Lane Splitters are Foolish Beyond Belief!

[Oscar54]

Yesterday I was driving home in my cage. Ya, I know it means it already did not start out as a good day, but I had to get to work and the weather was bad.

Anyway, all of a sudden my eye catches something in the rearview and when I looked their was a sportbiker literally right on my right bumper. I mean he had to be less than a foot. It appeared he got speezed by the pickup in the center lane (I was in the left lane) so his manuver had be thwarted. I sped up a little but there was traffic in front of me and I moved toward the left shoulder to give him room. He then adjusted his plan and zipped between me and the car next to me and continued to manuver to more open traffic.

It scared the schittz out of me because I thought he might hit me and kill himself, which would have really phucqed my head up, not to mention him.

This behavior in rush hour traffic is totally immature, stupid, dangerous, and shows total disregard for others on the road. I wish I was a cop for a moment so I could have given him a ticket for following to closely, improper lane changing, speeding, reckless endangerment, (so his license would be suspened for at least 12 months) and then I would have arrested him.

If anyone reading this splits lanes, then seriously reconsider this behavior, because it not only endangers the biker but other people they don't know who have families and responsibilities and don't need their lives ruined because someone thinks this is FUN or proves their riding abilities or saves them a few minutes of travel time. It could cost someone an eternity.:rant:

 

[Tailgate]

To associate this irresponsible lane splitting behavior with all motorcyclists who lane split is puzzling. Even police lane split. As with many things, there are correct and incorrect ways to do it. If you saw a person of a particular ethnicity rob a bank would you asociate all persons of the same ethnicity with bank robbery? Answer: of course not. What you're observing is not simple lane splitting but reckless driving. I've even seen cars "lane split" in reckless manuevers. You should have qualified your title with "some" or have kept the subject to singular. But, this subject (lane splitting) has been debated long and hard already.

 

[wrightme43]

That wasnt lane splitting. That was reckless driving. There is a huge difference. Our cali folk will be glad to cover it. lol

 

[DaFiz]

I lanesplit every day (it is legal in South Africa) and it can be done respectfully.
If the driver of the car stays in the centre of his lane (without doing a radical evasive swerving manoeuvre) I'll get through with causing any harm.:cheer:

 

[teeter]

Havblu is rolling in his digital grave..

I used to think lane splitting (period) was completely stupid and dangerous. I've heard enough good arguments to make me reconsider.

It's not for me -- I don't think the risks are worth the reduced danger (perceived or real) of being rear ended in traffic. However, I won't tell others that they shouldn't do it.

Of course, we're talking about an individual ( :tard: ) that likely needs a good brown trouser moment and maybe a little pain before the lesson is learned. Hopefully they make it out ok... I don't want anybody to get hurt, no matter how much they earn it.

I'm not against lane splitting anymore, but I am strongly against wreckless riding like that.
:squid:

 

[Tailgate]

Where is Havblue? (should I ask?) I haven't seen any posts by him in a long time. I miss his technical analyses as well as his non-tech posts/threads. Sometimes, I get bored because new threads go up on already-regurgitated/re-run-million-times subjects.

 

[teeter]

Where is Havblue? (should I ask?) I haven't seen any posts by him in a long time. I miss his technical analyses as well as his non-tech posts/threads. Sometimes, I get bored because new threads go up on already-regurgitated/re-run-million-times subjects.

I probably shouldn't have brought him up....

He and the administration agreed that his services would be more helpful elsewhere.

 

[wrightme43]

Hav was permabanned for Trolling and writing snarky emails to Mods and Admin.

 

[sportrider]

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.

 

[fzinger]

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.

+1!

There are situations and circumstances which call for it. I'm not saying that blasting thru in speeds well in excess of the posted limit are justified, but if I'm in a pack of "anxious" cagers on their way home on a Friday afternoon, I don't wanna hang around in the congestion. I'm heading up front where I'm seen. If I gotta cut a lane or two to get there, I do it. RESPECTFULLY.:thumbup:

 

[fast blue one]

Lane splitting or filtering as it is known in the UK is not foolish beyond belief.

It is legal here and when done correctly can only be described (by me anyway) as an art. It's also a whole lotta fun.

Part of the joy of motorcycling is making progress compared to other road users.

You will always get crazies on bikes but their mad filtering should be put into context alonside other mad motorcyclists; wheelies, dragging, stoppies etc

I regularly filter but I do it at an appropriate speed with respect for my fellow road users.

Plesse think again before tarring us with the same brush. There are enough who are happy to do that without members of our own community joining.

 

[Cloggy]

I lane split (filter) and it is legal here in Holland (see code Dutch of conduct) but what you've written about here is simply a dangerous rider. There is a right and a wrong way to do things, but this guy sounds like an idiot.

 

[DefyInertia]

Oscar, perspective is everything.

 

[bluenova]

Also legal here, and many many bikers do it during the rush hour commute. The majority of car drivers are used to it and give more room between lanes 2 and 3 for the bikes to pass. Legally you can only do 15 km/h faster than the speed of the traffic but everyone goes faster than that and the cops don't mind as long as it's done safely. :thumbup:

:edit:
Just wanted to add, it's the main reason I go by bike to work rather than with the car. In the car the journey would take 1 hour 45 mins mostly sitting in still traffic, on the bike it takes me about 35 mins on average filtering through the traffic.

