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

Well, in Ca., the cars were moving over to allow the bikes to move through, as they are by law supposed to do.

I've had this, or similar discussions with Greenwald before. Back then, I mentioned that on freeway rides that last longer than an hour, during which I've been lane splitting, that I wave "thanks" to so many drivers who pull to the other side of the lane to let me pass, that my arm gets tired.

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.

We've also discussed this phenomena. I've said that if lane splitting was to be made legal elsewhere, that it would take lots of education in the form of PSAs, brochures, flyers in mailings from the DMVs. People need to be educated that the bikers are not 'cutting in line' in front of them, that actually, they're allowing those in cars to move forward a bike length.

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.

The 'magic' you feel when first lane splitting, after riding in a state that does not permit it, is a fantastic sensation. It rivals the freedom that many feel the first time they ride a motorcycle.

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.

Some people are against others having fun. Some people in positions of power pass laws to restrict this. Some oppose the passage of laws that permit it. Greenwald seems to be in agreement with these groups.

Elsewhere I've written about a moderately lengthy trip that I just returned from. It covered 18 states. As soon as I left CA, I could no longer legally lane split. In MO I took an exit off the freeway, and was stuck at the end of a line of trucks that extended all the way up the off ramp, such that I was hanging out into the traffic lane with cars flying past me at 70 mph, while I was stopped behind a semi trailer. I quickly said F this and hit the split between vehicles, moving out of that lethal area. Being struck from behind at those speeds was probably not survivable.

In Louisiana, there was a large traffic jam and I was forced to ride in traffic for over an hour. I dutifully stayed in traffic, but my clutch hand was starting to cramp, just as traffic opened up. A couple of times I saw that the driver behind me was on his phone, both talking on it while holding it to his ear or either texting, looking at a map program, reading email, or something along those lines. I pulled to the left shoulder and let him pass. The next driver, behind him was much better.

Not being allowed to lane split, put me at great risk in both of these situations. If I lived somewhere that lane splitting wasn't legal, I'd be part of a group to see that it was legalized. It's legal in most of the world and speeds motorcyclists on their way, reducing traffic congestion, and making bikers safer than they would be if they were sitting in traffic.

For those who haven't read all the messages ‒ earlier in this discussion I wrote this.
The most recent study that I've seen comes from the Safe Transportation Research & Education Center, University of California, Berkeley, and was done in 2015. They studied almost 6,000 motorcycle accidents. About 1,000 of there were LSM (lane splitting motorcyclists). Here's a comment from the Abstract.
Lane-splitting appears to be a relatively safe motorcycle riding strategy if done in traffic moving at 50 MPH or less and if motorcyclists do not exceed the speed of other vehicles by more than 15 MPH. A significant number of motorcyclists lane-split in fast-moving traffic or at excessive speed differentials. These riders could lower their risk of injury by restricting the environments in which they lane-split and by reducing their speed differential when they do choose to lanesplit. [Emphasis is mine]
http://www.ots.ca.gov/pdf/Publications/Motorcycle-Lane-Splitting-and-Safety-2015.pdf
 
As (un)interesting this thread is(‘nt), I continue to be disappointed that we are stuck looking down at our case guards yammering on about how great/horrible lane splitting is. While the rest of the world is trying to figure out how we transition from zero autonomy vehicles (you drive it) to fully autonomous vehicles the BMW MOA is missing out on our (individual and BMW MOA/and Foundation) chance to participate in defining how that transition goes and what the ridding world will look like in the future.

Fully autonomous vehicles are in the future. What they look like, how they function and interact with the world around them is being decided now. In very broad headings the outcome will be determined by the dynamic development of infrastructure, regulations/laws, and technology. The development of one affects the other.

Fully autonomous vehicles have infrastructure planners thinking about what a lane is, how wide does it need to be, how many vehicles will it move v what a lane does now, and as a result how many lanes do I need to move traffic? This discussion is going on now in Fly-Over-Land. Local governments and planners are thinking out into the future for how we are building roads now.

The technology side holds the dream of accident-free transportation. How much of a reality or dream that is is dependent on the technology being able to understand the rules for the cars, other vehicles, non-autonomous vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists etc. The future development work is highly dependent on the current infrastructure and regulation development being done now.

