Lane Splitting

[scubasteveRR]

I would do it if I had a good driving record...

but I don't

[butcher bergs]

coulda saved my foot by using your methods...

Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

[RocketPunch]

Don't need to expose myself even more to be taken out by cars, besides I hate getting tickets.

[MysteriousR1]

never really encountered too much traffic with my bike to really consider splitting lanes. but when im in my car, i dont sit in traffic. i will go right in the brake down lane and go for it. especially during beach traffic. the way i figure it is, if there is beach traffic, the police will know and will avoid that area at all costs.

so when beach traffic comes and im on my bike, i will be sure to split lanes with a giant smile.
p.s. i hate beach traffic... i cant even pull out of my road during the summer.

Hmm...I comuted to Narragansett for 6 years for work. I lost count of how many people I saw use the break down lane and get nailed by cops at the Tower light. I still split, on my bike, during the stupid beach traffic. Just have to watch the red lights for the overly happy Kingston officers. Using the break down lane in a car turn on the A/C

[Pestilence]

Wow.. what a bunch of pussies we got here.

I spent 6 yrs lane SHARING in Cali and do it every chance I can here. Who cares what the cages or nany's think, as long as I'm moving and making forward progression, my world is fine.

I can't wait till I get back.. legal sharing again. WOHOOO!!

[Argyle]

not legal here in MA, plus IMHO it generally seems like a bad idea.

[clutch]

In Europe, you should see the action at any given red light.
Its great!
I can’t wait until it catches on here with such force.

[mojobreakfast]

I will (and regularly) do it on backed up ramps and notorious lights or surface street congestion areas, primarily where I know cars won't make a fast move into my space. Won't do it on the open road though.. get far too spooked by the notion of a lane jumper taking me out.

Haven't been caught yet.

Guy above mentioned it, but I will too. The first few times I drove (a car) in Europe on the highway, it was quite interesting to see the lane splitting skills of riders there. It will scare and impress you.

[Jason P.]

i lane split only at traffic lights. and traffic in general - i try to watch for cops.

i did lane split on the highway once - pretty dumb.

[LadyTaTa]

Wow.. what a bunch of pussies we got here.

I spent 6 yrs lane SHARING in Cali and do it every chance I can here. Who cares what the cages or nany's think, as long as I'm moving and making forward progression, my world is fine.

I can't wait till I get back.. legal sharing again. WOHOOO!!

I did it in CA for a while, once I got used to it it was as second nature to me as traditional riding.....

See traffic, pull to the center, slow (depends on how fast I was going, or wanted to go) and procede...

Used my engine to get noticed and only had a couple instances where people wanted to move over into me or where I wanted to be....a nice little reve quicklly eliminated that problem.

Here I don't do it as much as I want to, mainlly due to a couple tickets I have from over a year ago. No need to get another one and risk my ability to ride....

[JonT]

Hmm...I comuted to Narragansett for 6 years for work. I lost count of how many people I saw use the break down lane and get nailed by cops at the Tower light. I still split, on my bike, during the stupid beach traffic. Just have to watch the red lights for the overly happy Kingston officers. Using the break down lane in a car turn on the A/C

see i live on Rt 1 right by the tower, so it takes me for ever to even get out of my road. but i usually will not take one to the beach, i will take 1A or bunch of backroads.

but when i do it, its usually on Rt. 4. Never seen a cop there during beach traffic times. i guess they know better than to take that road.

[noodles44]

see i live on Rt 1 right by the tower, so it takes me for ever to even get out of my road. but i usually will not take one to the beach, i will take 1A or bunch of backroads.

but when i do it, its usually on Rt. 4. Never seen a cop there during beach traffic times. i guess they know better than to take that road.

I'm not trying to be a dick, and really don't care if you do it or not. But I'll say this, since you don't think there are cops in beach traffic, you are talking about 1 of the 2 places in RI I've ever seen people getting pulled over for using the breakdown lane in traffic. The beach traffic really does suck though, good luck!

[noodles44]

As for the original post, I'm guilty of skipping to the front of a line at a red light in the name of getting around slow drivers if I've been stuck behind them for too long. I won't do a moving lane split though, too many people with crazy tempers and poor driving skills here.

How do you people feel when a car lane splits while you are on your bike? An example of this is on a two lane each way road where the bike is stopped waiting to make a left turn, and instead of waiting or changing lanes to go around the car squeezes past in the lane. This makes me very nervous that the next car coming may not see me...

