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A Rider’s Perspective on Lane Splitting
Before I get into my thoughts on motorcycle lane splitting, I’ll start off by saying that I used to ride. I owned a Honda CBR600 F4 and a CBR600RR. I rode for about 5 years and loved it every minute of it. I’ve done track days, been to MotoGP events, and even had the pleasure of being at the infamous Isle of Man TT.
The riding community (and online community especially on BARF – Bay Area Riders Forum) has been awesome and the feeling of riding a motorcycle is unlike any other. I’ve since had to sell my 2 bikes in order to save money to buy a house. But still, I love motorcycles and continue to check out bikes and motorcycle-related news to this day.
Careless Motorcycle Riders on my Commute
My commute in the San Francisco Bay Area consists of driving 1-2 hours each way between the Peninsula and the East Bay. Without fail, I see motorcycle riders every single day doing something stupid. You’ve probably heard people complain about motorcycles lane-splitting and how dangerous or annoying it can be. I’ve always done my best to educate people that it is actually legal in California to lane-split and that it can actually be fairly safe if done properly.
What’s frustrating though is the number of riders out there that act dangerously and pull stunts that jeopardize the safety of themselves and others. Now, I’d like to say there there is a healthy community out there of safe riders whose reputation is tainted by the large majority of these other riders. And because of that it’s a terrible thing for the minority of riders who ride responsibly.
Dangerous Practices
I’ve noticed many dangerous practices on a daily basis. I want to point these things out in an effort to advocate for more safe roads out there for everyone. Here are the main dangerous practices that I’ve experienced and how we can make the roads a safer place for everyone.
Riders Lane-splitting Everywhere
The safest place for motorcycle riders to split lanes is between #1 (fastest lane) and #2 (the lane to the right of the fastest lane). This is taught in Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) courses and is a commonly followed norm. However, I see day-in-and-day-out riders splitting down between every lane that is available to them.
Obviously, splitting lanes where the shoulders are, are absolute no-no’s as there is more debris there that could cause them to crash. These areas are for emergency vehicles and for emergency situations. Since the norm is splitting lanes between 1 & 2, drivers will expect motorcycle riders to split down this line (green dotted line in above photo). If riders are splitting down other lanes, it is less likely drivers will expect to see them there and as a result run into them.
Splitting Lanes at the Wrong Time
Splitting lanes is ideal when traffic flow is less than 30mph. It is better when doing so during a traffic jam not just because it’s awesome passing by drivers that are stuck in traffic, but also because lane changes will occur at a slower pace if they are not able to move forward in traffic. This will give you more time to react if a car juts out in front of you. Furthermore, if you’re riding slower, a crash may then be less severe.
If traffic is moving faster than 30 mph though, you really should not be splitting lanes. I see constantly riders who are so impatient that they are not able to ride at full speed, that they are putting themselves at risk splitting lanes even though traffic is moving along at 50mph. I’ve even seen riders splitting lanes when everyone is driving a fairly normal speed of 70-80mph– I’m thinking of a much less severe case of Ghost Rider. Not the cartoon… but Ghost Rider (look up “Ghost Rider Motorcycle” on Youtube if you haven’t already seen it… crazy stuff). Basically, just stop. Be patient and don’t risk your life because you’re not willing to wait just a little bit.
Splitting Lanes when there’s Uneven Traffic Flow
Sometimes, traffic builds up in one lane while there is still traffic moving in the adjacent lane. This could be the case of let’s say there is some hazard up ahead let’s say in the left shoulder, and the fast lane (lane #1) is slowing down almost to a stop. Lane #2 (lane to the right of lane #1) is still moving along swimmingly. I see motorcycle riders who are already splitting lanes between 1 & 2, who continue to split lanes as they are passing cars that are stopped on the left side as well as cars moving along on the right side. Now, this presents a few issues for me:
- First of all, if there is traffic buildup on your left and traffic is moving along on your right side… just move on over to your right and ride in lane #2
- Second, if cars are slowing and stopping in lane #1 (and cars are still moving along in the lanes to the right), then that means there is likely a hazard up ahead and you will probably be encountering it soon. You’re also not going to be a good spot (in between lanes) to see the hazard and to react accordingly.
- Finally and most importantly, you are going to have impatient drivers who are going to be merging from lane #1 (that is slowed or stopped) into lane #2. Guess what? You’re in-between those two lanes, so someone is going to pull out and hit you. From what we’ve all seen, people who are sitting impatiently in a slow lane and make a lane change to the faster lane will usually do it in a haphazardly-quick manner. I just cringe when I think of this potentially happening.
Drivers’ Reactions to Passing Motorcyclists
This one is more geared toward drivers who are reacting to motorcycle riders splitting lanes. What I see is as a motorcycle rider is lane-splitting and is approaching some driver, the driver will see them coming and swerve out of the way to let them pass. A majority of the time, the motorcyclist will notice this and will give a “thanks” gesture to them. Now, I can only speculate a couple of things:
- The driver may be a fellow rider and wants to give the rider plenty of room to pass…
- The driver simply wants to be nice and wants to ensure that the lane splitter can see that they’ve moved out of the way for them.
- The rider normally has enough room to split lanes, but when cars move out of the way for them in the fashion I described above, they feel like they should acknowledge them for making this effort.
This type of behavior is unnecessary as I would say that 99% of the time, motorcycles already have enough room to pass. What if there was another motorcycle rider or even a car let’s say that was on the other side of said driver. When they swerve their car out of the path of the motorcyclist, they could potentially hit someone else. Adding to that, it is generally unsafe for any sudden movements when operating a vehicle. It doesn’t give other drivers/riders enough time to react to your sudden movements.
If you want to give the motorcycle rider a little space when they’re lane-splitting, gradually scoot over a few inches. There’s no need to suddenly swerve your car over a few feet potentially ramming yourself into some unsuspecting person please.
Lane Splitting: Safe or Dangerous?
Lane splitting for motorcycles can be safe, but it’s not going to happen if riders continue to perform unsafe lane-splitting techniques. If all of us drivers and riders have a common mindset surrounding the issues I mentioned above, we can start seeing some improvements. The bad stigma of motorcycle riders exists in large part because the opinion of riders are based on the negligent actions made by motorcyclists.
In California (and other states that don’t necessarily have a lane-splitting law), one of the biggest annoyances is due to lane-splitting. My belief is that if majority of riders do it properly and safely, there would not be as bad of a reputation of motorcycle riders as there is today. Now, there are many other things that contribute to the opinions on motorcycle riders, but we have to start somewhere.
For you riders out there: ride safe, ride smart, and still have fun out there. You’ll always need to ride defensively as there are always cagers out there to get you. But please, follow safe lane-splitting techniques and get home safely.