What lane splitting means now is not what many of these developers see in the future. In some urban planning discussions, motorcycles may not share lanes with autonomous cars but be moved into bus lanes and in same cases lane sharing with bicyclists.

Go back and read the law from the original post and look at subsection C.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB51

Lane splitting is a worldwide phenomenon, not just a Cali - Fly-Over-Land provincial thing. California is the US home to technology firms developing autonomous vehicle technology and the most motorcyclists/lane splitters in our country. What they develop is the issue.

BMW AG is a serious player in the development of autonomous vehicles including motorcycles. The recent self-driving motorcycle announced is the latest in the development line of motorcycles that talk with cars, self-balance and more. The development of these cars and motorcycles will continue and eventually make it to the road. I may not buy one but I want them to recognize my Luddite Roadster as a motorcycle and not something else.

Subsection C 4) is where I wish the MOA and the Foundation were spending its time.

(c) In developing guidelines pursuant to this section, the department shall consult with agencies and organizations with an interest in road safety and motorcyclist behavior, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The Department of Motor Vehicles.
(2) The Department of Transportation.
(3) The Office of Traffic Safety.
(4) A motorcycle organization focused on motorcyclist safety.[/b]

Why aren’t we (BMW MOA and the Foundation) working with groups like the legislature of California, BMW AG by way of our membership in the International BMW Club, and other settings to develop the infrastructure, technology and regulations/laws of the future ridding world?

Trying to convert either side in this thread is a fool's errand even a knight-errant like Don Quixote would take up. Yet that is what we appear to be about.
 
Agree with Mika, this thread has degraded quite a bit... Can we get away from personal sniping and stick with actual facts?

And speaking of which: the law does say that it is illegal to impede the progress of a 'splitter, but I don't recall seeing anything that says that cars are actually "required" to move out of our way - often, traffic conditions really won't allow that (construction, or narrow lanes in some places, like the Harbor Freeway 110 southbound just south of downtown L.A. is a great example, and there are a few choke points on the San Diego Freeway 405 southbound, southwest of L.A.) - Anybody want to point me to that phrase in the statutes?

In my own experience, cars usually move out of recognition and politeness (it looks like a cop bike, and I have a headlight modulator...), and they certainly move for the Motor Officers because because they don't want the red 'n' blinkies on them - I've seen them occasionally beep or flash a car so they could get through, and I've even been beeped too (first thought is "What did I do now??") to let them pass me.
 
Agree with Mika, this thread has degraded quite a bit... Can we get away from personal sniping and stick with actual facts?

And speaking of which: the law does say that it is illegal to impede the progress of a 'splitter, but I don't recall seeing anything that says that cars are actually "required" to move out of our way - often, traffic conditions really won't allow that (construction, or narrow lanes in some places, like the Harbor Freeway 110 southbound just south of downtown L.A. is a great example, and there are a few choke points on the San Diego Freeway 405 southbound, southwest of L.A.) - Anybody want to point me to that phrase in the statutes?

In my own experience, cars usually move out of recognition and politeness (it looks like a cop bike, and I have a headlight modulator...), and they certainly move for the Motor Officers because because they don't want the red 'n' blinkies on them - I've seen them occasionally beep or flash a car so they could get through, and I've even been beeped too (first thought is "What did I do now??") to let them pass me.


:thumb
 
As (un)interesting this thread is(‘nt), I continue to be disappointed that we are stuck looking down at our case guards yammering on about how great/horrible lane splitting is. While the rest of the world is trying to figure out how we transition from zero autonomy vehicles (you drive it) to fully autonomous vehicles the BMW MOA is missing out on our (individual and BMW MOA/and Foundation) chance to participate in defining how that transition goes and what the ridding world will look like in the future.

Fully autonomous vehicles are in the future. What they look like, how they function and interact with the world around them is being decided now. In very broad headings the outcome will be determined by the dynamic development of infrastructure, regulations/laws, and technology. The development of one affects the other.

Fully autonomous vehicles have infrastructure planners thinking about what a lane is, how wide does it need to be, how many vehicles will it move v what a lane does now, and as a result how many lanes do I need to move traffic? This discussion is going on now in Fly-Over-Land. Local governments and planners are thinking out into the future for how we are building roads now.

