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New law on Lane Sharing / Splitting .. how do you read this?

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Been riding in CA for 50 years now and lane split a little as needed but see no changes with these guidelines which suits me just fine.

Thanks for posting this update Pauls1150.

GD
 
Thanks for posting. Should the shoulder be defined as to the right of a solid white line?

I occasionally ride to the right of traffic on Mission St in Santa Cruz where there is no bike lane and no white line, only a curb. I consider that legal for now.
 
Most of Mission (aka Cabrillo Hwy) is two lanes in each direction, not including the left-turn-only lanes.
I would say that passing on the right is a ticketable offense (but only if you're caught). $146 gone.

Part of the definition of a "shoulder" is "an emergency stopping lane" - so that might considered an additional violation. I wasn't able to find anything requiring a painted line, so maybe it's where the blacktop ends??? Dunno...

From nolo.com -
The laws in most states prohibit passing on the right, except under the following circumstances:
•The passed vehicle is about to turn left. (You still can't drive onto the unpaved shoulder of the road.)
•The street or road is wide enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic.
Even if passing on the right is allowed under one of the above exceptions, you must do so "under conditions permitting such movement in safety."
 
I was in CA this summer from Indiana. I had the opportunity to lane splitting quite a few times. I did it cause I didn’t want to sit in stop traffic when it was in the upper 90’s low 100’s. I was on a 15 R12GSA with bags, I didn’t do more than 10-25mph. There was a few cars/truck that would not move over, but generally everybody parted like the Red Sea.
 
Most of Mission (aka Cabrillo Hwy) is two lanes in each direction, not including the left-turn-only lanes.
I would say that passing on the right is a ticketable offense (but only if you're caught). $146 gone.

Part of the definition of a "shoulder" is "an emergency stopping lane" - so that might considered an additional violation. I wasn't able to find anything requiring a painted line, so maybe it's where the blacktop ends??? Dunno...

From nolo.com -
The laws in most states prohibit passing on the right, except under the following circumstances:
•The passed vehicle is about to turn left. (You still can't drive onto the unpaved shoulder of the road.)
•The street or road is wide enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic.
Even if passing on the right is allowed under one of the above exceptions, you must do so "under conditions permitting such movement in safety."

Ok now, hold the phone. I was under the impression that you could not legally pass a car turning left on a two opposing lane road if you had to cross a solid white line to the right. I postulate that the shoulder in this case is from the white line to the end of pavement. On Mission St there is in no possible definition an "emergency" lane between lane 2 and the curb. Its so treacherous to the right that literally NO bicycles ride on that stretch of road in an area highly bicycle dense due to ucsc and hipster westside cyclemania and now jump bikes. I contend that from left yellow to the right curb is free game. How can passing on the right be illegal when one lane can pass on the right? You can pass on the right but not too far to the right? In the end its really not an issue because there is zero law enforcement monitoring of traffic in santa cruz county except for chp on hwy 1 every once in a while.
 
I haven’t read this whole thread but in places like Paris and Sao Paulo it is wild to watch the thousands of 2 wheeled machines fly through traffic between lanes, especially when there are 4 or 5 lanes of cars and 4 or 5 streams of scooters and bikes blowing by them. Car drivers know to check before changing lanes and they are used to watching for riders. Makes me jealous every time.
 
A single white line marks the edge of a lane. A double white (or yellow) line is a barrier that should not be crossed until you get to a dashed section or an opening, or one is turning into a driveway (the driveway part is also legal if the lines are yellow).
In an earlier post, you said that there was no line on the right, so that's how I based my response; now you're saying there is.
If you cross that line, yes you're on the shoulder, and that would be an illegal move.

If one is actually concerned about law enforcement, re-read the CA DMV Driver Handbook https://www.dmv.ca.gov/web/eng_pdf/dl600.pdf Lane control starts on page 44, but keep in mind that this publication is an abbreviated statement of fact, they don't cover "Every" possible situation. You need to read the finer details of the law (sorry I don't have the link) for specific statutes.
Or you can discuss it with the judge; I'm sure he'll place a lot of credence on everybody's personal conceptions and interpretations.
 
My dear beemerdood -

Your commentary is getting a tad sarcastic and accusatory, but that's OK with me - thick skin. If we can't examine this phenomenon with objectivity, best we not discuss it at all.

As Paul somewhat enthusiastically pointed out, I 'detest' lane splitting, though that's a bit too strongly worded - more like, I don't really consider it a 'safety option,' so much as simply a long-practiced convenience in your state.

No need for us to go round and round on this - your passion for this practice is evident, so I'll not disturb your feelings on this issue.

As I certainly do not wish you to lose sleep over the absence of an epic apology, I officially apologize for confusing guidelines with actual statutory requirements. :bow If you wish to continue insulting my "experience and expertise," you are welcome to do so. After all, I am unaware of your credentials.


