Quote from Dr. Markus Schramm, head of BMW Motorrad

[MonsieurNiceGuy]

I live in California. People forget that the original reason lane splitting was not made unlawful is because in the early days the vast majority of motorcycles on the road were air cooled. You had to keep moving to keep the motor cool. Of course, as traffic got worse lane splitting became more convenient.

WRT pipes, I don't want my bike to sound like a sewing machine. My wife agrees with me And if you're going to lane split, there is benefit to people hearing you coming.

I got to ask how do y'all lane split with how big our engines are lol

 

[Ulrich]

I do not split lanes ... had a bad experience when I was much younger ... big traffic jam for miles ... I decided to be clever and split the middle ... somebody decided to stretch their legs and opened his door ... it was a mess.

 

[Anibal]

I got to ask how do y'all lane split with how big our engines are lol

I do lane split on my way to London on my Bagger. I only do it on certain places where the traffic halts to a stop or snail pace. I am always scanning the immediate horizon and I even look at the mirrors of the car on front to anticipate some drivers actions. The maximum speed whilst doing this is 30mls/h. In the city streets and roads are fairly narrow so it does not allow for more than that but even if I could I would not, hence when I get an inpatient hairdryer behind me or a Valentino Rossi I move to one side and let them pass. I don’t have loud pipes but I have a Marshall system

 

[Calboy]

Weird how California is the nanny state where lane-splitting is legal, but Texas just outlawed lane-splitting. https://www.rideapart.com/news/685449/texas-outlaws-lane-splitting-filtering/#:~:text=Under%20the%20terms%20of%20this,by%20state%20representative%20Ryan%20Guillen.

Things that make you go:

View attachment 11608

Mike

Lane splitting in Cali is not "legal".
It is just tolerated. Big difference that comes into play once they decide to not tolerate it anymore.
They won't have to do anything but tell the public that started on such and such date lane splitting will no longer be possible.
End of the story. But if you guys only saw the way most of the squids understand lane splitting, you wouldn't hold a grudge if it became not allowed anymore.
And what I meant by squids are the riders between the ages of 20 and 35 that sold their crotch rockets and bought HD after watching too much of the Sons of Anarchy tv series.
Big attitudes and a lot of skid marks in their underwear. Insufferable to the bone.
Funny how a TV set can shape people and turn them into complete idiots.

 

[Rufus]

Thanks for the clarification on what a squid is, I have often wondered.

 

[Anibal]

Lol. speeding quickly until I die is the long phraseology. Although it applies to any rider, it is most commonly associated with sports bikes and younger riders on sports bikes doing silly speeds or stunts. These are the guys that when I see them on my mirrors I always give them a wide berth. Not out of respect or fear but to protect myself against any accident they may cause, dragging me in the process.

 

[moleculo]

Lane splitting in Cali is not "legal".

Sorry, but that statement is just plain wrong.

First, in the entirety of the U.S., unless something explicitly made unlawful, it is by default legal. That's the way the Constitution of the United States of America works. Second, the California Highway Patrol explicitly says lane splitting is legal on their website and they reference the California Vehicle Code:

https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety#:~:text=Lane splitting by motorcyclists is,impede a motorcyclist is illegal.

Facts matter.

 

[moleculo]

I got to ask how do y'all lane split with how big our engines are lol

You do it judiciously, and preferably in the far left carpool lane which tends to be wider than the rest.

 

[Saunders]

Lol. speeding quickly until I die is the long phraseology. Although it applies to any rider, it is most commonly associated with sports bikes and younger riders on sports bikes doing silly speeds or stunts. These are the guys that when I see them on my mirrors I always give them a wide berth. Not out of respect or fear but to protect myself against any accident they may cause, dragging me in the process.

I was coming home from work one night when I saw a single light in my rear view mirror that kept going off and on every ten seconds or so. Thinking it was a loose wire on his headlight, he finally got closer and then passed me around 80 mph doing a wheelie. Each time he did it, his headlight would point straight up in the air out of sight making him momentarily disappear. Not sure if that's bravery, skill, or stupidity.

 

[Anibal]

I was coming home from work one night when I saw a single light in my rear view mirror that kept going off and on every ten seconds or so. Thinking it was a loose wire on his headlight, he finally got closer and then passed me around 80 mph doing a wheelie. Each time he did it, his headlight would point straight up in the air out of sight making him momentarily disappear. Not sure if that's bravery, skill, or stupidity.