The technology side holds the dream of accident-free transportation. How much of a reality or dream that is is dependent on the technology being able to understand the rules for the cars, other vehicles, non-autonomous vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists etc. The future development work is highly dependent on the current infrastructure and regulation development being done now.

What lane splitting means now is not what many of these developers see in the future. In some urban planning discussions, motorcycles may not share lanes with autonomous cars but be moved into bus lanes and in same cases lane sharing with bicyclists.

Go back and read the law from the original post and look at subsection C.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB51

Lane splitting is a worldwide phenomenon, not just a Cali - Fly-Over-Land provincial thing. California is the US home to technology firms developing autonomous vehicle technology and the most motorcyclists/lane splitters in our country. What they develop is the issue.

BMW AG is a serious player in the development of autonomous vehicles including motorcycles. The recent self-driving motorcycle announced is the latest in the development line of motorcycles that talk with cars, self-balance and more. The development of these cars and motorcycles will continue and eventually make it to the road. I may not buy one but I want them to recognize my Luddite Roadster as a motorcycle and not something else.

Subsection C 4) is where I wish the MOA and the Foundation were spending its time.

(c) In developing guidelines pursuant to this section, the department shall consult with agencies and organizations with an interest in road safety and motorcyclist behavior, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The Department of Motor Vehicles.
(2) The Department of Transportation.
(3) The Office of Traffic Safety.
(4) A motorcycle organization focused on motorcyclist safety.[/b]

Why aren’t we (BMW MOA and the Foundation) working with groups like the legislature of California, BMW AG by way of our membership in the International BMW Club, and other settings to develop the infrastructure, technology and regulations/laws of the future ridding world?

Trying to convert either side in this thread is a fool's errand even a knight-errant like Don Quixote would take up. Yet that is what we appear to be about.


Mika - You raise some interesting scenarios.

Personally, I don't think this 'push to autonomous transportation' is going very well. Seems like it's being rushed to market, albeit still in the testing phase, and not doing well.

Seems the same has been true for many computer operating systems, constantly in need of patches, updates and fixes. And 'speech recognition' software. Woefully lacking in efficiency, yet we're forced to argue with it every day.

I remember enjoying Arthur C. Clarke's Profiles of the Future, where he prophesized so many innovations, medical advances, exploration, colonization and progress in our social structures - and yet, here we are in 2018, and much of what was in that book has failed to come to pass. Not his fault, per se - he was just a bit too optimistic a visionary.

I think calling "lane splitting a worldwide phenomenon" is giving it a bit too much credit. In hopelessly crowded urban areas around the world, where scooters and low-to-moderate cc motorcycles are numerous due to cost, gas efficiency, high fuel costs and vehicle-ownership being too expensive for the masses, lane splitting evolved for those reasons.

I think we are generations away from autonomous transportation being the norm, if for no other reason than we barely keep our aging infrastructure manageable as is - a redesign is financially a long way off. I hope so - where is the fun in that?!

Enjoy the present - especially on two wheels! :thumb
 
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I think calling "lane splitting a worldwide phenomenon" is giving it a bit too much credit.


I certainly don't. It's done in most of Europe and Asia and works quite well to reduce congestion. Imagine if thousands of bikes were suddenly required to ride in traffic lanes, instead of riding in the splits, completely removing themselves from the traffic lanes. Traffic would quickly come to a standstill.

In hopelessly crowded urban areas around the world, where scooters and low-to-moderate cc motorcycles are numerous due to cost, gas efficiency, high fuel costs and vehicle-ownership being too expensive for the masses, lane splitting evolved for those reasons.

NONE of those reasons are responsible for the existence of lane splitting in California, or for the push to legalize it in several states. It's completely irrelevant.

Your apparent reason for opposing lane splitting in the US, because some riders exceed the "tips and guidelines" issued by the CHP, makes no sense. MANY drivers and riders exceed speed limits, even though they're clearly posted and ARE enforceable. The "tips and guidelines" are just that, SUGGESTIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS. They're NOT enforceable, yet the reason that you've given that you oppose lane splitting is because, in your very limited experience, some riders exceeded them. Completely illogical, it seems to me.

As to the "sniping," that suddenly you oppose, had you not started it in the revival of this thread, we'd probably not have it. Your first post contains at least two snide comments aimed at another member, that set the tone for what came after.
 
