Utah legalizes lane-splitting for Motorcycles

[Tom]

Looks like Utah will experiment with filtering for motorcycles in congested traffic.    Hawaii's proposed law got shut down before it could make it out of committee. 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a26945074/utah-legalizes-lanesplitting/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_pop&utm_medium=email&date=032819&src=nl&utm_campaign=16412068

[twowheeladdict]

Hopefully now they get the word out to the cagers so they don't go road rage on the motorcyclists. 

[Tom]

Yeah.  There should be a number of PSA's and public notices notifying everyone.   

[PhilB]

This is a good thing.  There are very few things I miss about CA, after moving away 8 years ago, but lanesplitting is one of those things.

PSAs and publicity would, of course be helpful and should be done.
However, contrary to popular opinion, very few people are actually homicidal.
They'll learn and get used to it.  It is allowed, and works fine, in pretty much every country in the world except ours.

PhilB

[twowheeladdict]

This is a good thing.  There are very few things I miss about CA, after moving away 8 years ago, but lanesplitting is one of those things.

PSAs and publicity would, of course be helpful and should be done.
However, contrary to popular opinion, very few people are actually homicidal.
They'll learn and get used to it.  It is allowed, and works fine, in pretty much every country in the world except ours.

PhilB

When I illegally filtered through stopped cars at lights in Florida I would have people try and block me, but fortunately people stop to close to the car in front of them (forgetting their driver training) and can't move far enough over to actually block me.  Some would yell, some would open their door a little.  It is amazing the jealousy that ensues when people think someone is "Cutting in line".

[BrotherJim]

Not sure that I would filter, legal or not.  Folk just seem to go absolutely primal behind the wheel if they feel slighted.  Only time I even came close to filtering was a couple of years ago at Vintage Days - Mid Ohio.  There was a traffic jam of golf carts and UTVs heading towards the paddock area, so I just scooted right along on my FA50.  Some protested, but FCOL, this was a motorcycle event! 

[yogidozer]

Not sure that I would filter, legal or not.  Folk just seem to go absolutely primal behind the wheel if they feel slighted.  Only time I even came close to filtering was a couple of years ago at Vintage Days - Mid Ohio.  There was a traffic jam of golf carts and UTVs heading towards the paddock area, so I just scooted right along on my FA50.  Some protested, but FCOL, this was a motorcycle event!

I'm with you on that. Too many angry people behind the wheel. I do most of my riding in rural areas anyway.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 American drivers still live with the vigilante code in their heads.
 If the law won't stop it, " I will".  If the biker gets hurt, well he shouldn't have been doing that anyway.  The fact that it may be legal doesn't enter Into their thick heads.  Their attitude is, " It may be legal but it shouldn't be." and that is what they will plea if they end up in court.

[Tom]

Seems filtering is a bigger problem to motorists.  The law change in Hawaii would have been for motorcyclists to use the shoulder/bike lane only when traffic is backed up.

[Rick in WNY]

I live in Upstate NY... and I have sorta filtered once. But, that was a very specific situation.

Mid August, 90+ degrees out, and I'm cruising down I-86. Accident ahead. Both lanes stopped up. I stop. I sit. I wait. I shut my bike off. after 10 minutes and not moving an inch... my very well vented Tourmaster jacket is turning into a Tourmaster crock-pot...

It's just over a mile to the next exit. I fire my bike up and start rolling down the shoulder at 5-10 mph. The wreck was at the on-ramp on the other side of the interchange. Cop is there, trying to get people moving. He sees me. I kick my RH blinker on, indicating I'd like to go down the ramp. He starts waving me to come closer. I do, then he holds up a hand for me to stop. I do that too. He asks what I'm doing and I reply "Trying to not pass out from heat stroke, officer." He smiles, waves me down the off-ramp, and I start to get a cooling breeze through my vents again. Ahhhhh!!!!

Filtering, Lane Splitting, Lane Sharing, whatever you want to call it, it's been a benefit to everyone where it's been allowed. Should be a universal thing, but of well.... one state at a time.

[Tom]

When in NYC.  I lane split.  I don't care if it's illegal especially going over the GWB.

[Thirtyaughtsix]

How would one even get the ball rolling in their own state?

[blackcat]

When in NYC.  I lane split.  I don't care if it's illegal especially going over the GWB.

I do it all the time unless there is one of NY’sFinest nearby in a highway patrol car with tag reader cameras all over the vehicle. Especially in the spring.

