Motorcyclists for Lane-splitting in the USA

[JC Viper]

Then again Germany doesn't allow lane splitting. Germany though also enforces proper distances between vehicles and also enforce right lane - left lane rules so I can see why lane splitting there is dangerous.

In America tailgating is common practice and should someone hit a motorcyclost from behind it usually ends up the cyclist's problem both medically and letigiously.

I was rear ended by a cab and all I got was SOL and warnings of being more visible despite the fact that the driver claimed my reflective ornaments on my bike made it harder for him to see me.... at least no phyiscal injuries but a year of bitterness is no better.

[Kim]

This is my personal opinion on lane splitting. If motorcyclists want respect and courtesy on the road, then we all need to follow the laws and guidelines, i.e, stay in your own lane and wait your turn to get there just like everyone else.

Why should a motorcycle have an advantage of getting somewhere faster simply because he's narrow enough to fit in between two cars?

I can just see more road rage happening because the cages are resentful of the bikes slipping on ahead of them.

Just my $.02.

There are two main reasons why a motorcycle should have that "advantage".

The first is the public good. Filtering reduces congestion for everyone. It provides an incentive for people to switch from larger and less economical vehicles like SUVs to two-wheeled vehicles that burn less fuel and require fewer resources to maintain. This is a well studied benefit with hard numbers backing it up. It is the reason filtering is legal in places like the UK. It is also the reason motorcycles are allowed access to carpool/HOV lanes in many parts of the US.

The second is the safety of motorcyclists. Being struck from behind in dense traffic is a very real danger to motorcyclists, and it is greatly reduced by filtering. This is another well studied and real benefit.

Filtering is a win for everyone... it is a win for cars because it means less congestion. It is a win for the environment because it means less pollution. It is a win for the economy because it means less wasted fuel, less of our nation's resources dedicated to buying large and inefficient cars and SUVs. A win for motorcyclists because it is safer and faster.

That is why California, famous for being a "Nanny State" that tries to micromanage everyone's lives and prevent anything that is the least bit harmful, allows and encourages filtering by motorcycles.

There are no actual downsides. There is the imagined downside of "road rage"... but frankly it isn't a filtering problem... and with reduced congestion leading to reduced commute times, filtering actually helps fight road rage too.

So in my cage, I should be able to pass on the shoulder because I'm narrow enough to fit in between the car and the concrete barrier?

I'm sorry, but that argument just doesn't hold water. First of all, not enough of the population, regardless of the "incentive", is going to buy/ride a motorcycle, let alone commute to work on it.

As far as the safety of motorcycles is concerned....it's a matter of safey period, whether you're in a cage or on a bike. You do what you need to do to stay safe as well as respecting others on the road. I don't feel that lane splitting is that much of a safety advantage.

Now I'm all for bikes in the carpool/HOV lanes. In fact, I think there should be motorcycle only lanes, but that's a long time coming if at all.

[Andrew]

It wouldn't be hard to use a section of the shoulder for bikes on highways, but I don't see that happening.

[shane-o]

filtering is legal in Australia, but the traffic must be stopped, its illegal to split with moving traffic.

Just this year the politicians in their infinite wisdom decided to try and pass a legislation that would make any kind of filtering illegal, thus forcing bikes to behave like cars.

they were strongly opposed by various rider lobby groups from outlaw bikers to nannas scooterarama, the result was the krazy notion that filtering is dangerous was squashed until the next non-riding lunitic decides hes sick of being stuck in traffic watching bikes make their way home with ease

I am pro-filtering (otherwise id never get home with enuff time to watch southpark on a monday) but as always, their is this small group who do it on the freeways at 60-80mph in dense traffic who wind up minus their body parts or dead that screw it for the rest of us

[dieziege]

my cage, I should be able to pass on the shoulder because I'm narrow enough to fit in between the car and the concrete barrier?

That's not equivalent to lane splitting... but many places in the USA specifically open the shoulders to traffic on high congestion days for the same reason California, the UK, and other places allow filtering.

As for the rest of your post... you are making a mistake: you are arguing against facts. It is a fact that filtering reduces congestion. It is a fact that filtering is safer. You can't "not buy that argument" because it isn't an argument...it is something that researchers have proved. You *can* argue that some other good is important enough to override that fact. I won't agree with you, but at least you will have a leg to stand on. Let me recast this in a different context. It is a fact that vaccinating young girls against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, will reduce their likelihood of contracting HPV and experiencing the various side effects including cancer. You can't argue against that fact, but you can argue that vaccinating young girls against sexually transmitted diseases will reduce one of the barriers to sexual activity and cause an erosion of morals which is worse than having women contract HPV and die of cancer. You see the difference? You don't dispute the fact because facts are facts... you dispute the worth of those facts in relation to some other goal.

Now, to address some of your points.

How is passing someone in another lane disrespectful? Cars on highways do it all the time, even in congested conditions. Lanes almost always move at different speeds, and part of driving on a congested freeway is sitting in the #1 lane while the #2 lane flows past you 5mph faster than you. Filtering is no different... the motorcycles simply pass in a parallel lane... one which is made up of the unused space between stopped traffic.

As for whether more people could ride... more people are riding simply because of higher gas prices... that says that people can be induced to ride if presented with practical reasons. Saving time is one of the practical reasons. This isn't speculation... people in California (such as myself) are induced to ride because of the time savings.

[isnowbrd]

First of all, not enough of the population, regardless of the "incentive", is going to buy/ride a motorcycle, let alone commute to work on it.

As far as the safety of motorcycles is concerned....I don't feel that lane splitting is that much of a safety advantage.

Until you spend some time riding in a place that allows lane-sharing, I know that it is hard to understand the benefits. Two motorcylce cops told me personally that it is safer. I'm sure they could be considered experts on the subject. And there are SO MANY MORE motorcycle riders in CA than any other place in the US. And traffic is SO MUCH WORSE in CA than most places in the US. A large number of riders do so because of lane-sharing. Once you experience it, you will realize that motorcycles aren't actually part of traffic if lane-sharing is allowed. They actually make it faster for people in cages to get to their destination also. It really is a win-win idea.

[JC Viper]

At least people acknowledge motorcycles in San Fran when they're splitting. When a motorcycle is stopped in lane the driver behind them, most of the time, stop a good distance away from the cyclist's rear tire.

Here not even a firetruck is safe from being rear ended by a taxi.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=4382417

Filtering may become more useful in the event a disaster situation.

[Sculelos]

nice pic AA, i thought you might have stumbled onto a scooter group or something there so i asked my coworker who used to live in Taiwan to look at it. he says that's normal and i think if i lived there i would be on a scooter too (apparently over 150cc gets pretty high tax).

pretty impressive to see all those scooters in one spot probably burn less fuel in a week than one of those cabs burns in a day

Meh not really, a scooter gets about 80-100MPG, a good regular car gets about 25MPG, was if thiers 3-4 people in a car then the gasolene cost are the same, unless of course 2 people want to get on a scooter, then if you want to make it even more interesting you can bring in the hybrid, and hopefully buy 2008 or 2009 we will see a production motorcycle hybrid.