Lane Splitters are Foolish Beyond Belief!

[steveindenmark]

I am not sure what this "Lane splitting" is.

On our motorways if the traffic comes to a halt for an accident or back up of traffic we arelegally allowed to work our way down the centre of the cars. MOST drivers are aware of this. Hower there are always the odd idiot who resents us having this right so we do have to be careful.

Steve

 

[cjhudson101]

I saw someone lane splitting yesterday in traffic, and it is quite illegal here in Oregon. As a motorcycle rider, I was pissed when I saw him do this. It's dangerous all around since most if not all of the drivers on the freeway here aren't used to this. I was just waiting for someone to change lanes and not look for a motorcycle coming up on them when they are moving at about 2 mph.

The opposite can be said when I was down in the bay area. The first time I drove across the bay bridge I had someone zip by me lane splitting. It completely caught me off guard, but the guy was probably going 25-30 while we were all moving about 5-10mph.

I guess the summary of my post is, when it's illegal, it is just stupid. Plain and simple.

 

[damnpoor]

I am not sure what this \"Lane splitting\" is.

On our motorways if the traffic comes to a halt for an accident or back up of traffic we arelegally allowed to work our way down the centre of the cars. MOST drivers are aware of this. Hower there are always the odd idiot who resents us having this right so we do have to be careful.

Steve

That's lane splitting - riding the line right down the middle of two lanes between the cars.

 

[Oscar54]

Well I appologize for upsetting everyone, I guess I deserve it based on the posts.

I truely hope it continues to work for you all.

 

[teeter]

Well I appologize for upsetting everyone, I guess I deserve it based on the posts.

I truely hope it continues to work for you all.

I can't blame you for making a sweeping generalization. I had the same exact opinion untill I was educated on the subject. Again, I have no intention of lane splitting myself (active accident avoidance is an obvious exception), but I won't fault others who do it CAREFULLY.

Don't let the heated responses turn you away from the forum. Not everybody has an appreciation for different "frames of reference." If that makes sense..

I always say "we only know what know until we know more."

Peace

 

[wrightme43]

Its all good man. If lane splitting was allowed in more areas it would cut down on traffic, save wear and tear on bridges and road ways, cut the commute time for all, save fuel, and generally just be a green way of doing things.

When I first saw it I thought it was crazy too. The more I have talked to riders that do it, read the studies, seen the other side of the coin I am now a supporter. I would like to be able to filter to the front and lane split here as well.

Ever been stopped on the interstate with a semi in front a semi behind, and a semi beside? We dont need to be there, we need to be away from there.

How about this one, your stopped at a light in a line of cars, they all take off and the one next to you just tries to drive over you?
If we were allowed to filter to the front that would stop. It would be safer for us, and we would be moving down the road out in the open for all to see.

When you think about it, lane splitting and filtering at stops is a good idea and safer for the motorcyclist and better for the flow of traffic.

 

[Nelly]

I consider lane splitting (filtering) as a motorcycle art form. Its about speed and judgment whilst not endangering you or other motorists. The guy following you was a twat.

Nelly

 

[Nelly]

I am not sure what this \"Lane splitting\" is.



Steve

Its filtering mate.

Nelly

 

[Wolfman]

Have been lane splitting for 20 something years,. without a worry...saves me half an hour, minimum, getting my son to School in the morning's over driving my car in peak hour traffic.

If you use your brain, it is quite safe. If you ride like an idiot, you may get what you deserve, hopefully without hurting anyone else, but idiots who do it recklessly, do put other road users at serious risk.

:Flash:

 

[damnpoor]

Its all good man. If lane splitting was allowed in more areas it would cut down on traffic, save wear and tear on bridges and road ways, cut the commute time for all, save fuel, and generally just be a green way of doing things.

When I first saw it I thought it was crazy too. The more I have talked to riders that do it, read the studies, seen the other side of the coin I am now a supporter. I would like to be able to filter to the front and lane split here as well.

Ever been stopped on the interstate with a semi in front a semi behind, and a semi beside? We dont need to be there, we need to be away from there.

How about this one, your stopped at a light in a line of cars, they all take off and the one next to you just tries to drive over you?
If we were allowed to filter to the front that would stop. It would be safer for us, and we would be moving down the road out in the open for all to see.

When you think about it, lane splitting and filtering at stops is a good idea and safer for the motorcyclist and better for the flow of traffic.

I do it on the freeway and on large city streets where the lights are green. I don't do it if there's a red light ahead. I did it once or twice and the idiots here try to race you off the line. I can beat them but I'd rather not be paying so much attention to the guy next to me that I don't notice the other guy who just ran the red light and is about to hit me. Where's the fire anyway?

 

[steveindenmark]

That's lane splitting - riding the line right down the middle of two lanes between the cars.

I only do it when the motorway traffic comes to a standstill.

The further south you go in Europe the more aware the cagers are and they actually move aside for bikers.

As I said it is legal over here...but you have to take care.

Steve

 

[Wolfman]

I only do it when the motorway traffic comes to a standstill.

