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A question for motorcyclists….


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On a recent trip to the Bay Area, I noticed numerous riders using the lane dividers as if they were a lane for motorcycles to snake between slow moving automobiles. 
 

Is this practice legal?  
 

More important, do you think it’s safe?  Judging by the number of times that both cars and riders swerved to avoid contact, I’m not convinced arriving a few minutes earlier would be worth it. 
 

What are your thoughts and practices?

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In CA it is legal and done properly safer than staying in a lane with stop and go traffic. IIRC you are limited to riding no more than 5 mph faster than the traffic.

Lott did a study and found that the hazards from lane splitting were significantly lower than the risk of being rear ended by an inattentive driver or side swiped by someone that sees the opening but not your bike.

 

Another point is that sitting astraddle a large air cooled engine for extended periods of time is not good for the rider or the engine.

 

You do have to watch out for inattentive drivers that cannot maintain their lane. And those that change lanes unexpectedly.

 

Unfortunately some motorists really dislike it and will intentionally swerve over in an attempt to hit you. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: 

 

Used to know a guy that regularry rode in the LA Basin. Wore full padded leathers year round along with the meanest looking gauntlets you can imagine. Whenever a person in a car intentionally tried to swerve into him he would punch their side view mirror. The gauntlet was padded so he never hurt his hand but when he punched that mirror he got their attention rather quickly.

 

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29 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

IIRC you are limited to riding no more than 5 mph faster than the traffic.

It’s 15 mph. :) But sometimes faster depending on conditions and the crazy factor. 
 

@Charlie Harley, #14153 it is perfectly legal since 2017.
https://www.chp.ca.gov/Programs-Services/Programs/California-Motorcyclist-Safety

It was technically illegal prior to that but ticketing was not done. The CHP - CA Highway Patrol started the practice in the 50’s when they had motorcycle engines seizing up from overheating. It is also a great way for officers to see inside vehicles as they pass. The CHP and other police all did this so enforcement was not done for non-police motorcyclists. Also, the practice of “lane filtering” at stop lights and signs was allowed so motorcyclists could get to the head of the line. 
Inhibiting motorcyclists by swerving, opening doors, being a self appointed traffic cop is also illegal and is also a good way to get into an altercation. Before 2017 this was not legal but many a motorist has gotten into trouble with the law and with riders trying to use their vehicles to block motorcycles. Technically swerving or blocking could be construed as reckless endangerment and many folks have found themselves in court over that. 
 

Now, as to the sanity of splitting lanes? Think of it this way. People willingly ride motorcycles, which in itself is considered crazy by many a caged motorist. Do you think those same motorcyclists are going to see the logic bestowed upon them by a caged motorist regarding lane splitting when motorcyclists cannot see the logic of riding in a box when the freedom of the road and two wheels calls to them? I think not. 

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There are riders who go much faster than traffic sometimes, but saying it's a bad practice because of them is like saying we should ban driving cars because some people do it recklessly. Usually when somebody argues against lane splitting or moving to the front of the line at a light, it's because they're having a knee-jerk reaction to somebody else getting in front of them. The thing is, when they get in front of you they're not slowing you down, you won't see them again. In high traffic areas, anything that helps reduce traffic density is good for everybody. 

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A BIG PLUS ONE for PAT RIOT you betcha.

 

As an addendum, the practice is not only legal in Great Britain but is a requirement in the Vehicle Code and is taught to all beginner riders.  It is also a part of the "Pursuit Test" to get a Motorcycle License.

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7 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

A BIG PLUS ONE for PAT RIOT you betcha.

 

As an addendum, the practice is not only legal in Great Britain but is a requirement in the Vehicle Code and is taught to all beginner riders.  It is also a part of the "Pursuit Test" to get a Motorcycle License.

 

I don't know if you noticed or not, but Great Britian's laws have been a non-factor in the United States for almost 250 years. Please make a note of that.

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1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

You do have to watch out for inattentive drivers that cannot maintain their lane. And those that change lanes unexpectedly

 

Or that don't see you in their side mirrors, especially the passenger side with the distorted view.

When I see someone lane splitting like that I try to ease over in my lane to give them the most room I can safely.  

