SB 288 - Motorcycle "lane splitting" bill

[Pawpaw]

Awesome! This is one case where Texas actually needs to catch up with California... haha!

This has been in affect in California for as long as I can remember.
In California a traffic lane is defined by how many vehicles can drive in the lane rather than lines painted on the road.
During the evacuation for hurricane Ike, I was amazing at the motorcycles sitting behind cars idling and going no where.
Since the cars were standing still, IMO it would have been safe to drive between the cars.

Replying to PawPaw's comment, I have been on I-44 in Houston driving at 50-60 MPH and have had Ninja bikers pass me
like I was standing still.

I hear you. One night on I-20, between Ft. Worth and Dallas, I saw 10 or 12 bikes coming up behind us fast. My then-wife was sitting quietly (for a change ) in the passenger seat and I knew there was no time to warn her. The bikes split with half going around each side of my truck, just barely missing my side mirrors. We were doing 70, as I recall. They must've been doing at least 100 the way they blew past.

I'm pretty sure "then-wife" had to change her drawers.

[ianmko]

I've been in that same swarm myself. One guy even rode up in front of my car, pointed at the ground, then hopped OFF his bike onto the street for a few seconds so that sparks could fly up from his shoes for a few, then back on the bike and off to never never land. This was at highway speeds.

[TVGuy]

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!

http://newatlas.com/motorcycle-lane-spl ... rch/34425/

NHTSA:

A motorcycle’s narrow width can allow it to pass between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars on roadways where the lanes are wide enough to offer an adequate gap. This option can provide an escape route for motorcyclists who would otherwise be trapped or struck from behind. There is evidence (Hurt, 1981) that traveling between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars (i.e., lane splitting) on multiple-lane roads (such as interstate highways) slightly reduces crash frequency compared with staying within the lane and moving with other traffic.

[Noggin]

When my wife paid her first visit to UK and saw "lane splitting" she asked me if it was legal, I did not know what she was talking about, we had no specific term for it on the other side of the pond but it has always been legal. With 28 million motor vehicles in a country smaller than the state of Idaho, the existing chronic traffic congestion would be unbearable without it.

[Steamboat]

I have been riding cruiser style bikes for many years. As for myself, I will just stay in my lane with everyone else. There are too many indecisive drivers out there that will attempt a lane change without looking in their rear view mirrors.

[RossA]

I want to see some biker do that and come upon one of those ghettomobiles that have the spinners extending a foot to each side of the wheels. Rude surprise.

[PBratton]

As a life long biker, I see this to be an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

[PUCKER]

I've had enough close calls (from other lanes into my lane) without lane splitting...but I can see the advantages (but I also agree with the poster above me about the danger of it). First time I visited CA, I'm driving down the freeway (in a cage) at typical freeway speeds....a chopper flies by me....only thing that saved him was his pipes, if it would not have been for the pipes I would've changed lanes...and had a possible oooopsie.....oh yeah, they lane split in Cali....mental note to myself: be extra vigilant!

[JustSomeOldGuy]

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........

[TVGuy]

As a life long biker, I see this to be an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

No offense meant, but that's an opinion and not correct. It's been proven to be safe in multiple studies. It's safer for the biker and increases traffic flow for all.

Note the restrictions on lane splitting. We're not talking about overtaking someone at highway speeds. Overall speed of traffic must be under 20 MPH and speed differential of bike to cars must be less than 5 MPH.

Think stop lights or bumper to bumper freeway and the bike idles by in first with little throttle, if any.

[TVGuy]

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.

[seph]

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!

http://newatlas.com/motorcycle-lane-spl ... rch/34425/

NHTSA:

A motorcycle’s narrow width can allow it to pass between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars on roadways where the lanes are wide enough to offer an adequate gap. This option can provide an escape route for motorcyclists who would otherwise be trapped or struck from behind. There is evidence (Hurt, 1981) that traveling between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars (i.e., lane splitting) on multiple-lane roads (such as interstate highways) slightly reduces crash frequency compared with staying within the lane and moving with other traffic.

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?

[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"?

[seph]

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.

[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?