Although everyone gets to be young and do silly things sometimes, I don’t think these are skills. I think it is plain immaturity and stupidity. 80mls per hour is a decent speed. Doing a wheelie at that speed, around traffic and night time is plain stupid. Loosing control at that speed could be fatal and the sad thing is that by doing that, he may collide with you , dragging you in the process and potentially causing you serious injuries and the loss of your vehicle on top of the trauma, experience and implications this accident may have on your immediate or long term future.
Like I said, everyone gets to be young but sadly not everyone gets to be old and this is what I wish the younger will learn to appreciate.
Do that kind of stunts in a controlled environment and wearing extra gear to protect yourself against a fall or collision. The public roads are not for that and by doing things like that they are just showing off and endangering their lives and everyone’s around.

 

[Calboy]

Sorry, but that statement is just plain wrong.

First, in the entirety of the U.S., unless something explicitly made unlawful, it is by default legal. That's the way the Constitution of the United States of America works. Second, the California Highway Patrol explicitly says lane splitting is legal on their website and they reference the California Vehicle Code:

https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety#:~:text=Lane splitting by motorcyclists is,impede a motorcyclist is illegal.

Facts matter.

Are you aware that if something bad happens while one's splitting lanes and is caused by a car for example, you, the motorcycle rider, are solely responsible for the outcome?
If somebody in a car opens the door while you're trying to get through, or somebody changes lanes and causes you, the motorcycle rider, to go down, they are not responsible for the outcome, as long as it was not done intentionally.
The motorcycle rider splitting lanes is always the only one responsible in case of an accident because malicious intent in this case is almost impossible to prove in the court of law.
The tolerance towards lane splitting started a long time ago when most motorcycles were air cooled. The traffic in California was, and still is, horrendous most of the time. It was just a way of showing concern about the engines overheating in stop and go traffic, and that's when lane splitting came into play. It is not a law. It is just a goodwill gesture on the part of the police departments in the State of California.
I had lengthy conversations with CHP officers over this subject, and not only, over the years.

 

[Rufus]

Although everyone gets to be young and do silly things sometimes, I don’t think these are skills. I think it is plain immaturity and stupidity. 80mls per hour is a decent speed. Doing a wheelie at that speed, around traffic and night time is plain stupid. Loosing control at that speed could be fatal and the sad thing is that by doing that, he may collide with you , dragging you in the process and potentially causing you serious injuries and the loss of your vehicle on top of the trauma, experience and implications this accident may have on your immediate or long term future.
Like I said, everyone gets to be young but sadly not everyone gets to be old and this is what I wish the younger will learn to appreciate.
Do that kind of stunts in a controlled environment and wearing extra gear to protect yourself against a fall or collision. The public roads are not for that and by doing things like that they are just showing off and endangering their lives and everyone’s around.

Around 20 years or so ago we had a neighbour three doors down, he was heavily into motorbikes and occasionally he would tag along with me and a couple of riders I was friendly with. We were a steady bunch. We had Pan European ST1100’s at the time so you get the idea. He had a streetfightered Blackbird. He would pull wheelies all the time, overtake us doing wheelies, do fast overtakes, peg scrape, weave in and out of cars, everything that could be considered reckless tbh. It really wasn’t enjoyable.

Then one day I came home from work and went past his house/garage. He was there, on crutches. I stopped to speak. He’d binned his bike. Big time. Leg in plaster, arm in plaster. Cuts, bruises. Bike was all bashed up apparently and had to be dragged onto the recovery vehicle. He told me he‘d told the insurance company he’d lost the back end coming out of a petrol station, on a diesel spill or something. I doubt it, more like pulling a wheelie and lost it. Leopards and spots and all that….at least no one else was involved.

We moved house so lost contact but I did hear he never got another bike.

 

[Anibal]

Thank god he did not kill himself or someone else. Bikes can be repaired or replaced but not life. That he never got another bike? That is probably for the best. Maybe the incident scared the living soul out of him and he saw sense.

 

[Noelpolar]

Whilst years ago I did lane split responsibly during my city commute.. these days retired in a sleepy town I only get to lane spilt getting the bike out the garage.... still need to warch for the wife opening a car door though.

 

[Anibal]

 

[MilwDave]

Thank god he did not kill himself or someone else. Bikes can be repaired or replaced but not life. That he never got another bike? That is probably for the best. Maybe the incident scared the living soul out of him and he saw sense.

On Friday a local 21 year old left this world when a car pulled out while he was doing a wheelie at an estimated 105 mph in a 25 mph speed zone.
I just cannot feel any sense of sadness for the rider but I feel for the parents who are friends of one of my acquaintances.

 

[Anibal]

Sad news. A life cut so short in a blink of an eye.