Lane Splitting: Here is what I have known for at least three years. Kevin doesn't like it and thinks it is dangerous and irresponsible. Many California riders like it, do it, and think it is better than being rear ended by dolts in traffic. I tried it on one ride in 1999 when visiting California and following a local rider from his house to the start of the Iron Butt Rally. It scared me because I was not at all used to it. I did it once in Spain following a BMW staffer to the race track from the hotel at the press launch for the K1200R. It scared me because I wasn't at all used to it but at least 10 bikes did it as we headed to the track.

My takeaway: if you have done or do it a lot it seems OK. If you do it once or twice it is scary. If you don't do it you probably don't like it. It is legal in California. Not just not illegal. Legal, as in the law specifically says it is OK. So, "when in Rome" ...
 
The important take away for me is to live and ride as much as possible in locations where there is no need to lane split, legal or not.

If I were to find myself in California and in heavy traffic, then I doubt I would lane split. If I lived in California again and lived where there is heavy traffic, then I likely would lane split.
 
The important take away for me is to live and ride as much as possible in locations where there is no need to lane split, legal or not.

If I were to find myself in California and in heavy traffic, then I doubt I would lane split. If I lived in California again and lived where there is heavy traffic, then I likely would lane split.

:thumb I agree. I live 53 miles out of a town of 6,000 people. It is 53 miles to a grocery store, 25 miles to a gas pump, 125 miles to a Walmart, 200 miles to a mall, and 400 + miles to a BMW dealer, and we like it that way. I can ride to town on a 2 lane road with a 70 mph speed limit and maybe meet five vehicles. I would never again live where lane splitting seemed an option. Even when I worked in the Kansas City Metro lane splitting was not needed because I took the 2 lane back roads to work. Those who live any place lane splitting might be useful have my sincere condolences.
 
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In the last 10 months I have ridden home from work over 180 times conservatively. All but maybe 5 of those days I split lanes for 10 to 15 minutes continuously along with filtering to up to intersections 3 to 4 times. Today at 2.45pm I filtered through two lights with essentially stopped traffic the entire way. traffic flowed to the last light before the freeway began where I filtered to the light. I then transitioned to the main hwy 1 south which was a parking lot for eight miles and the general mood was a bit edgy. I do not go very fast and its really good practice for bike handling. Over 90% of the people who ride on two wheels as a primary mode of transportation on this planet split lanes and filter. Get over it. Railing against it for any reason is more a fashion statement in that context. Frankly as a new person here it surprised me to see so many words on this. I feel the hot air is better spent convincing people to practice threshold braking and threat assessment. I do!
 
These discussion of lane sharing usually go about the same way. Those of us who have done it for long periods of time are big fans, while some who live in states where it's illegal, who have no experience with it, oppose it. Some in the second group see that it might have advantages, but many vehemently oppose it. sometimes for odd reasons. Here, Greenwald doesn't like that some riders don't abide by the CHP's "tips and guidelines," which he consistently mischaractizes as laws or at least, rules. On another forum, one member opposed it because where he lives "there's no need for it." Coincidentally, I was in his area on a recent trip, and found myself in very slow traffic for about half an hour, where lane splitting would have been quite useful.

Some see no reason for it, they tell us that they don't have the traffic issues that are common in the densely populated areas of CA. But somehow, they overlook the potential for traffic to back up, just about anywhere, anytime, from an accident that blocks several lanes of traffic construction or other road‒closing reason. When that happens, they're forced to sit in traffic, as I was on a recent trip, out of state. As I mentioned, the driver behind me was busy on his phone and I put me at risk for being rear‒ended due to his distraction. Had lane splitting been legal, such a risk would not have been present. On that same trip I was left hanging out in high speed traffic by a backed up off‒ramp. Rather than stay exposed, I broke the law and lane split. My life was worth the low potential for getting a citation. But I'd have done it even if a police car had been right there.

One thing that's seems to consistently be overlooked by those who oppose lane splitting is that when it's legalized, it's NOT mandatory. If you're afraid of it, if you don't like it, if you think it's more dangerous than sitting in traffic, just DON'T DO IT! But the studies support the fact that when done under certain "tips and guidelines" it's SAFER than sitting in traffic.