[Jim]

how many of these threads to we see on NESR every riding season

[RandyO]

I got sideswiped on my XV920R once doing a lane split

at my old office on the way home I had a signalled intersection with a right turn lane. durng heavy traffic, the traffic would back up beyond the point that the right turn lane starts so I would split with traffic to get to the right turn lane, just as I got to the point where it starts to widen inot the right turn lane, the cage to the left of me decided he had enuf room to get his car into the right turn lane, he immediatly stopped, I didn't tip over or anything, mostly just pinched my leg between his front fender and my bike and my wheel was right aganst the curb,

I felt it sure, but no bruises ever developed, driver was all apologetic before I could even open my mouth, I told him I was ok and rode on

Another time I was lane splitting in North Conway on my SV, 2up ridign south on 16, I was planning on turning right at the light to get out to West Side Road, this time as I was to the to the right of a delivery van all the traffic was stopped, what I didn't see until too late was a mini van making a left turn, because of the delivery van he didn't see me either, I swear we were 5 feet apart when we saw each other, maybe 10, no time to stop, I boned his front bumper at about 45° damage to my bike, bent reflector on front fork (the one that most people take off) I caved his bumper in about 3", he pushed my sideways about a foot, how I kept my balance, I don't know, I ended up standing on pegs with my palms on his hood, my wife (now ex) yelled at me for almost hitting him, she didn't even realize we crashed

yep, I still lane split occasionally, but I'm more careful about it

[catch2otwo]

I do it everyday commuting here in san francisco. I cant believe I rode without splitting for so long. So much satisfaction leaving the traffic behind me.

[ridnwb]

not really, it's a gray area in Cali. law at the discression of the leo

This misinformation is toxic. It is legal. Period. No other discussion needed on the topic.

I spent 6 yrs lane SHARING in Cali ... I can't wait till I get back.. legal sharing again. WOHOOO!!

I did it in CA for a while, once I got used to it it was as second nature to me as traditional riding.....

See traffic, pull to the center, slow (depends on how fast I was going, or wanted to go) and procede...

Used my engine to get noticed and only had a couple instances where people wanted to move over into me or where I wanted to be....a nice little reve quicklly eliminated that problem.

Here I don't do it as much as I want to, mainlly due to a couple tickets I have from over a year ago. No need to get another one and risk my ability to ride....

Yup. It's the only way to go. Keep it 10-15 over the flow and use proper lane positioning so the cars see you before you pass. No worries. Used to commute to work during rush hour both directions.

Truck, no carpool, no splitting: ~100-150 mins
Bike, carpool, and splitting: ~42-50 mins

[Chippertheripper]

My bike is air cooled. I only do it while running multi compound tires and synthetic oil, though. Most of the places I go it isn't required. On the off chance I get stuck in traffic that don't move, I'm gonna put-put through.

[obsolete]

when im in my car, i dont sit in traffic. i will go right in the brake down lane and go for it.

That is bullshit. You're no more important than anyone else and are endangering anyone that might actually need to pull off because of an emergency.

[RandyO]

This misinformation is toxic. It is legal. Period.

then maybe you should follow the link to the California CHP website I posted and read the FAQ

there is no law that says specificly that its legal

for the second time


Can motorcycle riders "split" lanes and ride between other vehicles?
Lane splitting by motorcycles is permissible but must be done in a safe and prudent manner.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/answers.html

[ridnwb]

then maybe you should follow the link to the California CHP website I posted and read the FAQ

been there, done that, lived there for 31 years. it's legal. end of discussion. have a good one.

[Point37]

i don't...since its illegal and my insurance is finally coming back down...not to mention all the people around here that will close up the hole so you can't get through...not worth the aggrevation

[DucDave]

I think the only time lane splitting is a good idea is when you encounter a Sports Car Rally consisting of 300 cars all going well above the speed limit. Then you should use ALL your power to demonstrate how $10k performance compares to...whatever. Also, use the rumble strips as much as possible. It sounds cool....

[ChrisNoF4i]

I think the only time lane splitting is a good idea is when you encounter a Sports Car Rally consisting of 300 cars all going well above the speed limit. Then you should use ALL your power to demonstrate how $10k performance compares to...whatever. Also, use the rumble strips as much as possible. It sounds cool....

Too soon.

[6 Fingered Man]

haha, just ask obsolete how I feel about super fast driving at this point in my life..... back then, I was a little more reckless with the vast majority of the decisions I made

Too bad....