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[JCZ]

Lane-Splitting In California Took One Step Closer To Being (Officially) Legal
California's getting a law on the books could pave the way for lane-splitting in other states
By Sean MacDonald  Posted Yesterday at 7:08am
   
AB51
Cycle World
Is there a better state to ride a motorcycle in?
California Assembly Bill 51 (AB51) passed the California State Senate Transportation Committee with an 11-0 vote, which brings lane-splitting one step closer to being officially legal.
Lane-splitting is already legal in The Golden State, because it has not been determined to be illegal. Unfortunately, many people (especially drivers) don't know it's legal, which made even more ambiguous in 2014 when the California Highway Patrol who removed their lane-splitting guidelines after confusion amongst the public of the difference between "best practice guidelines" and "laws that can be enforced."
AB 51 would allow motorcyclists to split lanes, but only under 50 miles per hour, and no more than 15 miles per hour faster than surrounding traffic. The bill has had it's own issues, even in making it this far, and it was tabled last July for the year. Many motorcycle groups actually oppose the bill, because they feel it's too restrictive and actually a step backwards (there were initially several other stipulations that complicated things, and people believe the speed limit should be the same as the road being traveled on). I'm sure some of you will say we're splitting hairs or should be happy, but this UC Berkeley study on lane-splitting showed no meaningful increase in accidents over 50 mph, and that the only meaningful number was the speed delta (difference in speed between the cars and bike).
After passing the Senate Transportation Committee, the bill will go to the Appropriations Committee to determine its financial effect before heading to the Senate floor for a vote. Should it pass that, it would move to the Assembly for a final vote.

Many of you don't live in California, and might think this that should preclude you from caring. But, with Washington and Oregon both failing to get pro lane-splitting laws on the books recently, California setting precedent could be a huge step for other states to follow suit.
For more information, check out http://lanesplittingislegal.com/ or the California Legislative Information page on AB51. If you're interested in further analysis, Jensen over at Asphalt & Rubber follows all things lane-splitting super closely, and provides some great analysis (1, 2). Because he's a lawyer and a nerd like that.

[Para Bellum]

It sometimes seems the Oregon legislators can't go out on a limb unless it's been blessed by the California assembly, so maybe they will take another look at splitting if AB 51 passes.

[bigchuck]

I'm a truck driver and I'm in California every third week. In the last 8 years I've seen enough accidents and close calls to know that lane splitting is a bad idea. The only time I would do it is maybe if traffic was completely stopped. California cares more about a bird or a tree than they do your life. Just plain stupid.

[grc]

I have to agree with Big Chuck.  While I'm not personally familiar with riding in California, I seriously doubt the drivers there are any more attentive or less inclined to road rage than any other part of the country.  I most certainly would not attempt any sort of lane splitting in Indiana or Illinois where I spend most of my time.  I get nervous just riding down a four lane highway completely in my own lane when I'm next to todays clueless drivers.  When people can't stay focused on the actual road and driving long enough to keep their cars and trucks inside the lines of their own lanes, I don't want to be within eight feet of them, much less brushing my handlebars up against the side of their vehicle.  I'm not in that big a hurry, and when you get to be my age you don't heal that quickly any more.  As far as I'm concerned, this is one of many trends started in California that I wish would just stay in California.

JMHO - Jerry

[Joel]

What should be done is add a designated motorcycle lane. Far left side.

[BigLew55]

While I didn't practice splitting at speed, when I visited CA on a bike, it was nice to filter forward at lights or stalled traffic.  It's nice to have a way to get away from the congestion that lights and traffic standstills create.  I couldn't see myself doing it at speed, though.

I would like to be able to filter here in Iowa, even.  For as few people as we have, they seem to like to sit together on the road and not allow a free flow pattern, especially around lights.

[JCZ]

It sometimes seems the Oregon legislators can't go out on a limb unless it's been blessed by the California assembly, so maybe they will take another look at splitting if AB 51 passes.

Woaaaaa.....back up there.  You can go down and buy your recreational pot.  Here in Calif. we still have to go get a medical card.  Calif. is definately behind Ore. 


Seriously......interesting views here. 