[wirespokes]

I lived in LA for four years in the late 90s and loved lane splitting. The one time I drove, traffic backed up and the trip took an hour or two longer.

The CA cops say it's safer to lane split as there's less chance of being sandwiched in a rear ender.

The lane splitting law has been presented here in Oregon several times, but of course got shot down. We're also maybe the only state that can't pump our own gas - except for motorcyclists. Go figure

[Tom]

It creates jobs because we're too incompetent to pump our own

[PhilB]

I lived in LA for four years in the late 90s and loved lane splitting. The one time I drove, traffic backed up and the trip took an hour or two longer.

The CA cops say it's safer to lane split as there's less chance of being sandwiched in a rear ender.

The lane splitting law has been presented here in Oregon several times, but of course got shot down. We're also maybe the only state that can't pump our own gas - except for motorcyclists. Go figure

New Jersey is the other state where you may not pump your own gas.  In Oregon, the "reasoning" is that it's a pollution measure -- they say people tend to overfill, or "top off" their tanks, which causes spillage, and thus air pollution.  Having trained attendants is supposed to prevent this.  However, the last time I drove a car in Oregon, I got gas there twice, and in one case the attendant asked if I wanted him to top off the tank, and the other case the attendant did it without asking.  Yay for government "solutions".

PhilB

[larrys]

I read a study years ago about the mindset people get into when they get behind the wheel. Many go into "hunter/predator" mode. Heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rates are elevated. They're just spoiling for a fight, and they don't consciously know it... Them's the ones that will open their door to mess with you, not even thinking about the consequences. I'll hit the breakdown lane to get around a traffic jam, but I'll go slow, on full alert, head on a swivel...
Larry

[Chuck in Indiana]

Lane splitting is a wonderful thing.. in California. It's been around long enough that people expect you to do it, and many will move over and give you room to get by. You'd get shot in Indiana.

[Tusayan]

Lane splitting is a wonderful thing.. in California. It's been around long enough that people expect you to do it, and many will move over and give you room to get by. You'd get shot in Indiana.

When and where in Indiana would you need to lane split?    The flip side of the lane splitting coin is its accepted and understood mostly in places where the number of cars has completely outstripped capacity, and nobody has done anything about it.  I ride pretty much 100% in places where lane splitting is the norm, I do it without even thinking but sometimes it's nice to rode somewhere where lower population and good road design make it unnecessary 

@larrys, I suspect all my riding is done with some level of hunter/predator instinct in play...  I've called it 'machine mode' before and when you're in it on a motorcycle, I think you're safer and better as a result of focus and lack of emotion.  Like Coyotes hunting rabbits: move decisively, succeed regardless, get it done or go hungry.  That doubtless sounds a bit over dramatic but that detached, focused feeling is part of the reason I ride.

[Darren Williams]

When and where in Indiana would you need to lane split?    The flip side of the lane splitting coin is its accepted and understood mostly in places where the number of cars has completely outstripped capacity, and nobody has done anything about it.  I ride pretty much 100% in places where lane splitting is the norm, I do it without even thinking but sometimes it's nice to rode somewhere where lower population and good road design make it unnecessary 

@larrys, I suspect all my riding is done with some level of hunter/predator instinct in play...  I've called it 'machine mode' before and when you're in it on a motorcycle, I think you're safer and better as a result of focus and lack of emotion.  Like Coyotes hunting rabbits: move decisively, succeed regardless, get it done or go hungry.  That doubtless sounds a bit over dramatic but that detached, focused feeling is part of the reason I ride.

To educate the public, motorcycles in non lane-splitting states should all have a sign on back that reads "If lane-splitting were legal, I wouldn't be here and you could move up".

[Ratso88]

So yeah, I lane split in Indiana. Specifically 38th Street trying to get on the 465 mid afternoon sunny, hot and humid. Some people honk, no big deal.
In California I've had people move to cut me off, open doors etc. Now, intentionally hitting or causing someone to hit your vehicle would be assault. Vehicles in this case become deadly weapons, so it becomes a felony with real prison time. Maybe that should be the Public Service Announcement for all the Hunter/Predator types out there. Couple trials with media coverage will have a chilling effect on Road Rage.

I'm not sure if the general public feels they are having something taken away from them or that someone else is getting something they're not.

I suppose that we could all ride motorcycles and all lane share all the time