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4 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

SO WHAT!!

 

SO WHAT??

 

Another countries laws, especially Great Britian's laws, have absolutely no bearing on the laws in the United States.

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One thing motorcyclists seem to have trouble remembering is that in the clutter of the view in side mirrors they often disappear.  Especially since most side mirrors now are about the size of a deck of cards. 

Also, in the kind of heavy traffic in which you are most likely to split lanes we "caged" drivers are doing the same as you - focusing mostly ahead and to the sides so as to avoid being side swiped or rear ending someone, with the occasional glance in the rear view mirror.  

 

It isn't so much inattentive as paying attention to the most likely danger zones.

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27 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Fight nice, kids

 

 

"Kill each other quietly," as my Mom used to say.

 

That which I quoted is another example of why punctuation is important.  "Fight nice kids" has a very different meaning.  :D

 

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11 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

One thing motorcyclists seem to have trouble remembering is that in the clutter of the view in side mirrors they often disappear.  Especially since most side mirrors now are about the size of a deck of cards. 

Also, in the kind of heavy traffic in which you are most likely to split lanes we "caged" drivers are doing the same as you - focusing mostly ahead and to the sides so as to avoid being side swiped or rear ending someone, with the occasional glance in the rear view mirror.  

 

It isn't so much inattentive as paying attention to the most likely danger zones.

I always ride with my low and high beam headlights on plus my LED driving / fog lights on and my 4 ways flashing when actually splitting lanes. Even then, occasionally, someone would change lanes and then wave “sorry” afterwards. 

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Cypress,  

 

If you didn't notice, I didn't say a word about "laws" in Great Britain, or the applicability of Brit rules of the road being applied here.  I was, thank you very much, simply providing a somewhat different point of view to the subject and showing how "others" view lane splitting.

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I used to ride to work from San Jose to Oakland 6 days a week. About 50 miles. Most of the way would be clear but it helped a great deal to be able to slowly pass the stop and go sections. Never had a problem with that commute. Did it for 8 years.

   I did have a car once open and close their door once just before I was going to pass them. It was 4 teenagers, and they were laughing. After I passed them I switched to the far side of the more left lane, and slowly came up behind them again. They weren't laughing anymore, instead had a much more worried look on them as they looked behind them. As I passed them slowly they made a distinct effort to NOT look at me. Hopefully they learned their lesson, that I could go anywhere I wanted while they were stuck and could not get away.

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Just a random thought.

 

If one of the rationales for lane splitting is that when traffic is backed up the motorcycle should be able to drive up the dotted line, so the air cooled engine does not overheat and stall.

 

Well then shouldn't it be just as fine for drivers of Volkswagens or Corvairs, when traffic is backed up, that they drive down the shoulder of the road, so that their air cooled engines do not overheat and stall? :P

 

I mean, hell, fair is fair.

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1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

Cypress,  

 

If you didn't notice, I didn't say a word about "laws" in Great Britain, or the applicability of Brit rules of the road being applied here.  I was, thank you very much, simply providing a somewhat different point of view to the subject and showing how "others" view lane splitting.

 

We are just in disagreement with each other, which is not uncommon for either one of us. I don't see it as fighting, at least not werewolf kind of fighting.:P

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So far as the lane splitting, it's not legal in Florida.

 

Personally, I'm against it. I see it every once in a while, but I'm not out in "work force" traffic too much anymore. I've had my vehicle damaged twice as a result of idiots trying to fit in between cars at a red light. They got to the front and hauled ass, I'm left with a damaged quarter panel and mirror. Probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, personal injury insurance (all that's required) doesn't cover property damage. 

 

I've witnessed people trying the white line in stopped traffic where the "kind and considerate" caged drivers allow another caged driver to cross the road to the median. Doesn't work out so well for the uncaged driver...especially when he's doing about 40+. Seen that one twice.

 

Gave up riding bikes a long time ago. Just isn't worth it around here. Can't even imagine it in LA.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Alpo said:

Just a random thought.

 

If one of the rationales for lane splitting is that when traffic is backed up the motorcycle should be able to drive up the dotted line, so the air cooled engine does not overheat and stall.