I'll share my observations...as somebody that's 65 yrs. old and been riding since I was 16 (Honda Scrambler) so lane splitting has always been a way of life.  I only know of a couple accidents that were a result of lane splitting and have never actually saw one. 

In large metro areas (bay area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento) it's impossible to stay in the lane of traffic with an air cooled motor due to six lanes being stopped or moving at 5 mph for two hours.  A lot of people do not know that the Central Valley of Calif. runs from Redding all the way down to Bakersfield (approx. 400 miles) is in triple digit temps for weeks at a time, every summer.  You don't want to sit iddling in that kind of traffic for even 20 minutes, on an air cooled motorcycle without getting air flowing across the fins.

Another observation....there have been a number of members of this forum that have came to Cali and rode with us and while they're all nervous at first about lane splitting, once they see what the traffic situation really is, they do it and afterward it seems their views/opinions have changed. 

The safest lane to lane split is next to the fast lane and motorcyclists know that.  There will be other motorcyclists lane splitting at the same time and generally, once the first bike goes through and people look in their mirrors, the vehicles on the left will move to the far left of the fast lane and people on the right will mover to the far right.....opening up a wider space for lane splitting.  This is not absolute....you still have to keep an eye out for those that are to busy texting to realize that they're sitting right on top of the traffic line and if it weren't for the people on the left moving all the way over we'd not be able to get by.  Once in awhile we do have to stop until the traffic starts to move again or the  person finally realizes you're there and they move over.

Also, when I'm riding across the country, there's been a number of times that I forget lane splitting is not legal in other states and out of habit I go to the front of the line at stop lights, etc. 

[Ironhorse]

It is much more dangerous to ride through an intersection than split lanes.

[Twolanerider]

What should be done is add a designated motorcycle lane. Far left side.

With that one I disagree.  For reasons of both practice and policy.

In practice if you move a lane to the left of the HOV lane or to the left of what is already an existing left lane it'll become a passing lane for those existing lanes.  Even if it's narrowed ostensibly for bike traffic only my fear is it would still become a lane with other vehicles regularly popping in and out when they see it not heavily used.  And it wouldn't be heavily populated as there's just not that much bike traffic.

Even more importantly, however, I think it's a bad policy idea.  As riders we really are the few.  We operate on a system designed for cars and trucks.  Things bigger than we are.  So we've actually got room.  We get to use that system and that room without any special attention being paid to us.  That's a good thing.  The last thing you want as a minority user of public services is a legislature paying you extra attention.  So what we want is for legislatures and administrative agencies to just leave us be. 

If they make a system safe for cars and trucks we can live on that system just fine.  But if we do things that stir the pot in some way and asks or forces legislative or administrative actions (especially expensive actions like an extra traffic lane) that are primarily or solely for "us" we start down a path that does us more harm than good.  Because if they watch us for one thing they will watch us for many more.  The follow-ons to that are more rules/guidelines/taxes/fees/enforcement.

So, with all proper citations to the "The Wild Angels" paraphrase,  we really are better off without a lot of undue, extra or special attention.  Just let us use the system, to ride our machines without being hassled or inordinately "assisted" by the man.  It's that kind of extra assistance that ends up biting you in the ass later.

[Trigger-Man]

...........  You don't want to sit idling in that kind of traffic for even 20 minutes, on an air cooled motorcycle without getting air flowing across the fins.

The safest lane to lane split is next to the fast lane and motorcyclists know that.  There will be other motorcyclists lane splitting at the same time and generally, once the first bike goes through and people look in their mirrors, the vehicles on the left will move to the far left of the fast lane and people on the right will mover to the far right.....opening up a wider space for lane splitting.  This is not absolute....you still have to keep an eye out for those that are to busy texting to realize that they're sitting right on top of the traffic line and if it weren't for the people on the left moving all the way over we'd not be able to get by.  Once in awhile we do have to stop until the traffic starts to move again or the  person finally realizes you're there and they move over.
..............

X2. On a recent road trip in "LoCal" with temps near 100 we found ourselves in traffic so heavy our bodies were slow cooking. The air-conditioned cages all around us were throwing off even more heat (global warming .........hmmmmm) and though my BSR wife protested our of fear, I began controlled lane-splitting to keep air moving over our bodies to avoid fainting from the heat. While most folks were accommodating ........there were a few clueless a**holes who saw us coming in their side mirrors and tried to squeeze the lane ! It will be a good thing for this bill to pass and be published in the news.

