One of the things I’ll miss when I move from California to Washington is lane sharing on my motorcycle. That is, when traffic is slow or stopped, motorcycles here are allowed to go between the lanes of traffic. Very useful when there’s no carpool lane to ride in. I read in CA Biker back in 1993 that the California Highway Patrol did a study that said lane sharing is “not particularly dangerous”. I agree. There is usually plenty of room to get through, especially on a small bike like my Yamaha (although people do it on Harleys as well). When it’s 95° and you’re sitting directly above a hot engine and surrounded by a lot of heat-generating cars on a surface as reflective as concrete and you have no air conditioning, you really appreciate being able to get some airflow.
It surprised me to learn that lane sharing is not allowed in Nevada, a place where keeping the air moving over you and your engine would seem particularly advantageous. So I’m wondering: What other states besides California allow lane sharing?
I dropped a very simple query into Westlaw (motorc! /15 lane!) and got a slew of results. Looks like the world is against us – most states seemed to say NO. Here is a sampling of what I found. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list:
Alabama:
Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Iowa
Kansas
(OK, enough cutting and pasting – the next few states have similar laws)
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
North Dakota
… and on and on. I had to stop after hit 38 of 70, so I assume most states have similar language.
Speaking as a non-biker living in greater Los Angeles…
I had always heard the act of riding on the dotted white line referred to as “lane splitting”, but I don’t hang with anybody who rides so my circles of conversation may not be too accurate.
The term “lane sharing” conjures in my mind two bikes riding side-by-side in a single lane, like Ponch and Jon always did on CHiPs.
When I got married last summer, my Texas-based guests (that’s where I grew up) were aghast when they saw motorcyclists performing what I describe above as lane-splitting. I didn’t remember it being legal there 10 years ago, and apparently it’s not (or at least isn’t widespread) now, either. Speaking only as a car driver, it looks suicidally dangerous, and I had the same reaction when I moved out here. However, if CHP studies have shown that it’s not as dangerous as it looks, I’ll take their word for it…
It’s called that too. But “sharing” seems to be a better term for it.
As I said, there’s a surprising amount of room between lanes. Also, you’re not allowed to go through at any speed you like. Speeds are limited to what’s “reasonable and prudent”. (When I’m following a CHP motor officer between lanes, I figure “reasonable and prudent” means I’m not going faster than he or she is.)
So what is reasonable and prudent speed? I define it as a speed at which I can stop before hitting someone if he suddenly changes lanes. (Although that didn’t work once when a guy made a “two lane dash” in front of me.) Most riders don’t “zip through” traffic (as car drivers put it), but pass at a reasonable speed; perhaps five or ten mph faster than the traffic. Some riders, I think the term is “squids”, are reckless. If I’m riding between lanes and a squid comes up behind me, I’ll move into a lane at the earliest possible convenience. Gods forbid he hits someone, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him at the side of the road in front of a black and white BMW or Kawasaki. Riders like that give the rest of us a bad name.
Lane sharing can be nerve wracking at times. I’d much rather have a clear lane of my own; but sometimes that just isn’t possible. I know car drivers don’t like it, but consider: the bike will be there for one second. If a driver moves over to block him, the rider is aggravated for being blocked, the driver is aggravated because some sackhole on a bike is trying to get by, and eventually the rider will get past anyway. It’s much safer when drivers and riders all act with courtesy.
It’s called that too. But “sharing” seems to be a better term for it.
As I said, there’s a surprising amount of room between lanes. Also, you’re not allowed to go through at any speed you like. Speeds are limited to what’s “reasonable and prudent”. (When I’m following a CHP motor officer between lanes, I figure “reasonable and prudent” means I’m not going faster than he or she is.)
So what is reasonable and prudent speed? I define it as a speed at which I can stop before hitting someone if he suddenly changes lanes. (Although that didn’t work once when a guy made a “two lane dash” in front of me.) Most riders don’t “zip through” traffic (as car drivers put it), but pass at a reasonable speed; perhaps five or ten mph faster than the traffic. Some riders, I think the term is “squids”, are reckless. If I’m riding between lanes and a squid comes up behind me, I’ll move into a lane at the earliest possible convenience. Gods forbid he hits someone, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him at the side of the road in front of a black and white BMW or Kawasaki. Riders like that give the rest of us a bad name.
Lane sharing can be nerve wracking at times. I’d much rather have a clear lane of my own; but sometimes that just isn’t possible. I know car drivers don’t like it, but consider: the bike will be there for one second. If a driver moves over to block him, the rider is aggravated for being blocked, the driver is aggravated because some sackhole on a bike is trying to get by, and eventually the rider will get past anyway. It’s much safer when drivers and riders all act with courtesy.