 

Well then shouldn't it be just as fine for drivers of Volkswagens or Corvairs, when traffic is backed up, that they drive down the shoulder of the road, so that their air cooled engines do not overheat and stall? :P

 

I mean, hell, fair is fair.

No, you're comparing free air to forced air engines.  

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I don’t/WON’T split lanes.  I’ll pull off the road and have a drink of water, eat a bite of jerky or other onboard snack, and watch the traffic until it gets moving smoothly again! I HAVE taken the shoulder for a quarter mile or so to get off at an exit.

 

 I don’t ride in rush hour traffic and when I did, I always took the least used alternate route. I rode, exclusively, for about ten years and only used a closed vehicle for hauling more than the bike would carry or for family excursions.

 

 The average car weighs around four to six times what the motorcycle, my gear, and I do. I scaled Ol’ Green one time when I went to the quarry and it weighed 6,100 pounds with me in it. I can’t see me winning a contest of force against those odds, so I “Stay in my lane” so to speak.

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I was the safety officer for a 200 plus member motorcycle group in socal for many years. I researched and wrote some articles for the club newsletter regarding lane splitting. I also performed this maneuver for many years in socal freeway traffic myself.

 

In the proper environment and executed properly, it is a safer maneuver than remaining in the flow of traffic for motorcyclists. Likewise, if not performed in these parameters, it is unsafe for both the motorcyclist and surrounding traffic.

 

The proper environment is slow moving traffic in a restricted flow situation such as freeways. It is not safe when traffic is stopped, moving too fast nor where traffic flow is somewhat unpredictable such as city streets. It is not safe at moderate or above speeds nor when going much faster than the slow moving trucks and automobiles. It also requires a super focused motorcyclist that is extremely observant of ALL traffic around him - front / back and both sides!

 

In socal, the freeways are fairly regimented and the flow of traffic is pretty consistent. I, personally, would not lane split anywhere but the congested freeway systems of socal. Maybe in norcal though I have no experience there.

 

The reason that you could lane split in ca is that there were no laws against it. It was not "legal" it just was not "illegal". The CHP came up with guidelines to safely lane split a few years ago (BTW - some that I disagree with as being unsafe).

 

BTW - It is illegal in ca to lane split if traffic is completely stopped, e.g. road closure, accident, etc. 

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Injun Ryder: how would you know if traffic is stopped due to an accident or road closure until you reached the front of the stopped cars? And I disagree, it is the safest when traffic is completely stopped as no one can change lanes on you, like they do when moving slowly. Just my experience from driving bikes for the last 52 years, almost all in the S.F. Bay Area. But then I don't speed down the middle like all the crotch rocket guys do, just slide down the middle on my old air coolled BMW. I didn't get it up to 172,000 miles by driving like an idiot.

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6 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I don't know if you noticed or not, but Great Britian's laws have been a non-factor in the United States for almost 250 years. Please make a note of that.


Not true. Our law is based on British Common Law.  If there is no specific case or statutory law applicable to a legal question it’s perfectly appropriate to cite old common law holdings in order to support an argument.  Our founding fathers (many of whom were lawyers and supportive of most of the law they were educated in and practiced) were too smart to think that we could begin from scratch to build up our own common law and there was no desire to create such an extensive library of statutes etc to make common law unnecessary. 
 

Seamus

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The reason for traffic being stopped is irrelevant.  It is illegal if traffic is stopped. Not stop and go. Absolutely stopped.

 

The danger of stopped traffic is that people will be opening doors to get out of their cars for a multitude of reasons, e.g. to see what is going on, to stretch their legs, socialize, etc. 

 

I am not saying that I have not done it, just that it is illegal in ca.

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35 minutes ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

The reason for traffic being stopped is irrelevant.  It is illegal if traffic is stopped. Not stop and go. Absolutely stopped.

 

The danger of stopped traffic is that people will be opening doors to get out of their cars for a multitude of reasons, e.g. to see what is going on, to stretch their legs, socialize, etc. 

 

I am not saying that I have not done it, just that it is illegal in ca.