[Para Bellum]

Woaaaaa.....back up there.  You can go down and buy your recreational pot.  Here in Calif. we still have to go get a medical card.  Calif. is definately behind Ore. 

What???  Pot isn't legal in CA?  The epicenter of all things pot related?  Since when???     J/K, but Oregon does follow CA on many things, such as energy efficient appliances, etc.

So there are two laws where OR doesn't follow CA: the pot law and the concealed carry law (it's SHALL issue in OR if the person meets the very reasonable requirements).

Sorry, back to the lane splitting:  I've found the situation in CA to be just as JCZ described.  It was very similar even back in the 1980s--if you were splitting slowly, most people would comply, some wouldn't even notice as you went by, and there's always the risk of someone changing lanes without looking (or seeing) you.  As riders, it's always up to us to choose, and manage, our risks.  This is one I'll take in 90 degree weather with an air-cooled engine (and rider) and a slow-rolling barricade.

[Ironhorse]

You have a greater risk of being rear ended in traffic than getting sideswiped by a car heading in the same direction as you. In all my years in my car and on my bike I have never been clipped or sideswiped. I have been rear ended multiple times. I would venture to say that the same applies to many here. I'm not saying you will NEVER get clipped or sideswiped, but chances are you'll get rear ended in either your cage or on your bike first. Getting rear ended at 35mph and sandwiched between the car in front of you in your cage is bad enough. On your bike,.....

[JCZ]

Just got this from Rider Magazine.  The last paragraph is very surprising....all the cooperation from LEO, motorcycle rights organizations and the legislature....

Bill to Allow Lane Splitting in California Moves Closer to a Vote

Mark Tuttle
June 24, 2016

Lane SplittingCalifornia Assembly Bill 51, sponsored by Assembly member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) was passed by the Senate Transportation Committee with full support last Tuesday, June 14. The bill defines lane splitting and makes it clear that the California Highway Patrol has the authority to draft educational guidelines for safe lane splitting. Not technically legal or illegal in California, lane splitting is considered an acceptable practice by law enforcement like the CHP, which published guidelines for it last year, only to have an irate resident complain that the CHP shouldn’t be setting public policy.
From the Transportation Committee, the bill will go to the Appropriations Committee to determine its financial effect. If approved there it will go to the Senate floor for a vote, and if passed there will move on to the full Assembly for a final vote.

AB51 defines lane splitting as “driving a motorcycle, that has 2 wheels in contact with the ground, between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, as specified.” It goes on to state that, “The bill would authorize the Department of the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines relating to lane splitting in a manner that would ensure the safety of the motorcyclist, drivers, and passengers, as specified. The bill would require the department, in developing these guidelines, to consult with specified agencies and organizations with an interest in road safety and motorcyclist behavior.”

An earlier version of AB 51 was put to a vote last year, but it’s author decided to hold it at the Transportation Committee level because several special interest groups had concerns about language in the bill that set speed limits for the motorcycle while lane splitting.

The revised bill has the support of more than a dozen organizations, including the Motorcycle Industry Council and the American Motorcyclist Association, and several law enforcement agencies. If passed, AB 51 would presumably allow the CHP to publish the guidelines once again in either their present or a revised form, effectively making lane splitting legal in California. You can read the current guidelines here. And you can find contact information for your California legislators here.

[bigchuck]

It is much more dangerous to ride through an intersection than split lanes.

I'd like to see the data that backs that statement. Everyone goes through intersections and very few split lanes.

And before anyone starts quoting CHP studies this is the same state that insists on having different speed limits for cars and trucks even though numerous national studies prove that having one speed limit for all vehicles is the safest. Never assume a law is on the books to keep you safe.

[bigchuck]

As for getting rear-ended in traffic. You always leave enough room between you and the vehicle in front of you to get out of the way if necessary and keep an eye on your mirrors. That's motorcycling 101.
For me lane splitting is fine if traffic is stopped or nearly stopped. I question the wisdom of doing it at 60mph when traffic is doing 35-40mph.