Lane Splitting General Guidelines
Lane splitting in a safe and prudent manner is not illegal in the state of California.
The term lane splitting, sometimes known as lane sharing, filtering or white-lining, refers to the process of a motorcyclist riding between lanes of stopped or slower moving traffic or moving between lanes to the front of traffic stopped at a traffic light.
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.- A speed differential of 10 miles per hour or less allows an alert, competent rider enough time to identify and react to most dangerous situations that can occur.
- The greater the speed differential, the less time a rider has to identify and react to a hazard.
2) It is not advisable to lane split when traffic flow is at 30 mph or faster --- danger increases as overall speed increases.- At just 20 mph, in the 1 or 2 seconds it takes a rider to identify a hazard, that rider will travel approximately 30 to 60 feet before even starting to take evasive action. Actual reaction (braking or swerving) will take additional time and distance.
- Braking and stopping distance varies greatly based on a multitude of factors(rider, machine and environment).
- As speed increases, crash severity increases.
3) Typically, it is safer to split between the #1 and #2 lanes than between other lanes.- Other road users are more accustomed to motorcycles splitting between the #1 and #2(furthest left) lanes.
- Avoid splitting in lanes near freeway on-ramps and exits.
- Avoid splitting lanes when another motorcycle rider is splitting between other nearby lanes as cars may make additional room for one rider and accidentally reduce space for another.
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.- Some lanes are narrower than others, leaving little room to pass safely. If you can't fit, don't split.
- Some vehicles are wider than others -- it is not advisable to split near wide trucks. If you can't fit, don't split.
- Know the limitations of your motorcycle --- wide bars, fairing and bags require more space between vehicles. If you can't fit, don't split.
- Avoid splitting on unfamiliar roads to avoid surprises such as poor road surfaces.
- Seams in the pavement or concrete between lanes can be hazardous if they are wide or uneven.
- Poor visibility, due to darkness or weather conditions, makes it difficult for riders to see road hazards and makes it more difficult for drivers to see you.
- Help drivers see you by wearing brightly colored protective gear and using high beams during daylight.
5) Be alert and anticipate possible movements by other road users.- Be very aware of what the cars around you are doing. If a space, or gap, opens up next to your lane, be prepared react accordingly.
- Always be prepared to take evasive action if a vehicle changes lanes.
- Account for inattentive or distracted drivers.
- Riders should not weave back and forth between lanes or ride on top of the line.
- Riders should avoid lingering in blind spots.
- Never ride while impaired by drugs, alcohol or fatigue.
- Constantly scan for changing conditions.
The Four R's or “Be-Attitudes” of Lane Splitting:Be Reasonable, be Responsible, be Respectful, be aware of all Roadway and traffic conditions.
- Reasonable means not more than 10 MPH faster than traffic flow and not over 39 MPH.
- You are Responsible for your own safety and decisions.
- Don't put yourself in dangerous positions.
- Be Respectful --- sharing the road goes both ways.
- If you can't fit, don't split.
- Don't rely on loud pipes to keep you safe, loud pipes often startle people and poison the attitude of car drivers toward motorcyclists.
- Other vehicles are not required to make space for motorcycles to lane split.
- Roadways and traffic can be hazardous.
- uneven pavement
- wide trucks
- distracted drivers
- weather conditions
- curves
- etc.
Disclaimers:These general guidelines are not guaranteed to keep you safe.
Lane splitting should not be performed by inexperienced riders. These guidelines assume a high level of riding competency and experience.
The recommendations contained here are only general guidelines and cannot cover all possible combinations of situations and variables.
Personal Safety: Every rider has ultimate responsibility for his or her own decision making and safety. Riders must be conscious of reducing crash risk at all times. California law requires all motorcycle riders and passengers wear a helmet that complies with the DOT FMVSS 218 standard.
Risk of getting a ticket: Motorcyclists who lane split are not relieved of the responsibility to obey all existing traffic laws. With respect to possible law enforcement action, keep in mind that it will be up to the discretion of the Law Enforcement Officer to determine if riding behavior while lane splitting is or was safe and prudent.
When is it NOT OK to split?You should NOT lane split:
- If you can't fit.