The level and number of distracted drivers has never been higher. What with more and more mostly‒young drivers taking to the highways while texting, Facebooking, Tweeting, viewing videos, and doing email ‒ it's getting more hazardous for motorcyclists who are easy prey for their inattention while they sit behind the wheel of their two ton, slightly‒guided missiles. Sitting in traffic, waiting to be crushed by one of them, is not for me. A friend of mine lost his leg in such an accident. Perhaps (probably) that's given me more of a push to support lane splitting than most. Apologies if I sometimes come across as a zealot.
 
Mika - You raise some interesting scenarios.

Personally, I don't think this 'push to autonomous transportation' is going very well. Seems like it's being rushed to market, albeit still in the testing phase, and not doing well.

Seems the same has been true for many computer operating systems, constantly in need of patches, updates and fixes. And 'speech recognition' software. Woefully lacking in efficiency, yet we're forced to argue with it every day.

I remember enjoying Arthur C. Clarke's Profiles of the Future, where he prophesized so many innovations, medical advances, exploration, colonization and progress in our social structures - and yet, here we are in 2018, and much of what was in that book has failed to come to pass. Not his fault, per se - he was just a bit too optimistic a visionary.

I think calling "lane splitting a worldwide phenomenon" is giving it a bit too much credit. In hopelessly crowded urban areas around the world, where scooters and low-to-moderate cc motorcycles are numerous due to cost, gas efficiency, high fuel costs and vehicle-ownership being too expensive for the masses, lane splitting evolved for those reasons.

I think we are generations away from autonomous transportation being the norm, if for no other reason than we barely keep our aging infrastructure manageable as is - a redesign is financially a long way off. I hope so - where is the fun in that?!

Enjoy the present - especially on two wheels! :thumb


Warning: The views in this piece of windmill tilting are sinscer but presented purely for the love of discussion and the practice of procrastination. I should be writing a report. The deadline is days away and I don’t like what I need to write; therefore, a bit of fun procrastination is in order.




In baseball if homerun hitters are all you watch you are in for seeing a lot of strikeouts. By doing that you are ignoring the walks, bunts, and base hits that make up the game and final score. Moving across the six stages of autonomous vehicles or developing (or developing computer systems) is an iterative process. This can be frustrating but that is the case when there is a lot of learning going on.

The prophetic dismissal trope always amuses me. Major or minor prophets of the Tanakh, Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas future and futurist writers offer predictions with outcomes based on following a certain path. Explicit or implicit in those predictions is the ability to end up someplace different if you change the path in some way. The changes could be large; however, large long run changes to future outcomes often are the result of small incremental changes altering the path only slightly in the short term but changing the course being tracked with increasing impact the farther you go out.

I see lane splitting as a worldwide phenomenon, non based on some idea of how it evolved; rather, because it is being discussed worldwide as an option to adopt or reject in transportation discussions. In either case I believe developers, transportation planners and governments need the input of riders to come to viable solutions in either case. The input needs to be from proponents of lane splitting, opponents like Kevin, and groups like the MOA and the Foundation.

I don’t know when or if autonomous transportation will be the norm. I am not certain what that means. We are on the front end of the current wave of development. The law of unintended consequences will come into play at various times. Those instances create new issues to deal with.

The law of unanticipated obstacles is playing out now. Legal and financial questions of liability and ownership are being sorted out by insurance companies and companies wanting to be players in the future transportation field.

Infrastructure redesign is constantly going on. Ask any map maker (digital or paper) and they will confirm it. New roads and rebuild old roads can be expensive. Yet much of the infrastructure redesign comes at the cost of paint and signage. Lanes get changed with paint. Two way streets become one way with the change of signs. Lanes are repurposed for bus use or commuter use with the addition of signs and paint. In the process motorcycles might be added to the wording.

New or rebuilt infrastructure is happening. These are being designed now with multiple options considered and available for use over their 15-30 life spans.

Yes enjoy the present - especially on two wheels - and keep your head up to see where you want to go. :wave
 
Warning: The views in this piece of windmill tilting are sinscer but presented purely for the love of discussion and the practice of procrastination. I should be writing a report. The deadline is days away and I don’t like what I need to write; therefore, a bit of fun procrastination is in order.