 

[Oscar54]

Well I guess it could be argued that someone can tailgate responsibly too?

The only "lane spliting" I know of that is legal is when two motorcycles ride abreast. Never knew of a state in the US that allows passing between two vehicles on the deliniator line as a legal manuver. If there is one I would like to know the state? That is too close at any speed. I also don't remember anything in my cycle safety course that suggested that lane splitting is a safe method of riding.

I have had cyclists not riding with me, pass me in my lane. Would anyone suggest that this is responsible driving?

I would never wish anything bad to happen to a fellow cyclist. However, given the inherent disadvantage we have when something goes wrong it seems to me to be irresponsible to come in such close proximity to other vehicles at speed for no compelling reason. And I have been in traffic where the cars around are too close for comfort because people don't keep safe distance and made a manuver I normally would not make, that is weighing necessary risks. But I do not ride between cars on the line.

If my comments are taken personnally by other members then maybe they should think about it a little longer and consider their family, freinds, and others and not just themselves before playing thread the needle.

 

[DefyInertia]

Well I guess it could be argued that someone can tailgate responsibly too?

The only \\"lane spliting\\" I know of that is legal is when two motorcycles ride abreast. Never knew of a state in the US that allows passing between two vehicles on the deliniator line as a legal manuver. If there is one I would like to know the state?

CALIFORNIA

If my comments are taken personnally by other members then maybe they should think about it a little longer and consider their family, freinds, and others and not just themselves before playing thread the needle.

To imply that anyone who does this does not care and think about their family etc. is absurd. No need to make it personal. You should crawl out from the rock you're under and go search around because this has been discussed to death all over the internet...again, you're perspective is clearly very narrow. Your posts are littered with unfounded assumptions.

BTW, I don't split lanes.

EDIT - I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you should at least entertain other schools of thought...the first step to doing so it being aware of and understanding them. That's all.

 

[fast blue one]

If my comments are taken personnally by other members then maybe they should think about it a little longer and consider their family, freinds, and others and not just themselves before playing thread the needle.

The reason I take objection to the post is because I DO think about what I do all the time I am out there.
I also object to generic labelling; to me, that is what should be thought a little longer.

 

[Tailgate]

Well I guess it could be argued that someone can tailgate responsibly too?

.

Ughh, yeah. It's done all the time in stadium parking lots. But, seriously, as for your other arguments, I don't think I'll address them since logic doesn't seem to be a common denominator here. Say, if you're waiting in a multi-lane queue at a light, behind a car and you hear a truck behind you locking up, don't pull up between lanes to avoid getting rear-ended since that would be more of your so-called "foolish lane splitting."

 

[Wavex]

Well I guess it could be argued that someone can tailgate responsibly too?

The only \\\\\\\"lane spliting\\\\\\\" I know of that is legal is when two motorcycles ride abreast. Never knew of a state in the US that allows passing between two vehicles on the deliniator line as a legal manuver. If there is one I would like to know the state? That is too close at any speed. I also don't remember anything in my cycle safety course that suggested that lane splitting is a safe method of riding.

I have had cyclists not riding with me, pass me in my lane. Would anyone suggest that this is responsible driving?

I would never wish anything bad to happen to a fellow cyclist. However, given the inherent disadvantage we have when something goes wrong it seems to me to be irresponsible to come in such close proximity to other vehicles at speed for no compelling reason. And I have been in traffic where the cars around are too close for comfort because people don't keep safe distance and made a manuver I normally would not make, that is weighing necessary risks. But I do not ride between cars on the line.

If my comments are taken personnally by other members then maybe they should think about it a little longer and consider their family, freinds, and others and not just themselves before playing thread the needle.

I think the problem stems from what you mean by lane splitting. Splitting lanes at 100mph when the rest of traffic is going at 55mph is obviously dangerous and irresponsible. In that case I agree with you.

Proper lane splitting means you will do it following some basic guidelines which will actually make your ride safer than if you were not splitting lanes (statistics in multiple studies proved that... see HURT report for example). I won`t list these guidelines here because you can google "lane splitting" and you will find TONS of very good websites that will give you all the details you need to know to split lanes safely.

People like David L Hough (Proficient Mororcycling), or Keith Code, Nick Ienatsch (Sport Riding Techniques) etc...etc are all pro-lane splitting if done properly.

Check this movie out and tell me where I endangered anyone's life?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugpa_wGTGI4"]YouTube - Los Angeles Traffic.[/ame]

This is a very small glimpse at my daily commute... if I couldn`t split lane I would die of heat and bordom, and it would defeat the purpose of using a bike... if I have to stay squeezed between cars for hours on end, I`d prefer to use my car with AC and radio...

Again, don`t assume that all rider that split lanes are doing it in an unsafe manner... the guy you saw may have been stupid, but you can`t use that example to generalize to all of us.

 

[damnpoor]

I'd rather be lane splitting where I'm moving and have stability and maneuverability than sitting in traffic between four giant metal cars where it's hot as hell and someone could not see me. When I'm lane splitting I can see what's ahead and I make my own decisions where to go. When I'm sitting in stopped traffic I can never trust any of the cars around me.

Plus it's way faster.