Ride safe and often in your state! :thumb

When in Rome, one may do as the Romans do or choose to stay in their lane in congested traffic. YOU still have a choice, no one is making you lane split or sit in stop and go traffic with a bike that will overheat doing so in the middle of the summer.

I can't even believe this thread has enough traction to be argumentative about something that's practiced in some state but isn't mandatory to practice leaving one their right to choose what THEY are or are not comfortable with.

Geesh, :scratch
 
Hey brownie - You're the one digging up posts that are almost a year old and throwing them back into the arena.

Then complaining that "traction to be argumentative" still exists. Geesh.

That's classy. :banghead

FYI, I visited my daughter in Torrance this past June, and drove from there to San Diego and back in a day, to visit a brother-in-law who resides in Mira Mesa.

Every time motorcycles buzzed past my driver's door, I was well beyond going 30 MPH, and they were quite a bit over 10 MPH faster than me.

Nice 'rules' on the CHP brochures, but in practice, they were ignored.
 
Hey brownie - You're the one digging up posts that are almost a year old and throwing them back into the arena.

Then complaining that "traction to be argumentative" still exists. Geesh.

That's classy.

When there's an update to an old thread, it's appropriate to bring it up again.

FYI, I visited my daughter in Torrance this past June, and drove from there to San Diego and back in a day, to visit a brother-in-law who resides in Mira Mesa.

Every time motorcycles buzzed past my driver's door, I was well beyond going 30 MPH, and they were quite a bit over 10 MPH faster than me.

Nice'rules' on the CHP brochures, but in practice, they were ignored.

I thought that you had gotten this straight, but as we can see from this post, you missed again. They are still "guidelines," or "tips," not "rules." I'd think that a LEO would note this IMPORANT difference.

THIS BROCHURE says,
Motorcyclists who are competent enough riders to lane split should follow these tips
If they were "rules" as you call them, the languages would be "Shall follow …"


THIS PRESS RELEASE uses the same language, "tips."

One can still lane split even though traffic is going as you described, "well beyond 30 MPH" and one can still ride "quite a bit over 10 MPH faster than" traffic.
 
Hey - Good Morning Beemerdood!

Morning. I have a very simple question for you that I've asked a couple of times in the past when this topic was being discussed, even right in this thread! You've never answered it, but maybe this time you will.

Based on your posts on lane splitting, it's apparent that you oppose it. It seems that you oppose both doing it and laws being passed in states that would permit it. Why?
 
Hey brownie - You're the one digging up posts that are almost a year old and throwing them back into the arena.

Then complaining that "traction to be argumentative" still exists. Geesh.

That's classy. :banghead

FYI, I visited my daughter in Torrance this past June, and drove from there to San Diego and back in a day, to visit a brother-in-law who resides in Mira Mesa.

Every time motorcycles buzzed past my driver's door, I was well beyond going 30 MPH, and they were quite a bit over 10 MPH faster than me.

Nice 'rules' on the CHP brochures, but in practice, they were ignored.

I followed 2 Hawthorne motor officers lane splitting last year who were doing 45 when traffic was doing 5-10 stop and go too. Because they are "tips" and not "rules" of law, the motor officers weren't violating any Ca. codes either. I followed them out of the parking lot to the highway after a day of their "ride to live" course.

If you don't like lane splitting, stay to frig out of states that allow it. Then you don't have to put up with something you detest others are doing in your presence.

As for the rest of your post, see beemerdood's post.

Geesh, I still can't believe you'd whine about lane splitting, either others doing it or your not willing to do it. Who cares why you don't like it or won't consider it. You have the power to solve your dilemma, stay out of states that allow it, or ignore people who are lane splitting. :scratch
 
While your suggested 'solution of staying out of CA' sounds reasonable to you, doesn't work for me. I have relation in CA and a desire to visit them, so their invitations trump your dismissal.

As for how I view lane splitting, I consider it at the very least, an aggressive method of operation, with personal observations that the "tips' and 'guidelines' a joke and rarely adhered to so why even have them.


In theory, lane splitting was to filter smaller, thinner vehicles past long lines of slow or halted traffic, thus relieving congestion.

What I see are bikers zooming around on freeways that are already moving at or above the posted speed, because they can - not because they need to. The intent of the law might have looked good on paper, but its application is something totally different.


You and I wiil each ride to our own definitions of safety and a positive image to the non-riding public, and no worries.

Have a nice day. :wave
 
While your suggested 'solution of staying out of CA' sounds reasonable to you, doesn't work for me. I have relation in CA and a desire to visit them, so their invitations trump your dismissal.