- At a toll booth.
- If traffic is moving too fast or unpredictably.
- If dangerous road conditions exist --- examples include water or grit on the road, slippery road markings, road construction, uneven pavement, metal grates, etc.
- If you cannot clearly see a way out of the space you're going into (for example, if a van or SUV is blocking your view).
- Between trucks, buses, RVs, and other wide vehicles.
- Around or through curves.
- If you are not fully alert and aware of your surroundings.
- If you are unable to react to changing conditions instantaneously.
- If you don't feel comfortable with the situation.
Messages for Other Vehicle Drivers1) Lane splitting by motorcycles is not illegal in California when done in a safe and prudent manner.
2) Motorists should not take it upon themselves to discourage motorcyclists from lane splitting.
3) Intentionally blocking or impeding a motorcyclist in a way that could cause harm to the rider is illegal (CVC 22400).
4) Opening a vehicle door to impede a motorcycle is illegal (CVC 22517).
5) Never drive while distracted.
6) You can help keep motorcyclists and all road users safe by
- Checking mirrors and blind spots, especially before changing lanes or turning
- Signaling your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic
- Allowing more following distance, three or four seconds, when behind a motorcycle so the motorcyclist has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency
if you live in north carolina and you to choose whether or not you wear a helmet, now is the time to take action…
house bill 392, permitting motorcyclists and passengers 18 and older to decide if they want to wear a helmet, was introduced march 17 and referred to the house transportation committee. the crossover date for the bill is may 12.
in an effort to help this happen, if you’re a north carolina resident, you should contact the committee chairs as well as your representative.
from the american motorcyclist association web site (linked above):
What is needed?
In order to advance, HB-392 must be called for consideration and passed out of the House Transportation Committee before the crossover deadline of May 12.
What can I do?
Contact the committee chairs to request HB-392 be taken up for consideration and voted favorably out of the House Transportation Committee.
How do I contact the committee chairs?
Rep. Frank Iler: 919-301-1450; email: Frank.Iler@ncleg.net
Rep. Grey Mills: 919-733-5741; email: Grey.Mills@ncleg.net
What should my message be?
Consider using the following talking points:
- 30 states already allow adult motorcycle operators and passengers to make their own decision with regard to motorcycle helmet use
- Motorcycle rider education and motorist awareness are the keys to reducing crashes involving motorcycles
- As a responsible adult, I’m already making adult decisions regarding my personal protective equipment needs
- Add any other personal reasons why motorcycling is important to you and why you feel that you, not the government, should make the decision regarding helmet use
Remember, May 12 is the deadline for advancing HB-392 to the full House for consideration. Take a few minutes NOW to make your voice heard on voluntary helmet use in North Carolina.
As a follow up, contact your representative to make your position known on voluntary motorcycle helmet use. If your representative is already signed on to HB-392 as a primary or co-sponsor, say “thank you.” If not, respectfully request he or she consider doing so. Mention that as a constituent and registered voter, why this is an important issue to you.
Don’t know who your representative is? Click here and enter your Zip code in the box under “Find Your Officials” to learn more.
get out and do your part…
senator amy klobuchar recently introduced legislation, senate amendment 264, co-sponsored by senator jon tester, that would exempt youth off-highway vehicles from the consumer product safety improvement act (cpsia) of 2008.
call your senators and let them know you support sa 264. of course the american motorcyclist association is going to make this extremely easy for you. go to this form, enter your phone number and they’ll let you know who your senators are, how to contact them and some talking points.
the vote is supposed to take place this coming week so don’t waste any time contacting your senators.
on the heels of my last post and according to a rome news-tribune article, it looks like georgia is serious about setting up the motorcycle-only checkpoints. according to the article they have the budget to run six one-day checkpoints. about the only piece of good news to come out of this is the announcements of the date, times and locations for the first checkpoint:
yesterday representative jim sensenbrenner (r-wi) introduced legislation to prohibit the secretary of transportation funding the motorcycle-only checkpoints. of course if you want to do something about it, head over to the ama web site, fill out the form and let your representative know how you feel…
with the daytona 500 behind us, we can start the countdown to bike week starting next weekend. are you planning on riding down there?? for once, the better option may be to trailer your bike!! that or detour around georgia through alabama to get there. why?? because georgia is planning to use some federal funds to set up motorcycle-only checkpoints during bike week.