Actually, there is no verbiage in the law that says that. There were CHP guidelines regarding splitting lanes but those were rescinded as they didn’t meet the letter of the law as “guidelines”.
https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-21658-1/

 

These are the current CHP Guidelines. 
https://www.chp.ca.gov/Programs-Services/Programs/California-Motorcyclist-Safety

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Pat - I stand corrected as to the legality of lane splitting in stopped traffic. I thought this was the case in the early 1990's when I researched lane splitting.

 

For your enjoyment:

This is an article I wrote in 1994.

 

American Thunder

Riding Safe - Riding Forever!

 

Splitting Lanes

 

Did you know that lane splitting is safer than staying in a lane of stop and go traffic? Statistics and safety experts confirm that this is the case. However, lane splitting is loaded with situations that require careful consideration.

 

In the legal sense, lane splitting in California does not have a legal definition. Instead, it is NOT defined as being illegal. All traffic laws apply when lane splitting so it is very possible that, in the eyes of the law, other traffic laws are being violated. Police policy in California is such that you should not lane split when traffic is moving faster than 30 mph. If you are going more than 10 mph faster than traffic, you may get cited for "unsafe for conditions". If traffic is moving above 45 mph, you may get written for reckless driving. Lane splitting is less likely to be tolerated on surface streets.

 

As a rider splits lanes, they have to observe the traffic ahead and be able to predict what the drivers on both sides are going to do. Always assume that the drivers do not see (or hear) you coming. If there is not enough room to pass a vehicle, wait until there is an opening and go around. Do not get angry or do anything to antagonize the driver as they might seek revenge on you or the next rider to pass by.

 

Be aware of the geometry of your bike. Any protruding handlebars, mirrors, pegs, saddlebags, etc. must be taken into account. Be alert and ready to detect and react. Scan for signs of trouble.

 

The safest lanes are usually the two left lanes. This is because the drivers tend to keep to the left and there is less lane changing occurring. A cardinal rule of lane splitting is that any time you are between lanes, you should be passing cars. If cars in an adjacent lane start passing you, get back in the lane.

 

Keep your speed to a point where you can handle surprises and minimize your surprising the traffic you are passing. You should not be going much faster than the surrounding traffic. This will allow you to observe the traffic that can influence your riding pattern and properly react.

 

If you are overtaken by a faster rider, move over into a gap and permit them to pass. This has an added benefit in that drivers are usually more observant after a bike has passed them. However, don't follow the bike too closely. Leave room just in case something does happen.

 

The most dangerous time to split lanes is when traffic is first slowing down. This is when motorists are most likely to change lanes seeking the fastest lane. When the traffic has stabilized, the lane switching falls to almost zero. However, if there is a gap large enough for a car to occupy, you should assume a car will occupy it. So be very vigilant and watch all vehicles carefully for any intent to occupy the empty  space. Watch for head movements, see if the driver has acknowledged your presence, watch the front tires of cars for movement, sudden braking, hesitation, signals, etc.

 

Lane splitting is a riding technique that requires the utmost concentration and skill short of situation avoidance maneuvers. It is not for everyone and as with all riding skills should be practiced and learned gradually. If you do not feel comfortable splitting lanes - DO NOT DO IT! It is not worth any time saving if

an injury should occur. But if you are comfortable with lane splitting, do it carefully and safely so that the right to do it is not taken away from us i

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Arizona just recently legalized it, I think it's only allowed when traffic is stopped.

 

Back in the early 90's I lived in San Diego and worked at North Island, and had to take the Coronado Bay Bridge everyday.  It was still a toll bridge, but carpoolers and motorcyclists were free.

 

Going to work in the morning on the bike it always took me about the same time, the issue was that if I crossed the bridge at 6:25, it was easy sailing, crossing after 6:30, it was a parking lot.

 

On the bike I white-lined it, hardly slowed me down at all.

 

It was interesting watching the motorists, bike friendly people would move over to give you space, the ones that were pissed of would crowd you a bit.  I never had any close calls, but I was very careful.  Most drivers in SoCal knew how things worked and didn't cause any problems.

 

A coworker of mine carried a few 1/2" diameter 4" long bolts in his coat pockets, would throw them at the cars that intruded into his space or didn't see him, he said he kicked a few doors also, we had to wear steel toe boots.

