beemerdood
New member
A proposed lane splitting law for Montana died in committee in the legislature for the second year in a row. Having a lane splitting law in Montana makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine.
While there are not the kind of traffic jams on the freeway in Montana that one finds regularly in Los Angeles or other large, densely populated cities, there are many instances where filtering up to the front of traffic at a light, a special kind of lane sharing, could occur. These cars are stopped, it's not possible for them to change lanes (usually) and so filtering is much safer than doing it when traffic is moving, as lane sharing is usually thought of. I think such a law in any state, is a good idea. It would allow bikes, most of which accelerate faster than most cars to get out in front of them, so there would be less chance of a car lane changing into them. And it would free up traffic since there's one less vehicle in the line at the light. It's been done in much of Europe for ages.
These forums have many first–person stories about getting rear–ended while stopped at the end of a line of cars at a traffic signal. Allowing filtering would mean that the bike wasn't hanging out at the end of such a line, and would all but eliminate such accidents.