 

[moleculo]

Are you aware that if something bad happens while one's splitting lanes and is caused by a car for example, you, the motorcycle rider, are solely responsible for the outcome?
If somebody in a car opens the door while you're trying to get through, or somebody changes lanes and causes you, the motorcycle rider, to go down, they are not responsible for the outcome, as long as it was not done intentionally.
The motorcycle rider splitting lanes is always the only one responsible in case of an accident because malicious intent in this case is almost impossible to prove in the court of law.
The tolerance towards lane splitting started a long time ago when most motorcycles were air cooled. The traffic in California was, and still is, horrendous most of the time. It was just a way of showing concern about the engines overheating in stop and go traffic, and that's when lane splitting came into play. It is not a law. It is just a goodwill gesture on the part of the police departments in the State of California.
I had lengthy conversations with CHP officers over this subject, and not only, over the years.

None of that as anything to do with the fact that you said lane splitting in California was not legal. Whoever causes an accident is always liable, whether they are riding a motorcycle, car, a bicycle, or a horse.

It is not a law. It is just a goodwill gesture on the part of the police departments in the State of California.

And here again you demonstrate lack of understand about how laws come to exist. LEOs don't write laws. If it is not unlawful, they cannot write you a ticket for it, so it's not "just goodwill". They can only enforce the laws that are on the book. Go back and click on the link I provided to the CHP web page and read it again.

If you don't want to lane split for whatever reason, don't do it. But stop trying to tell everyone that it "is illegal", "is only tolerated", etc. in California because that it just plain misinformation.

 

[Anibal]

In the UK it is legal to lane split or “filtering” as it is most commonly called.
I can’t remember the specifics of the Highway Code but when I took my bike test donkey’s years ago, I recall the instructor encouraged us to filter through traffic when safe to do so at a sensible speed. The police in London also do this and usually are followed by a convoy of fellow bikers commuting to and from work. I am aware that they can give you a ticket if they catch you filtering at silly speeds or doing silly manoeuvres but the ticket won’t be for filtering, it will be for dangerous/reckless driving.

 

[Calboy]

None of that as anything to do with the fact that you said lane splitting in California was not legal. Whoever causes an accident is always liable, whether they are riding a motorcycle, car, a bicycle, or a horse.



And here again you demonstrate lack of understand about how laws come to exist. LEOs don't write laws. If it is not unlawful, they cannot write you a ticket for it, so it's not "just goodwill". They can only enforce the laws that are on the book. Go back and click on the link I provided to the CHP web page and read it again.

If you don't want to lane split for whatever reason, don't do it. But stop trying to tell everyone that it "is illegal", "is only tolerated", etc. in California because that it just plain misinformation.

You just don't know what part to grab.
Once again. If lane splitting in the State of California were legal, then the guy riding the motorcycle would not be liable for being in the wrong place at the wrong time going between two rows of cars.
The law would find the driver of a car, a truck, a horse carriage, etc,guilty for causing the accident, for bumping into the rider, hitting the motorbike from behind, from the side,etc. It would mean that the rider of a motorcycle had the legal right to be where he was -splitting lanes- at the time of the accident. But he didn't have that right because splitting lanes is not legal. It's just tolerated. They say that the riders doing that they do it at their own risk.
That's why a guy splitting lanes is always at fault, and that's because he was not under the protection of the law.

What the CHP website refers to is what I described replying to you original post.
The only time the driver of a car, truck, semi truck, etc, can be punished under the California Law is if he intentionally interfered with the motorbike and therefore causing an accident. That's called intent to cause harm.
You have no idea how many guys in cages flipped me off while riding in the HOV lane between 6-10 am and again between 3-7pm and I didn't know why at the time (a very long time ago)
They had no idea that motorcycles were permitted in the HOV lanes during that time. The reason was that whoever was in charge decided not to use those little signs that read (Motorcycles OK) and saving some dough in the process. True story! And that's the law in California.
If lane splitting was lawful the state would be forced to let the public know about it by posting signs on the freeway. Something like: "Lane Splitting Permitted if Traffic Moves at 35mph or Less". But they haven't done that. The reason? They cant do it because splitting lanes is not legal.
So I don't blame you for not understanding the concept of splitting lanes and dreaming about that something is either lawful or is not. Lane splitting is a perfect example of something that is not written in the law but is perceived as such.
It is a beautiful thing because it's of service to the motorcycle riders community. What a great way to come up with something, that if done right, makes your life a lot easier in a state that holds over 40 million people.
By the way, what state are you calling home?