As for how I view lane splitting, I consider it at the very least, an aggressive method of operation, with personal observations that the "tips' and 'guidelines' a joke and rarely adhered to so why even have them.


In theory, lane splitting was to filter smaller, thinner vehicles past long lines of slow or halted traffic, thus relieving congestion.

What I see are bikers zooming around on freeways that are already moving at or above the posted speed, because they can - not because they need to. The intent of the law might have looked good on paper, but its application is something totally different.


You and I wiil each ride to our own definitions of safety and a positive image to the non-riding public, and no worries.

Have a nice day. :wave

Well, in Ca., the cars were moving over to allow the bikes to move through, as they are by law supposed to do. There was no sign of a negative image or positive image from Ca. drivers, having an understanding of that law, they parted like the red sea. Sometimes 10-12 cars ahead were already moving out of the way for the lane splitter/s. Seemed to me, that wasn't a negative image in any stretch of the imagination.

Personally, I'd never done that before, but those two leo's led the way, and I kept up till they pulled off an exit and I continued on for another near hour leaving the LA basin in heavy traffic. If I'm in a cage, I'll move over and give a bike the room if they are lane splitting. Now, image, that's an interesting play on personal opinion of lane splitting, because there are a LOT of motorcycles in Ca. lane splitting. That suggests it's common enough to have been accepted by cagers as law.

Now, what you may be describing isn't actually lane splittng at all. Maybe it's beyond the letter and spirit of the law and what you're observing is illegal, but has been simply misread as lane splitting.

You still have the choice of not going to LA. You also have the choice to allow your BP to rise over it or just accept the fact it's law, and lane splitting is allowed.
 
Lane splitting

Finest example of lane splitting I have seen, in Budapest on bridge crossing the Danube 4 lanes of traffic with motorcycles lane splitting opposing lanes of traffic in that bit of space between opposing lanes motorcycles lane splitting were were also going both ways.
 
As for how I view lane splitting, I consider it at the very least, an aggressive method of operation,

You say that as if it was a bad thing. Motorcycles are about as far as one gets from passive. By their very nature they're faster than all but the slowest of cars. The disadvantages of a lack of protection from the elements, gravity and other vehicles, are more than compensated for by the mobility, freedom, and ability to fit into smaller spaces than a car.

with personal observations that the "tips' and 'guidelines' a joke and rarely adhered to so why even have them.

It seems to me that no matter how many times you get corrected, (and it's been a couple of time in just this thread) you hang onto the "tips and guidelines" issued by the CHP, as if they were in fact, laws, and therefor enforceable. Once more, they're not. "Tips and guidelines" are just that. People ARE NOT REQUIRED to "adhere" to them.

They have the same effect as a recommendation that you 'get the beef for dinner.' You are still free to order, the pork, the fish, the pasta or anything else that appeals to you. They have the same effect as "advisory signs" in most states. Those are the signs that have bene placed for example, before entering turns on a mountain road. They show an arrow, indicating the direction of the turn, and an ADVISORY SPEED. In most states, that's just a recommendation and is not enforceable. That's the form that the CA "tips and guidelines" on lane splitting take. Your hang‒up on this, especially for a LEO, is very strange.

If an LEO thinks that a rider is riding in an unsafe manner, he's free to stop and cite that rider, even if he's riding UNDER the speeds and speed differential described in the "tips and guidelines."

In theory, lane splitting was to filter smaller, thinner vehicles past long lines of slow or halted traffic, thus relieving congestion.

Yes, I'll agree with this, adding that it reduces congestion for all, and makes it much safer for the motorcyclist.

What I see are bikers zooming around on freeways that are already moving at or above the posted speed, because they can - not because they need to.


I have no idea how "not because they need to" enters into this discussion. People ride bikes because they want to, "not because they need to." For most of us anyway.

The intent of the law might have looked good on paper, but its application is something totally different.

As someone who's been lane splitting in CA for over 55 years, I can tell you that "the application" is working quite well. The fact that you are so concerned about a few, a very few, bikers who exceed the "tips and guidelines" is 'interesting.' But it makes no sense to oppose it because in your very limited experience you've seen some bikers who exceeded the "tips and guidelines" established by the CHP. Might as well outlaw motorcycles completely because some riders speed, run from the police, do wheelies on surface streets, and otherwise behave badly.

You and I wiil each ride to our own definitions of safety and a positive image to the non-riding public, and no worries.

I get to lane split whenever I want. You, OTOH can't unless you're working and are taking some enforcement action. Even if you wanted to lane split, where you live, it might get you a ticket. So even if your "definition of safety and a positive image to the non-riding public" included lane splitting, you don't have the choice. I think that the only reason that it's of any concern "to the non-riding public" is that they're ignorant of the advantages to them. In such an environment, it takes quite a bit of education before they'll get it.
 
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