The further south you go in Europe the more aware the cagers are and they actually move aside for bikers.

As I said it is legal over here...but you have to take care.

Steve

Agrred, lane splitting is really only safe, when Cars are stationary. We get the same thing in Oz, some cagers move over, very few get grumpy, and Police turn a blind eye, if you do it sensibly.

Lane splitting is one of the reasons i commute on my bike...time saving in peak hour traffic.

 

[CHEMIKER]

I split because I feel it's safer than sitting there waiting for someone to plough into me in stopped traffic. It is legal here in California. I don't know the exact law but there are restrictions on how fast you can split and how much faster than the other traffic you can be going.

I would never argue with someone anyone who feels it's unsafe; it's a personal choice. Besides, it sounds like it's illegal in a lot of places. Personally I only split up to 30mph. That's just my comfort zone. When traffic eases up and is going greater than 30mph I file back into a lane.

Earlier this week I had someone blow by me (I was on my bike) on the highway even though traffic was moving at 60mph. He must have been doing 75mph. He went on to split between lanes as far as I could see. Also, he was wearing no leathers, just a short sleeve shirt and pants. If he didn't have a gun and a badge I would have called him a squid

 

[teeter]

If he didn't have a gun and a badge I would have called him a squid

hehe... nice!

Too bad though about the lack of gear... They should at least TRY to set a good example.

 

[cv_rider]

Oddly, you never see motorcycle cops wearing any decent gear.

I split on the CA freeway when traffic is at 25mph or less. It's the most satisfying when cars aren't moving and you can cruise by at 15 - 20 mph. A lot of our Bay Area traffic is stop-and-go, and you can quickly get past a bottleneck in traffic going only 20mph. It's not a huge time saver for me, maybe 20 minutes on a 75 minute car ride. It does cover (and then some) the extra time it takes to gear up/gear down that is the overhead or riding a motorcycle. More than saving the time, it's just nice to be moving when everyone is sitting there burning fuel. Never had a nervous moment splitting.

If I feel I can get to the head of the line at a stop light before it turns green, I split on city streets to the front. I don't like the idea of splitting on city streets between moving cars like Wavex's video (cool!) showed. That would make me nervous - much more erratic driving behavior on surface streets, and trying to keep track of what was going on at intersections while splitting would be sensory overload for me. But we have no traffic like yet (yet) in the Bay Area.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I consider lane splitting (filtering) as a motorcycle art form. Its about speed and judgment whilst not endangering you or other motorists. The guy following you was a twat.

Nelly

As Nelly and Fast Blue One have said, Lane Splitting is an "Art" and takes an incredible amounts of skill and abilities with very limited riding space and reaction time. It's a riding technique that is reserved for more expererienced riders. Sure anyone can split lanes, but to do it effectively and safely is another story.

This is one area of riding that I would like to improve. As mentioned before on other posts, I split or filter here in Vegas on a needed basis and my skill level is average at best. It is not legal here in Nevada, but I do it anyway. From what I have learned from splitting and reading from what other members have posted, you constantly have to be aware of all gaps, as if they get to become too large, you may have a cager try to switch lanes on ya to occupy that space. Make sure the mirrors on the vehicles you are about to split are staggered. Having two mirrors simutaneously across from each other will reduce the amount of space to split. Of the times I have encountered this problem, I've had to turn my handle bars right then a quick left so that my bike split the two mirror at an angle, rather than having my bike being parallel with the cagers.

Whether lane splittling is legal or not, or your decision to do it or not, I think that it is important for all riders to have the ability to do it. When it comes to riding a motorcycle, you should be profecient in all types of riding environment, and splitting or filtering happens to be one of them, in my opinon of course.

 

[sportrider]

.

BTW, I don't split lanes.

you're not in Cali yet:sinister:


Darkside Calling

 

[rsw81]

I thought I recognized that road Wavex. I was watching the video before I saw who posted it, and was thinking, geesh that looks a lot like West 7th Street in Long Beach.:rockon:

 

[Aggietaco]

I've often though about the idea of lane splitting while on my commute, but for the most part, I'm never in a situation where it's necessary. I'm generally at work by 6:15 and don't leave until 6:30/7, so I'm never stuck in grid lock like the rest of the chumps, but there is the occasional time where it crosses my mind.

Here in TX, it's only legal to filter when traffic is moving less than 25 mph and you can go no faster than 5 mph faster than the traffic. I guess if you're stuck in rush hour, it could prove beneficial to move through cars 5 mph faster, but to me, it just seems like an unecessary risk. We all know how pissy people can get with cars cutting in front of them - everyone always wants to be first - so imagine some frustrated cube-farmer in an SUV seeing a bike comming up between the lanes behind them about to pass. I don't really want to deal with that.

My lane splitting? I work longer hours.

 

[poorwboy]

I lane split daily, it is a matter of judgement you have to know when to and not to do it. I'm sure I have scared a motorist a time or two.

Loud pipes save lives. :thumbup: