Poll: Should Motorcyclists be Allowed to 'Split Lanes' in CA?
Some drivers criticize the practice, and many don't know it's legal in California. Where do you stand?- By Cody Kitaura
- Email the author
- January 17, 2013
California is the only place in
the country drivers will see motorcyclists squeezing through tiny gaps in
traffic and not have to wonder if those riders will get a ticket moments
later.
It's the only state where "lane splitting," or the practice of riding between
two cars, is legal (The CHP
says so on its website).
Three motorcyclists go on a 14-minute defense of the practice in a webisode of "RideApart" that was posted last week.
"It's safer, it's more responsible," motorcycle journalist Wes Siler says in the video. "On a motorcycle, we don't have crumple zones. We don't have this built in safety, so we have to take control of that ourselves."
He cites a study that says lane-splitting is safer than sitting in traffic because it reduces the risk of being rear-ended by a car.
"[A person in a car] can be a bad driver all she wants," he says. "It's my job not to let her run into me."
Nearly 10,000 voters in a poll on autoblog.com were divided on the subject as of Wednesday night, with 50 percent saying they feel it's an unsafe practice and 43 percent saying they agreed with the practice.
I've been riding a motorcycle for about eight years, and never knew this was such a controversial issue. But according to a California Office of Traffic Safety survey from 2012, only 53 percent of drivers know the practice is legal and 7 percent of drivers have tried to prevent it.
--
Readers, where do you stand on this issue? Should California continue to be the sole state to allow lane-splitting by motorcyclists? Vote in the poll below and leave a comment with your thoughts.
Three motorcyclists go on a 14-minute defense of the practice in a webisode of "RideApart" that was posted last week.
"It's safer, it's more responsible," motorcycle journalist Wes Siler says in the video. "On a motorcycle, we don't have crumple zones. We don't have this built in safety, so we have to take control of that ourselves."
He cites a study that says lane-splitting is safer than sitting in traffic because it reduces the risk of being rear-ended by a car.
"[A person in a car] can be a bad driver all she wants," he says. "It's my job not to let her run into me."
Nearly 10,000 voters in a poll on autoblog.com were divided on the subject as of Wednesday night, with 50 percent saying they feel it's an unsafe practice and 43 percent saying they agreed with the practice.
I've been riding a motorcycle for about eight years, and never knew this was such a controversial issue. But according to a California Office of Traffic Safety survey from 2012, only 53 percent of drivers know the practice is legal and 7 percent of drivers have tried to prevent it.
--
Readers, where do you stand on this issue? Should California continue to be the sole state to allow lane-splitting by motorcyclists? Vote in the poll below and leave a comment with your thoughts.