SB 288 - Motorcycle "lane splitting" bill

[MechAg94]

I generally don't think motorcycles should have any more rights on the road than any other vehicle. I would be curious to see the sources for this idea that it is a help to safety.

Also, as much as I see people jumping between lanes in Houston traffic, I can see this causing more traffic problems in heavy traffic than it solves.

[TVGuy]

I generally don't think motorcycles should have any more rights on the road than any other vehicle. I would be curious to see the sources for this idea that it is a help to safety.

Also, as much as I see people jumping between lanes in Houston traffic, I can see this causing more traffic problems in heavy traffic than it solves.

MechAg94 - It's not about having more rights (although as motorcyclists we must watch out more carefully for ourselves since we are not protected by a cage). This lessens traffic for EVERYONE. It doesn't slow car traffic by moving to the front and it eases congestion by taking the number of vehicles out of the line.

[TVGuy]

Slightly does not cut it for me. Would need to see the data for the number of crashes that this would cause. Got a study to show that?

The info says it reduces crashes, so what do you mean by "number of crashes it would cause"?

The study shows 1163 crashes due to lane splitting but does not show how many crashes that would be prevented. Ie. the number of crashes where motorcycles are rear ended while sitting in traffic. The article is also very one sided and conducted out of Berkeley, so.

I would be against this law. It is bad enough being in roads and freeways in high traffic, but now you would have to watch out for cutting through the traffic.

It's very difficult to use an event that didn't happen as data. For example, how many robberies never happened in 2016 because of the number of CHLs in TX? You come up with that answer and I'll work on the other.

[bnc]

It doesn't grant anyone more rights since there is nothing legally stopping a car driver from becoming a motorcycle rider.

[TVGuy]

It doesn't grant anyone more rights since there is nothing legally stopping a car driver from becoming a motorcycle rider.

Traffic would be greatly reduced that way as well.

http://www.tmleuven.be/project/motorcyc ... g/home.htm

If only 10% of vehicles on the road were motorcycles, there would be 40% less congestion.

[Soccerdad1995]

As someone who got back into riding last spring, I'm about 100000000000% behind this bill! Some of the scariest times in my life have been at the tail end of backed up traffic hoping the guy behind me is paying attention. It would be awesome to no longer have to choose between safety and legality (I've always chosen legality).

I can see opponents of this bill using the "blood in the streets" argument, which is as silly here as it is with gun laws. Splitting lanes when traffic is going 20mph or less and the bike is going no more than 5mph above traffic is perfectly safe and quite tame.

I'll definitely be adding this to the list of bills to mention to my reps.



Charles, welcome back! Where do we sign up for the PSC Bikes & Bullets Club?

I doubt you will find too many people who disagree with the part that I bolded. The problem arises when irresponsible bikers lane split while travelling at speeds which are significantly greater than 5 mph over the speed of other traffic, as happens in places like California. I am envisioning somewhere like Houston on the Westpark Tollway where you have frequent elevation changes in the roadway and resulting blind spots just after each one. A motorcycle would have to be going at a pretty low speed to safely stop if a car was in the middle of two lanes just over that ridge (as frequently happens while trying to change lanes in stopped traffic). If bikers overall are going to be responsible with this, then I think it is fine. But I have personally seen a not insignificant number of very irresponsible bikers out there (including the moron who passed me on the right shoulder while I was going 75mph and then turned and pointed a camera inside my car).

Net-net, I would be in favor of this law with the restrictions noted (20 mph max speed, and a differential of 5 mph or less), and a presumption of liability on the biker who is doing this for any collisions with vehicles.

Now can we do something about the people who stand in between lanes of traffic at stoplights in Houston and don't bother to move after the light changes?

[Soccerdad1995]

Yeah, means one more place I have to look out for Squids that are too dumb to look out for themselves......

on another note, many of the Harleys I've seen lately, especially the ones with 'ape hangers' won't FIT between the lanes of traffic. I suspect we'll be getting some new youtube videos out of this one if it passes........

The widest of bikes will fit between cars in the middle of standard lanes. It may look tight from the car, but it's not at all.

But will they fit between cars (or trucks) that are near the respective edges of their lanes? It's not like other vehicles are not required to be centered in their lanes. Still I think the 5mph max differential would obviate this issue as the biker could see that there is not enough room and stop in time.

Would it be safer to let the bikers use the shoulder instead of going between lanes (assuming the same speed restrictions)?

[TVGuy]

At 5 MPH you could easily stop if there was an issue. Where lane splitting is legal (CA and most of the rest of the world) and people know about it, many drivers move over just a bit to help the flow of bikes when they notice them.

As for the shoulder - I don't know the ramifications of the bill as it's written, but I'd imagine you could split to the left of the left lane...near the shoulder at least. The speed restrictions are a must, I don't think anyone wants bikes going 65 in between stopped cars or on the shoulder.

