Anyway, I must concede that motorcycles are dangerous, no matter how
many precautions are taken. I've been riding the things a long time
without serious disasters, knock wood, but I know it's possible that
someday some four-wheeler may splatter me all over the place, helmet or
no helmet.
Some feel the bikes are worth the risk, as in mountain climbing. There's no such thing as fun, freedom or adventure without risk, and I prefer the risk of a crash to the risk of dying of boredom or stagnation.
In addition to fun, motorcycles provide tremendous benefits. If more people start riding them, it'll have an impact on the fuel situation, to say nothing of parking and traffic problems. If OPEC ever sees a big shift from cars to motorcycles in America, I predict the price of gasoline will return to a dollar a gallon in no time at all.
All of the above is a long-winded preface to today's main point, which is probably futile, but I insist on making it anyway.
I could not live in California now because of their vile helmet law, but it's the only state that allows lane-splitting by motorcycles. That means when traffic is stalled on a freeway, motorcycles are allowed to advance between the lanes of cars and trucks.
The practice began with a court ruling decades ago, stemming from claims that air-cooled motorcycle engines overheat when forced to idle. Many motorcycle engines are now liquid-cooled, but the California lane-splitting rule remains. It must be terribly upsetting to fuddy-duddies, but lane-splitting accidents are rare and traffic congestion, as far as motorcycles are concerned, does not exist there.
I have ridden motorcycles on the 405 (most Californians never say "Interstate 405"), the 5 and other California freeways that regularly turn into parking lots, and I have engaged in lane-splitting with no problems whatsoever. I admit I do it only when traffic is pretty much stalled, while others do it on the fly, as the four-wheelers are moving at speeds of 30 mph or more.
The California Highway Patrol recently decided it would be a good idea to make lane-splitting even safer, issuing a list of "Official Guidelines."
"Travel at a speed that is no more than 10 mph faster than other traffic — danger increases at higher speed differentials," says the first item. Others advise against lane-splitting if the main traffic flow is above 30 mph and suggest doing it between the left lanes, where four-wheelers are used to it and are less likely to swerve toward exits.
Last week, the American Motorcycle Association reported that the CHiPs had been forced to remove the lane-splitting guidelines from their website. Fuddy-duddies, it seems, do not like the idea of law enforcement appearing to condone the practice, no matter how efficacious it is.
The AMA and the Motorcycle Industry Council cited various comprehensive studies on lane-splitting. Research in California and Europe, the council said, revealed "that lane-splitting may even be safer, since motorcyclists are less likely to be rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic."
The other day, as I sat in my four-wheeler after Route 22 turned into a parking lot, I decided to look up our state law. "No person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles," it says.
The Lehigh Valley has two members on the state House Transportation Committee, Rep. Julie Harhart, R-Lehigh and Northampton, and Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh. I asked them if there is any movement in Harrisburg to change that law.
"There is no legislation right now that will change that," Schlossberg said, so I asked if he'd support a change if one is introduced. "My initial inclination would be to oppose that," he said.
"I'm not too sure what it is," Harhart said when I mentioned lane-splitting, and I explained it. "I don't think I could support that," she said. "Oh, my goodness … to me it sounds a little dangerous."
As a matter of fact, anything one does on a motorcycle is going to be dangerous, as is mountain climbing.
So think of the benefits, even if you don't ride one. The next time you're sitting in the Route 22 parking lot, imagine how it might improve if a few thousand of those other four-wheelers ahead of you were induced to switch to more efficient two-wheelers.
paul.carpenter@mcall.com 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Some feel the bikes are worth the risk, as in mountain climbing. There's no such thing as fun, freedom or adventure without risk, and I prefer the risk of a crash to the risk of dying of boredom or stagnation.
In addition to fun, motorcycles provide tremendous benefits. If more people start riding them, it'll have an impact on the fuel situation, to say nothing of parking and traffic problems. If OPEC ever sees a big shift from cars to motorcycles in America, I predict the price of gasoline will return to a dollar a gallon in no time at all.
All of the above is a long-winded preface to today's main point, which is probably futile, but I insist on making it anyway.
I could not live in California now because of their vile helmet law, but it's the only state that allows lane-splitting by motorcycles. That means when traffic is stalled on a freeway, motorcycles are allowed to advance between the lanes of cars and trucks.
The practice began with a court ruling decades ago, stemming from claims that air-cooled motorcycle engines overheat when forced to idle. Many motorcycle engines are now liquid-cooled, but the California lane-splitting rule remains. It must be terribly upsetting to fuddy-duddies, but lane-splitting accidents are rare and traffic congestion, as far as motorcycles are concerned, does not exist there.
I have ridden motorcycles on the 405 (most Californians never say "Interstate 405"), the 5 and other California freeways that regularly turn into parking lots, and I have engaged in lane-splitting with no problems whatsoever. I admit I do it only when traffic is pretty much stalled, while others do it on the fly, as the four-wheelers are moving at speeds of 30 mph or more.
The California Highway Patrol recently decided it would be a good idea to make lane-splitting even safer, issuing a list of "Official Guidelines."
"Travel at a speed that is no more than 10 mph faster than other traffic — danger increases at higher speed differentials," says the first item. Others advise against lane-splitting if the main traffic flow is above 30 mph and suggest doing it between the left lanes, where four-wheelers are used to it and are less likely to swerve toward exits.
Last week, the American Motorcycle Association reported that the CHiPs had been forced to remove the lane-splitting guidelines from their website. Fuddy-duddies, it seems, do not like the idea of law enforcement appearing to condone the practice, no matter how efficacious it is.
The AMA and the Motorcycle Industry Council cited various comprehensive studies on lane-splitting. Research in California and Europe, the council said, revealed "that lane-splitting may even be safer, since motorcyclists are less likely to be rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic."
The other day, as I sat in my four-wheeler after Route 22 turned into a parking lot, I decided to look up our state law. "No person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles," it says.
The Lehigh Valley has two members on the state House Transportation Committee, Rep. Julie Harhart, R-Lehigh and Northampton, and Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh. I asked them if there is any movement in Harrisburg to change that law.
"There is no legislation right now that will change that," Schlossberg said, so I asked if he'd support a change if one is introduced. "My initial inclination would be to oppose that," he said.
"I'm not too sure what it is," Harhart said when I mentioned lane-splitting, and I explained it. "I don't think I could support that," she said. "Oh, my goodness … to me it sounds a little dangerous."
As a matter of fact, anything one does on a motorcycle is going to be dangerous, as is mountain climbing.
So think of the benefits, even if you don't ride one. The next time you're sitting in the Route 22 parking lot, imagine how it might improve if a few thousand of those other four-wheelers ahead of you were induced to switch to more efficient two-wheelers.
paul.carpenter@mcall.com 610-820-6176
Paul Carpenter's commentary appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays