  Actually, I'm hesitant to do that here in California where lane splitting (oops, I mean "sharing") has been legal for decades.

[Porsche Monkey]

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=18710.0

[AfroStar]

Dang! I just left Texas.....
hope Mass. will follow... i may doubt this due to Texas being a Republican and MA being a Democratic...
I also hope that there is not a lot of traffic to warrant a lane splitting. [moto]

[RB]

i prefer to call it 'filtering' (sounds less aggressive IMO), since a bike is slipping thru the gaps in traffic streams.

I don't live in Tx, but i hope it gets passed. Currently california is the only state that allows filtering, many European countries allow it also.

too bad it isn't legal in all 50, cuz traveling from state to state during heavy or congested traffic would be nice.

[SaltLick]

i lived in calfiornia for 30 years, nothing good about lane splitting. People get pissed sitting in traffic and get even more pissed when bikes zip past them missing thier mirrors by inches or hitting thier mirrors. I know people that use to purposely watch for lane splitters and either throw something at them as they went by or would move thier car so that he would either get squashed or not be able to get through at the last second. Talk about dangerous things to do on bikes, lane splitting IS the most dangerous thing you could do on a bike. Count your blessings, lane splitting is too tempting to pass up when your sitting in traffic but its the last thing you should be doing.

[hbliam]

I've lived in CA for 37 years and lane split for 19. I'm sorry but I think you have little to no experiance with the practice. I would have to argue that wheelie's, racing, or jumping would all be more dangerous activities then splitting.

[derby]

i lived in calfiornia for 30 years, nothing good about lane splitting.

...except getting home from work 40 minutes earlier than i would if i was in my car.

[RB]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/30/MN87097.DTL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_Report

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VicRoads

i used wikipedia just for the links, if you follow them the actual report is available for reading.

i live in Maryland, and wish we had this here. People do get pissed because someone gets to go to the front of the line. Like many drivers on our roads across the country, the idea that you will get in front of them infuriates them. I still do not understand this mentality, we are not in a race, we do not share the same destination or finish line. How many times have you watched a tool dart thru traffic to only get one car length? Lane sharing has been legal in California for sometime now, is it a matter of people not knowing it is legal that makes them angry? Or is it just as simple as getting in front of you?
If it is legalized in Texas, i hope they create a huge ad campaign to educate the rider and drivers of the new law change.  more bikes will be on the roads every year and sooner or later more laws will be created and ratified due to the growing demand.

RB

[hbliam]

Lane sharing has been legal in California for sometime now,
RB

It was never illegal in CA. Has been accepted practice since moto's hit the roads.

[needtorque]

I like the idea but I have had the thought pop in my head a few times to try it (even though it is illegal here in SC) and I just never could.  The concept is nice but it seems a bit risky seeing some of the morons driving the roads around here.  I have enough trouble with idiots not seeing me as it is if I was weaving between cars even legally and "safely" I think I would not last a week before someone creamed me.

[Le Pirate]

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!

I hope it passes....I might get home faster from now on  [moto]

[RB]

i stand corrected, sorry i didn't realize it was never illegal.

i do know, well at least i think i know, that the law is written in such a way that a LEO can determine whether or not you are 'filtering' safely. Therefore write a ticket because he/she felt you were going to fast, or weaving too much. Then it would be up to the judge to decide if you were performing safely.

[redxblack]

It would be nice to have in all 50. In the summer months, I worry about overheating an air cooled bike when stuck in traffic for long periods.