In baseball if homerun hitters are all you watch you are in for seeing a lot of strikeouts. By doing that you are ignoring the walks, bunts, and base hits that make up the game and final score. Moving across the six stages of autonomous vehicles or developing (or developing computer systems) is an iterative process. This can be frustrating but that is the case when there is a lot of learning going on.

The prophetic dismissal trope always amuses me. Major or minor prophets of the Tanakh, Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas future and futurist writers offer predictions with outcomes based on following a certain path. Explicit or implicit in those predictions is the ability to end up someplace different if you change the path in some way. The changes could be large; however, large long run changes to future outcomes often are the result of small incremental changes altering the path only slightly in the short term but changing the course being tracked with increasing impact the farther you go out.

I see lane splitting as a worldwide phenomenon, non based on some idea of how it evolved; rather, because it is being discussed worldwide as an option to adopt or reject in transportation discussions. In either case I believe developers, transportation planners and governments need the input of riders to come to viable solutions in either case. The input needs to be from proponents of lane splitting, opponents like Kevin, and groups like the MOA and the Foundation.

I don’t know when or if autonomous transportation will be the norm. I am not certain what that means. We are on the front end of the current wave of development. The law of unintended consequences will come into play at various times. Those instances create new issues to deal with.

The law of unanticipated obstacles is playing out now. Legal and financial questions of liability and ownership are being sorted out by insurance companies and companies wanting to be players in the future transportation field.

Infrastructure redesign is constantly going on. Ask any map maker (digital or paper) and they will confirm it. New roads and rebuild old roads can be expensive. Yet much of the infrastructure redesign comes at the cost of paint and signage. Lanes get changed with paint. Two way streets become one way with the change of signs. Lanes are repurposed for bus use or commuter use with the addition of signs and paint. In the process motorcycles might be added to the wording.

New or rebuilt infrastructure is happening. These are being designed now with multiple options considered and available for use over their 15-30 life spans.

Yes enjoy the present - especially on two wheels - and keep your head up to see where you want to go. :wave

Excellent prose for someone who's procrastinating another deadline. LOL

I will consider your words carefully, as they are academically crafted. Perhaps I should be less harsh on an autonomous future, though the pragmatism of 32+ years in 'the trenches' of active transportation problem solving makes that a bit of a challenge.


I hope that motorcycles do not get shoe-horned into a purpose-built lane in the future, but such decisions will most likely be made by individuals who do not ride, as we represent only about 3% of the 'licensed-to-drive' demographic.


If your weather across the border from me is as nice as today, here along the western shores of Lake Michigan (an anomaly of 80+ degrees and a bit of sunshine!), get out and ride on two wheels - it's more fun than writing a report. :thumb
 
Weather - ugh!!!

Rain, flood warnings, more rain forecasted today and tomorrow turning to snain then snow for Thursday. :wave
 
Back in the day (the 60s) I rode in Bangkok, Thailand. We lane split/shared whenever or wherever we wanted. I have a collection of old scars to prove it!

Splitting lanes in California is totally different, and by my long past standards is so much more civilized and safer.

I live in Arizona where lane splitting is illegal so it's not something I do on a regular basis. For me the sheer number of vehicles of every size and shape on CA freeways never ceases to amaze me, and during rush hour traffic it can be a bit intimidating.

On our recent ride to California to meet Mario Andretti at his winery, we lane split on I-680 going north to the I-80 junction. Traffic was moving though very heavy. Then it came to near standstill due to a serious accident. As traffic slowed and came to a 5 or 10 mph crawl, we began moving between the lanes. I'd say we lane split somewhere around 7 miles or more.

It was easy to see who the Californians were and who the out-of-staters were. The Californians would see us coming and give us room. The out-of-staters rarely saw us coming and made no effort to allow us through. Didn't matter. We'd wait a few seconds, traffic would begin moving, and we'd dodge around the out-of-staters.

Riding two up with my wife, I assure you I rarely take any unnecessary chances. Motorcycles splitting lanes in California has become the norm. From my recent (though limited experience) the majority of the drivers are aware and give motorcycles room.

Note: I have lane split in California many times. I graduated from HS in California. I lived in North Hollywood when I got out of the Army back in 70, and got into racing Porches on the Interstates on my Ducati 750. Its like any activity…the more you do it the easier and more comfortable you become with it.
 
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