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2 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Pat - I stand corrected as to the legality of lane splitting in stopped traffic. I thought this was the case in the early 1990's when I researched lane splitting.

 

For your enjoyment:

This is an article I wrote in 1994.

Excellent article! Who did you write this for? I could swear I have read this before. 

Years ago, back in the 80’s the CHP wrote “guidelines” on lane splitting that officers should follow that some how became “laws” or “rules” in the eyes of some people. There were even police departments that used those rules as law in citing motorcyclists. At some point the CHP was directed to stop this so those rules went away and new “guidelines” were written. Those included things like not going faster than 15 mph faster than traffic and only splitting lanes if traffic is going slower than 40 mph. I don’t recall any guidelines regarding not splitting lanes when traffic is stopped, but these CHP “regs” somehow took off like urban legends. People actually thought splitting lanes was legal because of the CHP guidelines. Technically the CHP was breaking the law by they themselves splitting lanes. Weird, huh? :lol:

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i dont know what is legal or where anymore , ive not ridden much since the 70s , but back then we - my friends that road - road close to the center line as to have our lane to us , we did not weave amidst traffic as thats a good way to get killed , there is a good reason i no longer ride , i chose a long time ago to buy a boat and sell my motorcycle so i might live to this current age , 

 

although im now questioning my wisdom , im not certain old age is all it was suposed to be ..................

 

i have succeeded in living into "older age" , and in my recent observations of motorcyclists a lot of them dont have the same intentions , weaving in and out of traffic means your either driving too fast or on the wrong road in my thinking , its the best way to die i know of , plenty of safer places to go fast and enjoy the ride , but hey , back in the day , there was a saying about eliminating the surplus population ...........................just sayin , why polute the gene pool further than it already is ? 

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15 minutes ago, watab kid said:

i dont know what is legal or where anymore , ive not ridden much since the 70s , but back then we - my friends that road - road close to the center line as to have our lane to us , we did not weave amidst traffic as thats a good way to get killed , there is a good reason i no longer ride , i chose a long time ago to buy a boat and sell my motorcycle so i might live to this current age , 

 

although im now questioning my wisdom , im not certain old age is all it was suposed to be ..................

 

i have succeeded in living into "older age" , and in my recent observations of motorcyclists a lot of them dont have the same intentions , weaving in and out of traffic means your either driving too fast or on the wrong road in my thinking , its the best way to die i know of , plenty of safer places to go fast and enjoy the ride , but hey , back in the day , there was a saying about eliminating the surplus population ...........................just sayin , why polute the gene pool further than it already is ? 

Splitting lanes isn’t the same as weaving in and out of traffic. I agree that weaving in and out of traffic is dangerous, especially when people in cars are jockeying for position as if they are in a race to get home. 

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17 hours ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

 

Is this practice legal?  
 

More important, do you think it’s safe?  Judging by the number of times that both cars and riders swerved to avoid contact, I’m not convinced arriving a few minutes earlier would be worth it. 
 

What are your thoughts and practices?

As already established, in California it is legal when done safely, with leeway as to what exactly that means.  Here's a breakdown of how other states feel about it. https://www.rideapart.com/news/347464/motorcycle-lane-splitting-state-nation/

 

I do think its safe - when done safely.  I have been doing it for over 50 years, and have one nicked mirror on my scorecard.  And he swerved.

 

It does save mucho time on the freeway. 

 

I suspect in some small part due to outreach, I have noticed more drivers exhibiting courteous behavior in the last few years.  There are still occasional jerks who swerve to pinch the lane shut, but they seem to be fewer with the passage of time. 

 

I don't understand the angst on their part.  I am one less car gumming up the flow of traffic.  And, at a stop, it adds a level of protection from being rear ended.

 

Cheers,

FJT

 

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4 hours ago, Frederick Jackson Turner said:

As already established, in California it is legal when done safely, with leeway as to what exactly that means.  Here's a breakdown of how other states feel about it. https://www.rideapart.com/news/347464/motorcycle-lane-splitting-state-nation/

 

I do think its safe - when done safely.  I have been doing it for over 50 years, and have one nicked mirror on my scorecard.  And he swerved.

