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Lane Splitting

(38 posts)

Started 3 months ago by toudios
Latest reply from allisonw

toudios

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNGD9AAIfFU

thoughts?

Posted 3 months ago #
woodchucker

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I've been riding since 1975 and have never done it. Motorists are just too unpredictable, changing lanes with no warning, etc. Seems too easy to find yourself trapped with no escape route.

Saw it done in California where it is legal, maybe drivers there are used to it and watch for it, I don't know.
Personally I value my hide too much to even think about it.

We have enough stuff to deal with around here as it is, with inattentive drivers, wet oily roads and such.

Posted 3 months ago #
toudios

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please note that i've been riding since 1978, split regularly, and also value my hide quite a bit. motorists are unpredictable and inattentive *everywhere*, as are wet oily roads. i appreciate that you choose not to split, but i disagree with your reasoning.

Posted 3 months ago #
woodchucker

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Fair enough. Happy riding!

Posted 3 months ago #
gcm

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I'm a fair-weather rider with only a few years of experience. Since lane-splitting is not legal in WA, I haven't tried it. I don't know if I've ever seen a rider lane-split in WA. I would like to ride in CA some time and give it a try. Unfortunately, when a non-rider hears 'lane-splitting', I think they often picture the squid on a sportbike in a helmet, shorts, and a t-shirt weaving in and out of traffic at 25 mph+ over the speed limit.

Posted 3 months ago #
domie

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As a driver who has predominately driven in states where this is illegal, I can tell you that the few times I have driven on California freeways (where traffic and the speeds at which traffic moves can already be a bit overwhelming), I've found motorcyclists splitting the lane and whizzing past me to be horrifying. I always check my blind spots before changing lanes and have never had a close call or anything dangerous happen because of it, but it was just extremely unexpected.

Posted 3 months ago #
shelley

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I think its nuts. Scared me to death when I saw it in California. And I wasn't driving.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought of this Candid Camera skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQcs9pL99vk

Posted 3 months ago #
phoo

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We've discussed this before. I've seen it done on the ballard bridge, but the motorcyclist was also hopping from lane to lane in front of slow moving cars. Had there been an error, there would be no time to compensate.

Posted 3 months ago #
dsomers

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I guess I am a timid sole. (that means I get cold feet at the thought of lane splitting on a bicycle...ar ar ar!)

It just strikes me as such an unsafe thing to do. And I realize that is silly since I have never seen accident statistics that cover it. I have no idea if the incident rate for that is any higher than it is for other street based riding. I just see it going on with motorcycles or bikes, usually if I am in CA, and I just cringe.

D

Posted 3 months ago #
BuffaloHawk

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I only saw it once in my life and it was on I-5 going South near Northgate Mall. It was raining out pretty heavy and they had passed me. I was like WTF what a crazy and asked someone I know who rides bikes about it.

Posted 3 months ago #
bambooboy

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I do it on my bicycle sometimes when traffic is actually stopped. I do it to get to the head of the line, never when traffic is moving though. Also if there's not enough room to go between cars, I don't do it.
Not all the time though, sometimes I just sit in the lane like a 4000 lb car breathing in their exhaust. Maybe I can sue them if I get sick?

Posted 3 months ago #
phoo

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bambooboy: I've seen someone do this with a bike. I did not feel it was unsafe because the traffic was 100% stopped. I suppose someone could have started to pull out, but they would not have gotten more than a few inches. They also weren't zipping in front of the cars, but only getting to the front of the intersection.

Posted 3 months ago #
bambooboy

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yea, I'm sure that technically it's illegal. I usually look at every situation separately to see if I'm going to do it. As I said, I don't always do it, it depends on the situation.

Posted 3 months ago #
Ernie

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I saw someone on a bicycle do it just this morning downtown on 5th, it actually kind of startled me because I didn't really expect a bike to whiz right past my window right then. Traffic was moving about 15 mph, but there was no harm caused and I harbored no ill will.

I think often people tend to look at something that they would be scared to do and assume that everyone who would do that is crazy, not considering that other people have different skills/experience levels making it routine to them.

