Lane Sharing/ Splitting car door opens in my path:

Wineadors said:

Good grief! So glad you weren't hurt. I envision that every time I pass a parked car, would truly SUCK if it happened in traffic! Man, makes me wish I still had a GoPro. Might have to get another bike cam...just in case.

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I got the GoPro because some truck cut me off, just to scare me and I honked and they just started laughing. It was a company truck, so if I had it on camera, I could have at least sent it to their company and called their "how am I driving" number.

Like many others, I am just glad you weren't hurt, and think you did a great job of keeping your head straight, recovering and getting to the side of the road. You weren't breaking any laws and I frankly see more to congratulate you on than anything. If you were splitting in an area where it wasn't allowed, and/or in a state that didn't have a law on opening doors on freeways, well then you could be to blame. Clearly not the case here though.

The driver of the SUV had to know there was contact, and they chose to leave the scene. That seems like a big black mark against them. Of course they probably had no idea you had a camera that captured everything.

If I had to guess, I would think once the other side's insurance company is contacted by your attorney they will just want to settle things. Hopefully they will still face hit and run and any applicable charges for opening the door on the freeway though. Maybe an attorney member can answer this: if the person in the back seat isn't a licensed driver, or since they aren't operating the vehicle, are they responsible for breaking the law with regard to opening the door, or is the driver of the SUV ultimately responsible for what their passengers do?

Good luck to you for a good resolution and hoping the consequences for the other side are bad enough to prevent others from engaging in such behavior.

ric.escalante said:

I got the GoPro because some truck cut me off, just to scare me and I honked and they just started laughing. It was a company truck, so if I had it on camera, I could have at least sent it to their company and called their "how am I driving" number.

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That's why I ride with a large, shiny revolver unconcealed on my hip. You think a camera changes people's attitude, you should see what lookng down a train tunnel does for them.

The driver and the passenger are both guilty - the driver is responsible for the illegal actions of any passenger.
The passenger's actions were clearly intentional.

BTW, in California (at least), the only thing it's "legal" to dump out of a vehicle is water... and feathers!

And people wonder why I wish I could have a rocket launcher or a pair of 50mm cannons mounted up front...

Glad you're OK, and nice recovery!!

Glad you had the GoPro. I use mine to record scenic rides, and never thought of that use!!

This makes me very happy to live in a county where we have only 2 stoplights in the whole 1593 square miles; where 80% of our roads are gravel; and where the nearest town with 4 lanes of traffic is 50 miles away!!!

Please keep us posted, and hope those guys get a new perspective on their behavior.

tommcgee said:

Very few folks lane split in the Boston area, precisely why you posted this thread in the first place. We expect that everyone is trying to kill us, because they are.

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Lane splitting is illegal in MA. Of course legality doesn't stop people from doing other illegal things on the street here, but I would think that lane splitting in MA would get you a "wreckless driving" ticket.

Who's fault would it be if the SUV had shifted to the right in the lane he was occupying at the same time the M/C was sharing the same space?

k100lt said:

Who's fault would it be if the SUV had shifted to the right in the lane he was occupying at the same time the M/C was sharing the same space?

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Depends....

If he had his blinker on for the legal amount of time, then changed, I'd be at fault. I think you're suppose to have your blinker on 500 feet before you make the lane change or turn. I'd have to look that up. If he made the change without a blinker, then he'd be at fault. He though would have hit the car as well. If any car has their blinker on, I stay behind them. Even a stagnant blinker.

jeffkruger said:

Like many others, I am just glad you weren't hurt, and think you did a great job of keeping your head straight, recovering and getting to the side of the road. You weren't breaking any laws and I frankly see more to congratulate you on than anything. If you were splitting in an area where it wasn't allowed, and/or in a state that didn't have a law on opening doors on freeways, well then you could be to blame. Clearly not the case here though.

The driver of the SUV had to know there was contact, and they chose to leave the scene. That seems like a big black mark against them. Of course they probably had no idea you had a camera that captured everything.

If I had to guess, I would think once the other side's insurance company is contacted by your attorney they will just want to settle things. Hopefully they will still face hit and run and any applicable charges for opening the door on the freeway though. Maybe an attorney member can answer this: if the person in the back seat isn't a licensed driver, or since they aren't operating the vehicle, are they responsible for breaking the law with regard to opening the door, or is the driver of the SUV ultimately responsible for what their passengers do?

