Q: Mike Garcia of Homeland asked why motorcycle lane-splitting is legal in California but not in any other state in the country.
A: California is indeed the only state where motorcycle lane-splitting is legal, basically without restrictions (Utah and Montana have laws allowing this driving behavior under certain, highly restricted conditions and they call it “lane filtering”).Why? California recognizes lane-splitting as a tool to decrease traffic congestion, and the volume of freeway traffic here is higher than in most other states. The reason: If you’re driving a motorcycle and lane-splitting, then your motorcycle isn’t occupying a vehicle space on the freeway because you’re driving between lanes or sharing a lane with another vehicle. In other words, allowing motorcycles to lane-split cuts down on the number of vehicles in a freeway lane, so there’s less traffic congestion for all drivers. In states with less freeway traffic, lane-splitting doesn’t need to be legal.
Proponents of legal lane-splitting also note a study conducted in 2015 by UC Berkeley that found lane-splitting isn’t as dangerous to motorcyclists as people think, under certain conditions. “An analysis conducted by researchers from UC Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center found that lane-splitting is relatively safe 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,” reported the UC Berkeley News. The study also found that compared with other motorcyclists, those who lane-split were more likely to ride on weekdays and during commute hours, use better helmets, and drive slower, and they were less likely to have been drinking alcohol. So, those lane-splitting motorcyclists are generally the safer drivers among their peers.
With safety in mind, the California Highway Patrol wrote educational safety guidelines for lane-splitting after the passage of Assembly Bill 51, which became law on Jan. 1, 2017 and formally defined legal lane-splitting in California. Vehicle drivers should be aware that it’s illegal to intentionally block or impede a motorcyclist in any way that could injure the rider, and opening a vehicle door to impede a motorcyclist is illegal as well.
The CHP’s lane-splitting safety tips can be found on its website at https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety.
Concerned resident
On the Road would like to share some thoughtful observations from Bryan Anderson, a Riverside resident who read with interest our recent article on how traffic on the 91 commuter lanes now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, and whose sentiments are likely shared by many commuters and followers. Anderson said he hopes Inland Empire policymakers will take note:
“During the pandemic, I hate to say this, but it was the greatest time to drive around Southern California, maybe in the history of the state. When the restrictions started to get lifted and more people were moving from ‘working from home’ to going back to the office, things started to change. I would say mid-summer (around July-August) I started to see traffic becoming more and more especially around rush hour.
“With the increase of housing prices, rent and properties on the rise, you would think there would be a mass exodus of people leaving Southern California/the Inland Empire, but it seems the reverse. I’ve noticed more housing development, more people moving into apartments, and the one demographic no one seems to talk about, the rise of the elderly moving into senior living apartments.
“What I don’t understand is why isn’t there more emphasis on infrastructure, especially road maintenance, road expansion, and other means of transportation? All I see are more houses and warehouses being built without the compensation of a sound foundation toward infrastructure, specifically, roads and freeways.
“The amount of commercial/industry trucks on the roads/freeways is obscene. It seems there are warehouses everywhere now, which now defines the Inland Empire. We have become the stockpile for all goods, products and supplies for the entire Southern California. Unless politicians, local/state government, and businesses all get together and tackle this, the Inland Empire will become a giant parking lot for cars.” We thank our reader for sharing his comments.
Finally, if you are celebrating the holidays in the coming weeks in Riverside, be aware that through New Year’s Day, the Riverside Police Department will have additional officers on patrol looking for drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, drugs and prescription medications. This extra enforcement effort is part of a national campaign called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Plan ahead for the holidays if you are attending parties or gatherings and have a designated driver, or use a car service like Lyft or Uber to stay safe.
Do you commute to work in the Inland Empire? Spend a lot of time in your vehicle? Have questions about driving, freeways, toll roads or parking? If so, write or call On the Road and we’ll try to answer your questions. Please include your question or issue, name, city of residence, phone number and email address. Write ontheroad@pressenterprise.com or call 951-368-9670.
Editor’s note: This column has been updated to include the fact that Utah and Montana have laws similar to lane-splitting and allow the driving behavior under certain, highly restricted conditions. The states call it “lane filtering.”