Not exactly the same as lane splitting, but years ago I was coming back to Seattle on I-90 from Idaho on my motorcycle at the end of a labor day weekend. When I got to Cle Elum traffic was inching along and I found out that there was an accident at the top of of the pass blocking all WB lanes. I (and some other folks on bikes) rode the whole way on the shoulder going 10-20 mph passing cars going 0-5 mph. A few A-holes actually were moving over onto the shoulder to block the bikes as they saw us coming in the rearwiew mirror and others were honking and giving us the finger as we went by! It was really weird, I guess that they were so frustrated, that seeing someone making some headway really pissed them off.

Probably saved about 3 hrs of sitting in traffic by being on a motorcycle that day.

Posted 3 months ago #
Cheese

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My pet theory is that some "accidents" occur because of two or more seemingly innocent or benign on their own traffic infractions or oddities that combine to make a much worse incident. For instance, lane splitting two-wheeler and non-looking lane changer, or non-looking right-turn-on-redder and cellphoning pedestrian (and vice-versa of course) etc.

Why drastically increase your odds of something horrible happening by doing something unlawful, unlooked-for, and/or out of the ordinary? Boring keeps me alive.

Posted 3 months ago #
bambooboy

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Ernie - they did that because they were jealous, that's all

Posted 3 months ago #
iPlod

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Split lanes all you want, heroes.

Just don't come crying & whining for public money (Medic One) & support (Harborview) when things go bad because of risky choices you willingly made.

Also, you had better be able to pay for those whom the consequences of your choices have harmed.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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Blah blah blah!

I have been riding dirt, sidewalk and street since 1980. I have split lanes in San Francisco and Munich and quite a few places in between. I split the lane regularly here. I have only been pulled over for it once by a bit of a grey haired gentleman in an unmarked brown sedan. He saw my grey hair, the road rash on my leather, patted me on the back, then we had a bit of a chuckle and he sent me on my way.

I don't have a death wish - I have a life wish. Motorcycles are meant for ridin' and life is meant for livin'. If you ride, ride hard and have fun. If you are a bit of a weekender or fair weather wheeler, then take the slow road. The only word of caution I would add is that all my near death experiences riding have come at relaxing speeds in seemingly tame situations. Lane splitting should be legal, but since it isn't here, you are going to scare the s#?T out of people so try to leave yourself an escape route.

Posted 3 months ago #
Oly

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No issue with it, two buddies have lost there lives on bikes, neither was caused by splitting, both were due to cars in the wrong.

Buy the ticket take the ride.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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Hey, toudios, I forgot to post this for you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r-1t6D5E6U

But maybe you have already seen it.

Posted 3 months ago #
Corvus

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And speaking of squids - check out part 2...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=VHC5t5HY9iM

Posted 3 months ago #
phoo

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ernie: The reason I was so concerned when I saw the motorcyclist on the bridge lane splitting until he hopped into one lane and then the other was because he was hopping directly in front of cars, including mine. It scared me because I would never want to hit someone and there was *just* enough room in front of me for him to be there. I barely glimpsed him coming and had anything unexpected happened or had he made a miscalculation, there would have been no way I could have stopped in time. To be fair, I was moving very slowly, but I *was* moving.

Posted 3 months ago #
Edog

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The thing about traffic, and this applies to all modes, is that people need to be able to anticipate your actions. If its legal, it can be presumed they are looking for you and can anticipate other legal actions. If its not legal, expect no one to aniticpate you, which would make it dangerous as hell.

As for lane splitting, can someone tell me where its legal is the bike presumed to be going much faster than the speed of traffic, or slightly faster? It seems to me that if the bike is going fast enough, it would be impossible to anticipate and dangerous as hell.

Posted 3 months ago #
neudl

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I ride a motorcycle, and see people on both motorcycles and scooters splitting lanes on Elliott on a fairly regular basis. I understand the urge - I've fought in many times, but I believe it is a stupid thing to do. Drivers are unaccustomed to having motorcycles split the lanes, and if someone decides to switch lanes in heavy traffic, there is no way for a cyclist to react in time. There's a reason why its illegal in 49 states.