Good luck to you for a good resolution and hoping the consequences for the other side are bad enough to prevent others from engaging in such behavior.

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Thank you....very kind post and again, thank you to the others that wished me well. Didn't think it was going to turn into a huge controversial post. Thought the big question was going to be...if it was intentional or not, not, " you should have expected that to happen, or, have a nice funeral."

If you're from California, I think you'd have a different thought about this. But either way, I respect everyone's opinions.

ric.escalante said:

Depends....

If he had his blinker on for the legal amount of time, then changed, I'd be at fault. I think you're suppose to have your blinker on 500 feet before you make the lane change or turn. I'd have to look that up. If he made the change without a blinker, then he'd be at fault. He though would have hit the car as well. If any car has their blinker on, I stay behind them. Even a stagnant blinker.

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Ric -

For clarification, k100lt specifically states "shifting a little more to the right, but remaining in the lane he currently was in" - no signal required, since he would not have actually been changing to a different lane under k100lt's scenario question.

I know the legal answer to this, but feel you should weigh in, since this post was 'your baby' from the get-go, and you've been taking point on tough questions..

Hope you had a good day today.

greenwald said:

Ric -

For clarification, k100lt specifically states "shifting a little more to the right, but remaining in the lane he currently was in" - no signal required, since he would not have actually been changing to a different lane under k100lt's scenario question.

I know the legal answer to this, but feel you should weigh in, since this post was 'your baby' from the get-go, and you've been taking point on tough questions..

Hope you had a good day today.

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I'm wondering where to get one of those SUVs that can "shift to the right". The truck was in stopped, or nearly stopped traffic. That's why you don't filter at over 30mph , or 10mph over what the other traffic is doing. The truck can't just hop over ten inches if its sitting still, unless its got front-to-back, side-to-side, and maybe three-wheel-motion. I know this is California we're talking about, but I saw no evidence of hitting-the-switches in that video.

I'd be less worried about legalities and more worried about Newton's First Law.

ric.escalante said:

What are your thoughts on this? In California, it's LEGAL to lane share/split. While I was doing that, a car opened their door in my path.

According to CHP and my insurance, I was in the guidelines. I was not on the line, I was going at a safe speed. The question now comes to, why did the passenger open their door.

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This is why lane splitting is a bad law. Regardless of the law, speed, location, facts, insurance coverage or whatever....lane splitting is not a good law and worse, it is not a good idea. WHY - because there are people who will not watch for such actions and then there are people who do, just so they can "punish" a motorcyclist. Just the way it is and NO law is going to make it safer.

jcj78 said:

I'm wondering where to get one of those SUVs that can "shift to the right". The truck was in stopped, or nearly stopped traffic. That's why you don't filter at over 30mph , or 10mph over what the other traffic is doing. The truck can't just hop over ten inches if its sitting still, unless its got front-to-back, side-to-side, and maybe three-wheel-motion. I know this is California we're talking about, but I saw no evidence of hitting-the-switches in that video.

I'd be less worried about legalities and more worried about Newton's First Law.

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I'm starting to feel kind of sorry for k100lt - no one seems to have read his comments verbatim.

He didn't say the SUV performed such a maneuver - he asked "what if it had abruptly changed position while still rightfully occupying his/her lane."

Isaac Newton can rest easy - his Laws of Motion are not being rewritten by Californians.

Geeeez

Motodan said:

This is why lane splitting is a bad law. Regardless of the law, speed, location, facts, insurance coverage or whatever....lane splitting is not a good law and worse, it is not a good idea. WHY - because there are people who will not watch for such actions and then there are people who do, just so they can "punish" a motorcyclist. Just the way it is and NO law is going to make it safer.

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Sorry, wrong answer. Try again after you become informed.

Almost 50 years of lane splitting under my belt and never have had someone open a door on me.

As I have stated before, my MSF teaching partner is a retired 25 year CHP motor officer and he said he never rolled on a lane splitting accident but rolled on many a accident where the motorcyclist was rear ended. He is very clear that lane splitting, done properly (like all riding should be) is far safer than sitting in rubber banding traffic.

rangerreece said:

This is why states that have "no helmet" laws on the books are a bad idea. We as an organization have a lot of work to do to correct bad laws on the books. I think we can start by making helmets mandatory in all 50 states.



