Motorcycle lane splitting: Better for riders, better for drivers.

[Ducatamount]

It's not just all single track and cow paths here. 

[lightspd]

While lane splitting/filtering is illegal here, so it's not something I do(also never had a reason), I do think it's a good thing.  Lane sharing on highways I think is a bit crazy though, but that could just be do to the fact I've never experienced it.  Anyway, ran across this video one day while browsing youtube and found it apropos.  Don't trust other drivers.

[Grampa]

^ that's not the same as good-ol-merican trafic on the 405 lanesplitting. That was a nucklehead passing cars on a two lane road. I realize it didn't help that the dipshit who hit the rider signaled right then swerved left, but given the speed everbody was traveling (in both directions), the rider never should have tried to make a pass there.

[Skybarney]

Regarding that video,  Stupid place to pass, unrelated to lane sharing.

Also regarding the video:
Having ridden for over 30 years I have learned that quite a few Cagers go wide prior to making a turn.  Gotta expect every car around you to suffer three flat tires while the driver is trying get the cigarette he dropped on his lap, when he was texting, in between bites of a burger.


 

[lightspd]

Fair enough on both comments.  I considered it lane sharing as he never actually changes lanes to pass and does it with cars coming in the opposite direction, which I saw a lot in Europe.  The craziest I ever saw was someone do that but a huge lorrie was coming the other direction.  I thought for sure they were going to get clipped or go down, but no.

[Skybarney]

Can't say I have never passed with oncoming traffic.....  Just not in places that narrow or where I could not be clearly seen by oncoming cars.  Still an asshat stupid move on my part the few times I have done it.

[DM426]

That video is is a good example of one type of lane splitting you'll see 100 times a day if you live in Europe.

As I said earlier, driving in-between cars stopped in a traffic jam is one thing, and that might make sense if American drivers were educated to accept it. But I'm not convinced that's what people want when they talk about legalizing lane splitting.

In America, people already regularly pass on the right and engage in all sorts of other dangerous behavior, and most are clueless that they're even breaking the law. I see other motorcyclists all the time doing incredibly stupid stuff, all the while moaning about how terrible "cagers" are. Legalize lane sharing here and most bikers will see that as a license to ride all over the road in any fashion that suits them. You know they will.

When I lived in Europe this was common behavior and no one batted an eye at bikers "filtering" all over the road however they wanted. But cars are different there, the autobahn is payed out different, drivers education is WAY different, and there are many more bikes on the road. Plus, cars are generally a hell of a lot smaller and easier to get around. Too, trucks are sharply restricted on traveling in the left lanes, which is a huge difference compared to the US.

It's okay that California allows a very limited form of lane splitting. But I'm more than a little skeptical that allowing this in Dallas or Philadelphia will result in anything but more accidents and an even worse attitude toward motorcyclists in general.

[Dirty Duc]

I wouldn't consider lane splitting in CA to be limited in any fashion that is meaningful.  Much less so than travel speed...

and I would consider the video to be illegal/unsafe passing, not lane splitting.

The argument about driver education is a good one, but mostly moot.  Auto accidents (probably quite a few of them related to unsafe or under-skilled drivers) kill nearly as many people a month as the 9/11 attack...

[DM426]

The argument about driver education is a good one, but mostly moot.  Auto accidents (probably quite a few of them related to unsafe or under-skilled drivers) kill nearly as many people a month as the 9/11 attack...

Well, it might be relevant, even though it's one of many potential factors.

The accident rate in Germany is 4.3 per 100, whereas in the US it's 11.2. Nearly three times as high. Also, motorcyclists account for an average of 23% of all road fatalities.

Accident rates on the autobahn are significantly less than US highways, and the stringent driver education programs there probably account for a good piece of that equation since young drivers make up a disproportionate percentage of fatalities. In Germany, drivers education is not optional and it's not easy. Compared to America, where a lot of teen boys learn to drive in big daddy bubba's pickup truck, the emphasis on vehicular safety education in Germany is light years ahead.