 

It does save mucho time on the freeway. 

 

I suspect in some small part due to outreach, I have noticed more drivers exhibiting courteous behavior in the last few years.  There are still occasional jerks who swerve to pinch the lane shut, but they seem to be fewer with the passage of time. 

 

I don't understand the angst on their part.  I am one less car gumming up the flow of traffic.  And, at a stop, it adds a level of protection from being rear ended.

 

Cheers,

FJT

 

Howdy FJT,

50 years of splitting lanes? You should get an award of some kind. :D I cannot say the same regarding lane splitting and getting away unscathed. My accident in 2019 was due to a young lady not following the instructions that she was recently given on safe driving (new driver - 18 years old) and she abruptly changed lanes without looking to the side or into her mirrors. I know because my helmet camera video showed it as I careened right into her back right quarter panel. Cameras on bikes are good things. 

Not one of my finer moments…

606ADE4E-988E-48E0-B6FB-4E89BC8A13B5.thumb.jpeg.99b9c2d6b91659c30aeb0681fe00a3e7.jpeg
This is a shot my friend saw on Instagram. There’s a page on Instagram called “California Motorcycle Down” or something like that. People that subscribe to the page can report motorcycle incidents so others can see if they know the motorcyclist that’s gone down and contact loved ones or friends. My friend saw this and knew I was down as he recognized my bike. Problem was he didn’t have my wife’s info to call her. 
This shot was taken literally within a minute or so of my crash. The 2 girls standing over me were in the car that hit me. The girl on the left was the driver. 
The freeway was jam packed when the incident occurred. It was in this photo…behind the camera. 
My bike is the black one sitting perpendicular to traffic lanes. Believe it or not the bike was badly damaged and was almost totalled. The entire front end structure was damaged. Luckily the frame wasn’t. I still have that bike and ride it every chance I get. 
 

Be safe out there.

 

 

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4 hours ago, Frederick Jackson Turner said:

As already established, in California it is legal when done safely, with leeway as to what exactly that means.  Here's a breakdown of how other states feel about it. https://www.rideapart.com/news/347464/motorcycle-lane-splitting-state-nation/

Oops…I forgot to mention that here in WV there is a law regarding 2 vehicles sharing the same lane which technically does not allow lane splitting as it is seen as lane sharing. Lane sharing is a violation. Technically two motorcycles cannot ride together side by side in the same lane but I do occasionally see it done. It’s not good practice, in my opinion.

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6 hours ago, Frederick Jackson Turner said:

I don't understand the angst

Let me see if I can explain it, from the driver's point of view.

 

You're driving down the road and you see a sign. LEFT LANE CLOSED AHEAD, MERGE RIGHT. So you go over in the right hand lane. Everyone has gone over in the right hand lane. They are preparing for the closed lane. They have merged.

 

And because there's construction ahead, traffic has slowed way down. But you accept that because everybody is driving 10 miles an hour. And then here comes somebody driving 50 miles an hour in the totally empty left hand lane. He doesn't want to wait his turn. And he gets up to the end of the left hand lane, and then sits there waiting for someone to let him in.

 

I, and I assume many others, sit there thinking (occasionally saying it out loud) I hope you sit there and tell your car runs out of gas from idling, you stupid a******. That's not how it works. You don't break line.

 

And that's it. He's trying to break in line. He's not waiting his turn. We all have to wait here, driving along at 10 miles an hour, but he's too damn good to drive that slow. He SHOULD be able to jump to the front of the line. At least he thinks so.

 

Now here is the same car driver, in a similar blockage. Now both lanes are blocked. Whatever the trouble is, traffic is moving 10 miles an hour. And here comes this motorcycle driving up the dotted line at 25. He's going to jump to the front of the line. Who the hell does he think he is, that he should be able to jump to the front of the line? Get your butt back in line with the rest of us!

 

And that is the angst. The motorcyclist driving up the center line appears to believe that he is entitled to jump the line. You don't jump the line. That's hardwired into the human psyche. And people that jump the line - the people in the line that can't jump it hate them. WHY CAN HE DO THAT, WHEN I CAN'T???

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