For the record, I believe that there is a time and place for lane splitting. I have seen the roads in California and those lanes are wide, highly contested, and 6 lanes accross (12 if you count opposite direction traffic) perfect environment for using a motorcycle to safely filter forward. It's clear, with the previous thread about the lady running down and killing the navy guy on his bike that there are people on the road who intentionally want to hurt motorcyclist. Though still rare, I feel it's a threat we cannot continue to ignore and should place this threat within our riding strategy toolbox.

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True.

The one video of the door opening reminds me of the Dragon Killboy fail thread. Countless accidents involving motorcycles going around corners yet no one here calls for motorcycles to be banned from mountain roads.

There is no free lunch, everything has its down side or risk. Be smart, be informed, be trained, use good judgement and ride within your skill set.

greenwald said:

I'm starting to feel kind of sorry for k100lt - no one seems to have read his comments verbatim.

He didn't say the SUV performed such a maneuver - he asked "what if it had abruptly changed position while still rightfully occupying his/her lane."

Isaac Newton can rest easy - his Laws of Motion are not being rewritten by Californians.

Geeeez

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Thank you greenwald. That was the intent of my question. Not actually changing lanes, just moving about in your own space in your lane. Also is it legal for a M/C to move in and out of the HOV lane when there is a clearly marked SOLID DOUBLE YELLOW LINE that denotes you are not to cross to pass. This happens all the time here on the LA freeways with M/C lane splitting.

rad said:

There is no free lunch, everything has its down side or risk. Be smart, be informed, be trained, use good judgement and ride within your skill set.

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Yep, you have it nailed Rad.
And when a person decides to do something risky, don't forget who made the decision to take the risk.
OM

Motodan said:

Just the way it is and NO law is going to make it safer.

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If this is true, then why is lane splitting practiced -- safely -- in virtually every other country in the world? Because it is "normal" and drivers are aware and accepting of it.

The problem isn't that it can't be done safely, it's that in this country some people can't handle not being able to move to the head of the line if someone else can (the selfish "well if I can't, I'm going to make sure he can't!") and that the standard in this country is so low for driver's licenses and expected level of attention that as a country we should be massively embarrassed.

The answer is not to ban an otherwise world-accepted, studied and found to be safer practice. The answer that increases rider safety is public education -- both to tell drivers it's legal and to tell riders to keep the speed differential down (and use good judgment -- i.e., not be stupid).

Someone mentioned the HOV lanes. I do think it's a fantastic idea in most states that I've ridden in that a motorcycle, even with just the rider, can use the HOV lanes. I have passed literally miles of stopped or slow traffic by using the HOV lanes. Never ceases to amaze me as I pass all of those cars that have only the driver in them. I try to be extremely careful to not cross a solid line back into the standard lanes though as I know that makes riders look bad.

Another practice that I believe greatly helps rider safety is allowing motorcycles to go to the front of stopped construction traffic, like when waiting for a pilot car or the flagger to let you go. They do that in Alaska and British Columbia and I have always thought it was a great idea.

Lane sharing is legal in California, agree with it or not, choose to do it or not. The OP wasn't breaking any laws and was operating his motorcycle prudently. I know when I am in CA driving a rental car I am very aware that lane sharing is allowed and try to be aware of a bike that may be approaching. I would think that folks that live there are certainly aware of the law and have experienced it. I know I have questioned the speed at which I have seen some folks pass between slower moving vehicles because it seemed unsafe to me. The rider has to assume the risk. It's not much different than riding at dusk in an area with deer. The rider knows the risk and accepts it. If a deer ends up popping into your path, just like an opened car door, the rider isn't at any type of fault, but could still get hurt. I think it's the risk/reward that we are constantly evaluating as riders. There are a lot of things that can hurt a rider that have nothing to do with any type of fault of the rider.

I was almost rear ended on a bike in San Francisco several years ago, on wet roads, by a Mini Cooper. I saw it happening behind me and was able to get between the car in front of me and the sidewalk. It turns out the Mini would have stopped a foot or so short of hitting me, but I had to make a judgement call and decided to try to get out of the way. With texting and other inattentive driving so common these days I can certainly see the argument that lane sharing is a way to avoid being crunched between two cars when you may not have another avenue to avoid being hit.

jeffkruger said:

I do think it's a fantastic idea in most states that I've ridden in that a motorcycle, even with just the rider, can use the HOV lanes.

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The result of Federal law: any HOV lane with Federal money in the project (essentially all such lanes) is required to be open to motorcycles.