according to this action alert from the ama, georgia might be taking new york’s lead in setting up motorcycle-only checkpoints. and as if that isn’t bad enough, they want to set them up during daytona bike week to target as many bikers as they can.
what can you do?? besides trailering your bike – which of course was only mentioned in jest. i, for one, would never suggest someone trailer their bike over riding. the best option is to follow the ama’s suggestion to contact governor deal. you can send him a prewritten letter. once you follow the link, click on the contact tab –> click on ‘web form’ (contact governor nathan deal via web form) –> select ‘please suspend grant to conduct motorcycle-only checkpoints’ and click next step. fill out your contact information and send it on its way.
the other option is to contact him directly from his web site. fill in the contact information, select ‘transportation’ for the category, and the message section. the ama suggests the text below for the message section. i also suggest leaving the ‘i just want governor deal to know my opinion so it will be counted’ unchecked. i know i want to get a response from him.
As a motorcyclist, I understand the Georgia Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a series of motorcycle-only checkpoints (MOCs). The NHTSA Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstrations grant is in the amount of $70,000 and Georgia is the only state to receive this grant for Fiscal Year 2010. I request that Georgia suspend the motorcycle-only checkpoint program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.
Specifically, how do MOCs increase the safety of motorcyclists? Where does Georgia draw their authority to conduct MOCs? Will "probable cause" be required to stop a motorcycle under the terms of this grant program? If so, what will constitute "probable cause?" What types of infractions will be recorded by law enforcement officials at these traffic stops? What criteria will be used to measure the success of the MOCs? And, do states have the jurisdiction to inspect vehicles registered in another state?
Again, please suspend this program until questions raised by the motorcycling community have been addressed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
hopefully with enough response no one will get hassled in georgia on their way to daytona… unless, of course, they deserve it!!
the latest issue of american motorcyclist (the magazine of the ama), with the motorcyclist of the year on the cover, arrived this past weekend. when i initially saw the cover my instinct was to cancel my subscription/membership to the ama.
the ama states the motorcyclist of the year is “designed to highlight the person (or people) who has had the most profound impact on the world of motorcycling – for better or worse – in the previous 12 months.” this year the ama has decided that the most profound impact on motorcycling is for the worse.
what’s really bothersome is that of all the pro-motorcycling causes the ama supports, of all the people that put their time and effort forth to support motorcycling, the ama couldn’t find one person or group that had enough of a positive impact to outweigh the negative…
so who was chosen?? california governor schwarzenegger, who is supposedly pro-motorcycling. why was he chosen?? for signing senate bill 435. in a nutshell, sb435 requires all motorcycles built on or after january 1, 2013 to carry an epa stamp that certifies the exhaust meets sound requirements.
i know us motorcyclist have an issue with excessive noise. if the idea is to help control noise, sb435 is not the way to go about it. the motorcycle industry council worked hard with the society of automobile engineers to develop j2825 which gives a simple, straightforward way to measure and identify motorcycles with excessive noise.
instead governor schwarzenegger thought putting stamps on exhaust systems was the way to enforce noise limits. there are plenty of exhaust exhaust systems and manufactures that make exhaust systems that aren’t noisy but can’t afford to go through the process to get approval to put the stamp on their exhausts. not only that, the stamp doesn’t prevent the owner from drilling out the baffles and making the exhaust excessively noisy.
i could sit back and be thankful i don’t live in california. and after seeing what a “pro-motorcyling” governor can do, i am thankful. but we’ve all seen other states follow california. unfortunately this would not be a good path to go down. instead i’ll do what i can to make sure a bill like this doesn’t get passed in my state.
i’m still fuming at governor schwarzenegger getting selected. and if the ama wasn’t so important in protecting the rights of motorcyclists i’d cancel my membership. so, i’m also going to do everything i can to ensure all future motorcyclist of the year are selected for making a positive impact on motorcycling, leaving governor schwarzenegger as the only black mark.