One interesting tidbit regarding the autobahn is the philosophy of entrance and exit ramps. Studies consistently show the vast majority of accidents on highways occur at entrance/exit ramps. Knowing that, the Germans have purposely designed the autobahn with far fewer entrance/exit ramps than US highways. Our highways are designed for maximum convenience, and as a result Americans use highways for quick jaunts across town. In Germany (and most of Europe), highways are designed to travel long distances, thus they are laid out in a way that makes it difficult to use them for anything else. A big city might only have two or three exits from a particular highway, meaning if you miss yours, then you're going to be traveling to the next town whether you want to or not.  That means motorcycles can get on the autobahn and cook along at very high speed and still maintain a high level of safety, whereas in the US the constant stream of people getting on and off and crossing lanes creates a churning effect that's lethal. When combined with much larger cars, a preponderance of big SUV's, and generally larger, heavier, and less maneuverable bikes, and it's easy to see why US roads are so much more dangerous for motorcyclists. Add to that the whole anti-helmet attitude (which European bikers usually find bizarre and puzzling), and it's apples and oranges when comparing US laws to those in Europe.

Lane splitting works in Europe but I'm skeptical it will work in most US cities.

[ducatiz]

Driver education in the USA is geared to produce revenue.

[muskrat]

Driver education in the USA is geared to produce revenue.

  well said and sooooo true

[DM426]

Driver education in the USA is geared to produce revenue.

Sadly, that's more or less true. Drivers ed in the US is a joke compared to Europe. I've taken the German version and it's WAY more involved than that typically found here. Also, the vast majority of countries around the world do not permit driving until the age of 18. Even in permissive Germany, people are unable get a learners permit until the age of 17, and must be accompanied by the parent until the age of 18. Even then, there are all sorts of restrictions on motorcycle type for a number of years.

In the US, some states allow driving as early as 14, there are no restrictions whatsoever on motorcycles, and even those states which formerly had helmet laws are now repealing them. Also, even though drinking alcohol is allowed and part of the culture in at much earlier age in Europe, they will absolutely stomp you if you get busted for DUI, and the legal limit is WAY lower. In Sweden, 0.02% is the limit, and just like in most of Europe your lose your license on the first offense. In Italy officials have the option to sell your car if you get a DUI! In Germany the limit is 0.05%. However, for the first few years the limit is zero for beginning drivers. That's right, if you have any alcohol in your system at all it's automatic loss of license for three years. In sharp contrast to Europe, the limit is the US is 0.08%, and a lot of people have three or more DUI's. It's crazy.

Why do I mention all that? Well, in part because when people talk about legalizing lane splitting in the US, they often point to Europe as an example of how it can work. And that's fair enough. Just so long as you're also willing to import all the other stuff that goes with it.

[Skybarney]

I would be willing to import all of that.  How Americans (as a society) drive is shit.  Training is shit as well.  Wait, there is no "training" just operation teaching.  Any monkey can operate a vehicle, how many can actually drive it?

I once took an 8-6 driving course.  Something Malibu County used to do.  An eight hour classroom like the regular traffic schools and a six hour class.  The six hour class was with Sheriffs deputies in cars and included things like avoidance maneuvers, emergency braking, reaction timing and most importantly the math of speeding.  Best damn class I ever took in relation to real world driving.

I stopped following people to closely and stopped speeding on anything but long road trips and canyon rides a long time ago.

Americans need to learn that the freeway is not a Nascar track and they are not losing a position every time someone passes them.  Don't even get me started about our more than apparent inability to make the beast with two backsing merge.  

[DM426]

I think you're right on, Skybarney. The only thing I would add is that motorcyclists in the US are every bit as bad or even worse. If drivers think the highway is a NASCAR track, then most riders appear to think it's the X-Games. Seriously. I got passed on I-45 heading into a big construction zone by a dude on a street bike riding a continuous wheelie doing probably 85 MPH. He kept riding that way until I finally lost sight of him.

Stuff like that is exactly why so many motorists believe motorcyclists deserve whatever they get.

[Skybarney]

I got passed on I-45 heading into a big construction zone by a dude on a street bike riding a continuous wheelie doing probably 85 MPH. He kept riding that way until I finally lost sight of him.

Stuff like that is exactly why so many motorists believe motorcyclists deserve whatever they get.

  The rager stunter gang is quickly becoming a phenomenon that is gaining traction in the big cities. Luckily the squids that pull that crap are pretty rare in my neck of the woods.  Up here most motorists move to the right side of the lane on the mountain roads so we can get around them without passing a double yellow.