I drove in California for the first time in 20 years last summer and I just about hit some jerk riding between the cars. Try that up here and someone in a beater will probably open in door just about the time you reach the back of his car. I have a small bike I ride every once and a while and I wouldn’t even consider riding between cars even if it was legal.
Well, Victoria does but you probably aren’t interested in states that far south:D I think it might be the only state in Australia that allows it and even then, the surrounding traffic has to be stopped.
[sub]Congratulations to our very own Troy Bayliss too![/sub]
Oh, and Mr Blue Sky? If we wait in line, then you may be waiting in line behind us. Hence, a longer line. I don’t see a reason for bikes to be caught in snarls that are the making of cars and trucks when they are able to avoid it. And in us avoiding it, you’ll also get to your destination a fraction faster if anything.
That still should not give you the right to go zipping ahead of everyone else. YOU bought the motorcycle (for whatever reason) so YOU deal with traffic just like everybody else.
I just don’t get it. Can you seriously justify your feelings with any excuse other than that you are obstinate? The simple fact is that bikes and bicycles reduce traffic congestion (not to mention pollution). If the zipping ahead of you affects you only positively, then why are you so hung up on it?
Are there any other non-cyclists/motorcyclists who feel the same way here? I know there are some in the non-doper, wider community but I rarely can be bothered to stop and U-turn back to ask them about it.
I have to admit that at least part of it is, “hey, if I’m sitting in traffic, WTF aren’t YOU sitting in traffic with me?” However, I’ll also admit that I didn’t think about the positive effect of less of a backup.
Having said all that, though, my immediate thought when I’m sitting in traffic and watchng the bikes moving between the cars is now having to make sure there’s enough room for the bike to get through without my inadvertently moving into an adjoining lane and hitting THAT car. Maybe the lanes are wider in CA - been many years since I’ve been there, but on beautious Long Island, at least some of the parkways are rather old, somewhat curvy, and not exactly all that wide.
Of course, since there’s never any traffic here in New Jersey, this is all a moot point :rolleyes:
Well, since you asked, as a motorist I can say it never bothers me. Generally I think “More power to them.”
I must also confess I often think, “You poor bastard–one of these days some idiot motorist is going to flatten you since no one gives motorcyclists the attention and room they deserve. Given that your lifespan is probably shortened, I can only applaud your attempt to spend less of it stuck in a long line of cars.”
Jesus. You’re not waiting in line as some sort of frickin’ penance that everyone is supposed to do. You’re doing it becuase you have to, given that there are other cars impeding your progress. So to answer your question, he doesn’t want to “wait in line” because he doesn’t have to.
If he had a helicopter, would you demand he “wait in line”, hovering just behind you?
I’d say YOU bought the car and YOU deal with traffic in the way that the car forces you to, i.e. wait.
Here in Germany, lane splitting is technically not allowed, but when the queues (“stau”) hit the Autobahn, everybody uses “lane 1,5”. Most German motorists are really good about paying attention and making room.
In Italy, it’s the norm. Car drivers aren’t fazed in the slightest and if room gets sparse, they move over.
I hate to burst your bubble, Johnny L.A., but technically it’s not really legal in California, it’s just rarely enforced.
This directly from a CHP Officer of my acquaintence:
A motorcycle may split the lane if and only if it can fit entirely in one lane. Lanes on California freeways are 8 feet wide. The smallest cars are at least 5 feet wide. If they remain in the center of the lane, that leaves 18 inches between the car and the lane divider. Motorcycle handlebars vary in width, but none are less than 2 feet wide.
Yes, it is possible to split the lane being between cars, but no, it isn’t legal.
As to the evolving debate over whether it’s right, here’s one motorcyclist who doesn’t do it. I do consider it rude when it’s done at more than 15 mph, simply because the motorcycle is now a moving target, and the car now has to factor him into all of the other bits of data flowing by. And since the opportunity to change lanes in a traffic jam can be fleeting, it isn’t unreasonable for cars to do it fast. If a motorcycle gets pegged for it, well…to be fair, it’s the motorcycle that’s in the wrong, not the car.
And as to whether drivers are oblivious…why should they be expected to look out for motorcycles coming along in between cars? Almost by definition, the motorcycle is travelling in the car’s blind spot. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the car driver to being paying attention to the slow-moving traffic all around him and the faster moving traffic that may be moving between the painted lanes.
Finally, I’ve seen nothing to conclude that motorcycle riders are any better or worse than those in cars.