I don't know the safety of the shoulder Vs. regular splitting.

[bnc]

As someone who got back into riding last spring, I'm about 100000000000% behind this bill! Some of the scariest times in my life have been at the tail end of backed up traffic hoping the guy behind me is paying attention. It would be awesome to no longer have to choose between safety and legality (I've always chosen legality).

I can see opponents of this bill using the "blood in the streets" argument, which is as silly here as it is with gun laws. Splitting lanes when traffic is going 20mph or less and the bike is going no more than 5mph above traffic is perfectly safe and quite tame.

I'll definitely be adding this to the list of bills to mention to my reps.



Charles, welcome back! Where do we sign up for the PSC Bikes & Bullets Club?

I doubt you will find too many people who disagree with the part that I bolded. The problem arises when irresponsible bikers lane split while travelling at speeds which are significantly greater than 5 mph over the speed of other traffic, as happens in places like California. I am envisioning somewhere like Houston on the Westpark Tollway where you have frequent elevation changes in the roadway and resulting blind spots just after each one. A motorcycle would have to be going at a pretty low speed to safely stop if a car was in the middle of two lanes just over that ridge (as frequently happens while trying to change lanes in stopped traffic). If bikers overall are going to be responsible with this, then I think it is fine. But I have personally seen a not insignificant number of very irresponsible bikers out there (including the moron who passed me on the right shoulder while I was going 75mph and then turned and pointed a camera inside my car).

Net-net, I would be in favor of this law with the restrictions noted (20 mph max speed, and a differential of 5 mph or less), and a presumption of liability on the biker who is doing this for any collisions with vehicles.

Now can we do something about the people who stand in between lanes of traffic at stoplights in Houston and don't bother to move after the light changes?

I certainly agree that splitting lanes at speed (as in highway speed) is stupid and dangerous. That is already illegal and would remain so after passing SB288. The people who ride like that are going to be doing it regardless of the laws, as they do currently.

At 5 MPH you could easily stop if there was an issue. Where lane splitting is legal (CA and most of the rest of the world) and people know about it, many drivers move over just a bit to help the flow of bikes when they notice them.

I was lurking on a local motorcycle board recently where this was being discussed, and a few riders claimed that they illegally split lanes somewhat regularly. The consensus was that even now, while it is still illegal, most drivers don't react. Out of the ones that do, about 10:1 move over, wave them through, and/or fold in mirrors rather than attempt to block or cause some other confrontation. I'm not condoning their riding, but rather mentioning this to suggest that most drivers probably won't be very bothered by legal lane splitting here too.

[ScottDLS]

I always thought it WAS legal. I've seen a lot of riders do it. Makes sense to legalize it at lower speeds. The current laws against it don't seem to serve a purpose.

[Skiprr]

I can see opponents of this bill using the "blood in the streets" argument, which is as silly here as it is with gun laws. Splitting lanes when traffic is going 20mph or less and the bike is going no more than 5mph above traffic is perfectly safe and quite tame.

I doubt you will find too many people who disagree with the part that I bolded. The problem arises when irresponsible bikers lane split while travelling at speeds which are significantly greater than 5 mph over the speed of other traffic, as happens in places like California. I am envisioning somewhere like Houston on the Westpark Tollway where you have frequent elevation changes in the roadway and resulting blind spots just after each one. A motorcycle would have to be going at a pretty low speed to safely stop if a car was in the middle of two lanes just over that ridge (as frequently happens while trying to change lanes in stopped traffic). If bikers overall are going to be responsible with this, then I think it is fine. But I have personally seen a not insignificant number of very irresponsible bikers out there (including the moron who passed me on the right shoulder while I was going 75mph and then turned and pointed a camera inside my car).

Net-net, I would be in favor of this law with the restrictions noted (20 mph max speed, and a differential of 5 mph or less), and a presumption of liability on the biker who is doing this for any collisions with vehicles.

What Soccerdad said.

I lived in Southern California for a decade. Worked in Long Beach, lived in Irvine. I have a great deal of firsthand motorist experience with lane splitting.

The problem I see? It will be extraordinarily difficult if not impossible to enforce the 20mph/5mph criteria. And therein lies the rub.

I will freely admit that I can't cite the California law at the time I lived there, but I have hundreds of thousands of miles logged on Southern California freeways and can state, without reservation, that speeds as low as 35mph routinely saw lane splitting, and that lane splitting at only 5mph above ambient traffic speeds would have been an absolute joke. At 20mph/5mph, the rider would have had other bikers on his tail leaning on their horns for him to speed up. And if he didn't speed up, the impatient rider would cut between the gap you left between you and the car in front of you in order to get an empty...er, semi-lane.

