Lane Splitting in California
I’m not talking about bowling.
California is the only state where it’s legal for a motorcyclist to pass between lanes of cars when vehicles are moving slow or stopped in traffic. The practice is referred to as ‘lane splitting.’ Some believe the practice violates the core safety principles of motorcycle riding while others believe it helps reduce traffic congestion.
Meanwhile in Oregon, the 204,800 endorsed motorcycle riders have an opportunity tonight to attend a public meeting with the Governor’s Advisory Committee who will be discussing a statewide opinion survey on the topic of lane splitting in Oregon. The committee wants to hear from the riding community about this topic and this is a chance for you to express you views.
The meeting starts at 6:30pm at the Kaiser Permanente Town Hall Ballroom (3704 N. Interstate Ave; Portland Or.)
According to The Oregonian there were 133,800 registered motorcycles in 2009. Of those 21,000 were owned in Multnomah County and 14,000 in both Washington and Clackamas Counties. There are very few statistics on crash risks of lane splitting, however, there was a report in 1981 from California called the “Hurt Report” conducted by Harry Hurt which showed lane sharing might actually reduce motorcycle collisions.
I’m of the viewpoint that Oregon legislators would never approve this practice and Governor-elect Kitzhaber has already proven a number of times his willingness to invoke a medically conservative position for protecting motorcyclists.
Photo courtesy of SFO Citizen.
Lane splitting seems like a very dangerous option for us motorcycle riders, especially when it has not been allowed around here as the motorist sitting in traffic will initially see it as a real pisser! From my perspective a safer option would be to allow motorcycles to ride the shoulder in slow or stopped traffic. Yes, I realize that the shoulder has more opportunity for road debris, but I would rather be looking for road debris that seeing a pissed drive opening his door in front of me.
When I lived in the LA area of CA. I found lane splitting to be worth the risk. Have you ever sat in a traffic jam on your air cooled machine….? If you’ve ever spent time in Daytona or Sturgis, then the answer is yes.
The 1st time I ever split a lane was on the 101 in L.A. It felt marvelous. I was nervous at first, but as I continued the practice on an almost daily basis for months, I became quite adapt at being able to “read” how the driver ahead of me would react when he saw me coming up from behind to pass him on his right side lane. It was an engine saver for sure, not to mention my right leg didn’t cook in traffic.
As our roadways become more congested, I would like to see more states adopt “lane splitting”.
There was a really nasty accident in Arizona, I think last year, where a motorcyclist was stopped on a congested freeway, and a car slammed into him from behind, catapulting him into another car, and died. Obviously, had he been able to split lanes, he wouldn’t have been rear ended. In California, the highway patrol have actually used this very scenario to lobby the State Legislature against outlawing lane splitting.
It would be great to see this practice adopted here In Oregon. I had the opportunity to experience lane splitting while in California about a year ago. Traffic was crawling, my engine was getting hot, and my clutch hand was starting to cramp. It just made sense to do it. Cars were polite and would give room to pass, possibly because they realized that there was a benefit to them as well in that it helped keep traffic flowing.
I agree with you though, Kitzhaber will never allow it on his watch, which is too bad..
[…] have been started, and other journalists are weighing in on the subject. Mac over at NW Harley Blog had this to say in a recent post: I’m of the viewpoint that Oregon legislators would never approve this practice and […]
[…] have been started, and other journalists are weighing in on the subject. Mac over at NW Harley Blog had this to say in a recent post: I’m of the viewpoint that Oregon legislators would never approve this practice and […]