Okay, I know lane splitting is illegal (althiough legal in many other countries) in most US states. But, if you are from out-of-state and, one day, ride in CA all it may take is to be, one time, stuck behind, crawling along in maddening, frustrating stop 'n go 05-10 MPH traffic when you see Wavex, Nccoder, RedWazp, Tailgate, and a million other old hat CA riders pass you while efficiently, courteously, filtering through the near parking lot traffic scene. If you, nonetheless, continue to just sit there stuck in the traffic then you must have some pretty strong conviction against lane splitting.
Just becasue other people do something, doesn't make it right. I mean sure, you have a great point that if lane splitting was legal and ok to do so, then sure, might give it a try, especially if I see others riders splitting. No problems there at all.
A recent example of a situation like you descirbed happend to me the other week although it involved riding on the shoulder and I'm only relaying it as an example of sticking to your convictions ( I'm not trying to confuse lane splitting with riding on the shoulder as they are two very seperate topics/issues!). Big accident on the highway on my way into work. Traffic pretty much not moving so I'm sitting in it. Lane splitting is illegal here in BC and so is riding on the shoulder. Well it dosen't take long before I see some riders riding down the highway shoulder. I, and 2 other riders stayed in our lanes the whole time (45min) while I counted at least 10 riders taking the shoulder to pass traffic.
I refused to take the shoulder for several reasons:
a. it's illegal. (yeah yeah yeah, so is speeding and we all do that..blah, blah) The only reason ppl were doing it is becasue they were being impatient. I'm never in 'that' much of a hurry to get to work!
b. just because other riders were doing it still dosen't make it a right thing to do. There is an old saying "
just becasue you can, dosen't mean you should".
c. there was an accident, so emergency vehicles need that shoulder (saw one go down it as well) and last thing they need is a buch of riders all trying to funnel back into traffic right at the accident site where the shoulder will run out and traffic bottle neck.
d. Due to me becoming a MC instructor I now have to hold myself to higher riding standards than most as I have to be setting an example for others.
e. I take into account how my actions might be viewed and impact on other riders.
Did it pain me to sit there knowing I 'could' easily ride around the traffic; sure it did. Would it have been easy for me to just join everyone else who was doing it; yes it would have been. If it was legal I would have done it in a heart beat. But it wasn't and just becasue others were doing it and I "could" do it, still didn't make it the right thing to do. My luck there would be a cop at the accident site handing out tickets to all the riders who did take the shoulder!
I not trying to come off all high and mighty here and my personal situation is different than most, but I personally pride myself on having and sticking with my convictions/decisions and not just following all the other 'sheep' out there who give little to no consideration about their actions. Any idiot can hop on a bike and ride like a tool. It often takes more maturity, more thought and self control to do the right thing than doing just doing what everyone else does. Sometimes thinking for yourself and not letting others make the decisions for you is a good thing.:thumbup:
So - lane splitting where it's legal = no problems and I say go for it. I wish it were here but alas it isn't and thus I sometimes have to sit in traffic with the rest of the cagers.
you have to deal with but again it takes experience and believe it or not, confidence. If you're apprehensive about it, your energy is split from your focus and skills on what's really going on and your reading of the traffic and drivers. I'm sure there are places where you can still only drive a yak driven wagon but that doesn't mean we can't benefit from other forms of transportation and lane splitting is a perfect example. We do it every day here in Ca. and I believe it saves fuel and reduces congestion which is what we as humans might benefit from today....