Not hyperbole. Let me repeat: hundreds of thousands of miles of experience with California lane splitting. I don't want to try to equate that to hours spent and lost because the depression might be overwhelming.

One of the worst crashes I was a close witness to was on the 405 southbound around 7:00 p.m. one fall. Rush hour was beginning to thin--as much as traffic on the 405 can ever be described as thinning--and we were moving in fits and spurts from complete stop to 15mph. It was dusk and visibility wasn't the best. We were at a stop when a driver's side door opened two car lengths ahead of me. At the same time I saw the driver toss out the contents of a coffee cup or soda, I heard a rice burner. It happened in milliseconds. The driver's door was starting to close, and the bike smashed into its edge at what, subjectively, seemed a high rate of speed.

I'm sure the bike wasn't going all that fast. But it's relative. If you're standing still and an object moves by you doing 30mph within three feet of your shoulder...well, that will seem fast.

The bike's driver was a young man, and he had a young woman passenger; in their early 20s. They both wore helmets. Didn't help. They were both mangled and dead where they landed. I stayed to give my statement to LAPD.

Is this typical? Absolutely not. But it's something I had to witness firsthand. If Texas legalizes lane splitting will we see the streets run red with blood? Of course not.

But safety in major Texas cities will rest on the shoulders of the bikers. Unless they can employ some cell-signal blocking technology that will kill reception for 100 yards around them, they now will be navigating in an era of almost universal distracted driving. Don't know about the other big cities, but rush hour in Houston is like being on the road with one million intoxicated drivers.

Let me stress two things: I am not at all opposed to Texas allowing lane splitting. I'll support it. Second, I do not expect all riders to uniformly respect the 20mph/5mph law. There will be blood, just not very often.

Last tidbit before anyone blasts me as anti-two-wheeler. I learned to ride a motorcycle when I was 12, was given my first one and let loose when I was 14. Was working on it, gapping and replacing spark plugs, tuning the carb, long before I learned to drive a car at 17. I grew up in the Philippines, and in the constant bumper-to-bumper no-lane driving of metro Manila, a motorcycle was more agile and actually safer because of it. But you couldn't go more than 2- or 3mph faster than traffic: there simply were no lanes to split. Speed governed by constantly expected obstacles.

[ScottDLS]

I'm for it, just like I'm for open carry and permitless carry. There is no compelling reason for the State to criminalize lane splitting, especially at the speeds suggested.

It's another "for your own good" nanny state law like helmet law or seatbelt law (remember when that was controversial) and the 55 mph speed limit.

I will not drive without a seatbelt or ride on the road (even my bicycle) without a helmet, but that's because I value my life. I'm not hurting anybody or putting anyone in danger by doing those things, or lane splitting.

I have even been told that it's illegal to ride a bicycle while intoxicated... Unlike operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a bicycle puts virtually no one at risk.... And this also begs the question... if you get your DL license suspended or revoked for BWI....can you still ride your bicycle...

[bmwrdr]

I apologize in advance if this should be in a different area, as it is not gun related.

SB 288 is awaiting referral to committee. It would legalize controlled lane splitting of motorcycles in Texas. Studies have shown that this is both beneficial to traffic flow and to rider safety. Take a look.

Hope it passes!

I have done it many times but never got a ticket for it. It helped to bypass traffic in many occasions where one is just stuck in a car. My proactive made up excuse in case I get cought was to avoid a heat stroke because there is no A/C on a motorcycle in less it moves. True thing and I can imqagine a logical thinking police office would have accepted my statement.

[Glockster]

I apologize in advance if this should be in a different area, as it is not gun related.

SB 288 is awaiting referral to committee. It would legalize controlled lane splitting of motorcycles in Texas. Studies have shown that this is both beneficial to traffic flow and to rider safety. Take a look.

Hope it passes!

Got any studies or links for how lane splitting is safer? Just always seemed like a good way to run into someone (I ride). Thanks!

Yes, my thoughts also. I ride but when I'm in a car and see a cycle coming up between lanes like that I have to say that I shake my head. I've had a cycle license for 46 years and I wouldn't trust the cars as I've seen videos of someone opening their door just because they're ticked at the cyclist and videos of mirrors being taken off when there wasn't as much room as needed. I ride a 1900cc bike and I myself wouldn't want to do prolonged low speed threading the needle like that.

[bmwrdr]

...
I have even been told that it's illegal to ride a bicycle while intoxicated... Unlike operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a bicycle puts virtually no one at risk.... And this also begs the question... if you get your DL license suspended or revoked for BWI....can you still ride your bicycle...

In Germany your DL will be suspended if cought riding a bycicle on a public road or pedestrian walkway while intoxicated. The additional fines and fees are steep too. Their reasoning is simply the fact you could hurt yourself and cause issues for others. I am certain the same aplies for other EU countries as well.