Posted 3 months ago #
gcm

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This is from the same guys who put together the video that started the post:

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2013/01/the-chps-official-line-on-lane-splitting/

The CHP's take on speed is:

"Travel at a speed that is no more than 10 MPH faster than other traffic – danger increases at higher speed differentials. "

Posted 3 months ago #
dsomers

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"Speed kills, Peaches."

Which begs the question....do peaches really know if they are going fast or not? They never seemed overly self aware to me?

D

Posted 3 months ago #
Ernie

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One thing I noticed in the original video is there is a lot more real estate on those CA lanes. There's a fair difference between the 5 in LA and say the Aurora bridge in terms of space between cars.

Posted 3 months ago #
Edog

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As a driver, I almost always regard someone on a scooter as a threat to do something stupid on the road. They strike me as a fad very similar to the SUV. Where the SUV made suburban people feel safe and rugged, the scooter gives people who were not mobile a sense of zip they don't understand. Anyone who looks at smaller wheels, a tiny frame, less power and still wants to be treated like a motor vehicle does not understand what it is to be on the road.

Posted 3 months ago #
iPlod

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@ Oly: "Buy the ticket take the ride."

Kinda what I was saying but you said it better.

Posted 3 months ago #
lifeisamazing

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I won't split lanes. That's just my choice. Have ridden with people that do and I slow the party down but ... oh well.
I look at it this way. It's hard enough to see bikes, hell, I ride one and I pulled out of a parallel parking space in front of a bike causing him to swerve. I think most of us have a brain geared to seeing cars not motorcycles. I don't want to make it any harder.

Guy I know changed lanes at the same time as a car into the same spot. The car won. Luckily he only lost his leg from the knee down. There are a million stories about how cars are bigger than bikes and bikes are hard to see but I've known people people have split lanes for many miles without a mishap. For me it's just too scary.

Posted 3 months ago #
great idea

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I don't ride, but sometimes open my door while I'm driving.

I'd hate to 'door' one of these 'lane-splitters' because I don't see them.

seems like a dumb thing to do just to save a few minutes but whatever.

Posted 3 months ago #
neudl

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+1 edog. As a hopefully well grounded motorcycle rider, the things I see scooter riders do makes me cringe in fear. They generally have no idea about safety.

Posted 3 months ago #
ballardgirl

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Are Motorcycle drivers in CA required to have insurance and license tabs? Hope so! I wonder if those on bicycles and without helmets are allowed to lane split as well in CA, as they do here?

Posted 3 months ago #
racerX

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GI -1

Posted 3 months ago #
ballardmike

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Most of the rest of the world is fine with it. I would like to see it here so when I'm sitting in ridiculous slow traffic with plenty of room for bikes to move it should be taken advantage of.

It frees up one spot for cars as well.

Posted 3 months ago #
RichY

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California, being the only state where this is allowed, has finally published guideline for this practice:

http://www.chp.ca.gov/programs/lanesplitguide.html

Motorcyclists who are competent enough riders to lane split, should follow these general guidelines if choosing to lane split:

1)Travel at a speed that is no more than 10 MPH faster than other traffic – danger increases at higher speed differentials.

2)It is not advisable to lane split when traffic flow is at 30 mph or faster – danger increases as overall speed increases.

3)Typically, it is more desirable to split between the #1 and #2 lanes than between other lanes.

4)Consider the total environment in which you are splitting, including the width of the lanes, size of surrounding vehicles, as well as roadway, weather, and lighting conditions.

5)Be alert and anticipate possible movements by other road users.

For cars:
- Intentionally blocking or impeding a motorcyclist in a way that could cause harm to the rider is illegal (CVC 22400).

- Opening a vehicle door to impede a motorcycle is illegal (CVC 22517).

Posted 2 months ago #
lifeisamazing

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Interesting that they wrote that up.
I get rode splitting when traffic is very slow. Also, idling is so bad for some bikes especially the older ones (like mine). I'm still a chicken and wouldn't split lanes but I want to differentiate between people splitting when the traffic is crawling -which seems fine to me and splitting when it's not which I think is crazy.

Dsommers you are funny :)

Posted 2 months ago #
allisonw

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I believe it is considered negligent driving in WA.

Posted 2 months ago #