OFF THE WIRE
By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com
Lane-splitting.
It's a slick maneuver motorcyclists love,
allowing them to cut between slower moving cars and shoot out ahead. Car
drivers, often startled, hate it – calling it brazen and dangerous.
Is
it safe? Is it legal? Hoping to clarify the controversial practice,
California officials have taken the unusual step of issuing a set of
guidelines that affirm the move's legality but point out that there are
only certain instances where it is considered safe.
California is the only state in the country that allows
lane-splitting, also known as "white-lining," where motorcyclists pass
vehicles in adjacent lanes by driving between them.
California
Highway Patrol officials said they've posted the first-ever written
guidelines on their website as part of a broader state highway safety
initiative.
It comes as the number of motorcyclists in California is on the rise, as well as the number of motorcycle crashes.
"There
is a need to acknowledge lane-splitting is being done in California,
and a need to help people understand what is reasonable," said
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Pope. "Until now, no one in authority has said how to do it safely."
The
guidelines say motorcyclists can ride between two cars if there is
room, but must do it at no more than 10 miles per hour faster than the
vehicles they are passing.
The guidelines also make it clear that
motorcyclists should not attempt the maneuver at full freeway speeds, or
in any traffic going 30 mph or faster. That essentially means the
highest speed a motorcyclist should be going when lane-splitting is 39
mph.
CHP officials say lane-splitting is more risky at higher
speeds because motorcyclists have less time to react when something
unexpected happens.
"We are trying to get people to slow down,"
the CHP's Pope said. "A lot are traveling at 40 mph or faster. The
faster you go, the harder it is to stop."
Pope said the guidelines
do not reflect new policy. The CHP has long held that lane-splitting is
legal in California because nothing in the state Vehicle Code specifically prohibits it.
Many
states have explicit prohibitions against lane-splitting. Nevada state
law, for instance, reads, "a person … shall not drive a motorcycle …
between moving or stationary vehicles occupying adjacent traffic lanes."
Oregon,
Washington and Arizona have similar language in their highway codes.
Other states simply consider the maneuver unauthorized, according to the
American Motorcyclist Association's national cycling rules database.
The
practice is common in California. Some 87 percent of California
motorcycle riders reported they lane-split, according to a recent state
Office of Traffic Safety survey. Some motorcyclists call it lane sharing.
It
remains a misunderstood and polarizing practice. The traffic safety
survey found that only 53 percent of California drivers knew
lane-splitting is legal, and 7 percent of drivers admit they have
attempted to block a lane-splitting motorcyclist from passing them.
Several motorcycle activists lauded the guidelines for affirming California's unique lane-splitting privilege.
"They are very reasonable," said Greg Covel, executive director of ABATE of California, a motorcycle rights organization.
Now,
"we know what the guidelines are, how close we are to staying within
the law or pushing the law," Covel said. "If we get stopped for unsafe
speed or lane changes, we know what we are getting into."
CHP
officials say they sometimes ticket motorcyclists who are
lane-splitting, but citations are based on an officer's determination
that the rider is going too fast for conditions, or that the rider's
lane changes are unsafe.
CHP officials acknowledge that motorcyclists get away with unsafe lane-splitting at times because it's hard to stop them.
"A lot of us are in patrol cars. It is hard for us to catch them," Sacramento-area Sgt. Mike Bradley told The Bee in an interview for a previous story on the issue.
CHP numbers show that more than 9,600 people in California were injured in motorcycle crashes in 2010, the most recent year measured, up 25 percent since 2000.
But
state officials say they know of no comprehensive studies focused on
lane-splitting dangers, and they do not have data on the number of
lane-splitting-related crashes. Police say they do get reports of side
rear-view mirrors being ripped off and occasional crashes, including
fatalities.
Pope, of the CHP, and Chris Murphy, head of the state Office of Traffic Safety, said the state has engaged UC Berkeley researchers to study motorcycle crashes to reach better conclusions about motorcycling dangers in general, and lane-splitting in particular.
Depending on the Berkeley study results, the state could adjust its lane-splitting guidelines, Pope said.
Pete
terHorst, spokesman for the American Motorcyclist Association, said the
new California guidelines could be used by motorcycle advocates in
other states to push legalizing lane-splitting elsewhere. But terHorst
said advocates nationally typically focus on other motorcycling issues,
including broader concerns about causes of crashes.
"We essentially endorse the California position, but we don't promote it in other states," terHorst said.
Some motorcycle advocates are leery of the CHP's guidelines. Gabe Ets-Hokin, editor of CityBike magazine in the Bay Area,
said he appreciates the state's attempt to make a statement, but
worries it could be a first step toward more restrictions on the
maneuver.
"Lane-splitting is a unique lifestyle to California
motorcyclists, a subculture," he said. "If we can do it safely, what is
the problem?"
He and other advocates contend lane-splitting makes
motorcycling safer by allowing riders to avoid dangerous situations in
heavy traffic.
Motorcycle safety class instructors teach another
technique, suggesting that cyclists ride on one side or the other of
their lane, rather than in the middle. That way cyclists can avoid the
oilier part of the lane, as well as see ahead better and give themselves
more avenues to get out of trouble, Covel said.
The state guidelines can be found at www.chp.ca.gov under "CHP Programs," by clicking on the headline "California Motorcyclist Safety." It also is viewable at ots.ca.gov, under "What's New at OTS."
The guidelines note:
• Inexperienced motorcyclists should not lane-split.
•
On freeways (when traffic has slowed to below 30 mph), motorcyclists
should lane-split only between the two fast lanes. The slow lanes are
too dangerous because vehicles there switch lanes more often coming from
onramps and getting to offramps.
• Motorcyclists should not lane-split in toll booth queues.
• Law enforcement officers can, at their discretion, determine that a motorcyclist is lane-splitting unsafely.
• Other drivers should not try to impede motorcyclists from lane-splitting.
