[The CHP posted its guidelines with the intention of helping motorcyclists and motorists understand safe practices and to discourage unsafe lane splitting.
“Some have interpreted the recently published Motorcycle Lane Splitting Guidelines as rules, laws or regulations that could or would be enforced by the department,” according to a CHP statement. “The guidelines were never intended for this purpose and were prepared simply as common sense traffic safety tips and to raise public awareness.”]
Hi all,
Well, this is my first post to the forum. I joined the club in January, but regret that work and other duties have kept me from being able to join in much of the club activity. But, I do commute into DC almost every work day, and would like to share experience I've previously gained with Lane-splitting and what might be a reasonable long-term approach to acceptance here. First, some context:
I moved back to Alexandria last winter after 4 years living/riding in Europe. I "learned" to ride in Alaska in 1985 on a used Goldwing and sold it the same summer. I didn't get back on a bike until 25 years later! In spring 2010 I renewed my M1 rating with a MSF class in Alaska, returned to Belgium where I bought a 2010 GSA kitted out - and that's honestly where I learned to ride
. I lived and worked in Brussels and the ride to work was exactly 3 miles and it takes 45 minutes in a car. In Europe a high percentage of traffic is scooters and then a lot of motorcycles. Still overall we represent maybe 10% of total vehicle movement on our best day. Lanes in urban areas are narrower than in America. My cage is a an old Audi A6, and it's terrifying at first to learn to drive it on narrow streets with parked cars on both sides! The most popular option on a European car is automatic folding mirrors...
So, in 2010 I'm barely able to ride as a newbie and I cue up for the stop and go traffic on the big Beemer. And being scared to death of dropping the big bike after a sudden stop in slow traffic I was super careful, centered in my lane... Along comes a scooter - zzzziiiippppp! Emergency flashers on, weaving literally between the mirrors, and followed in quick succession by 3 more scooters. Hmmm. There goes a Ducati, then an RT, finally a guy on a GS. Frankly, everyone in a car is looking at me like the village idiot. So, within a very short time I found myself tentatively joining the center line riders.
Even with stop and go traffic, the risk of a quick lane change by a cager is always there. But, suffice to say, after 25k miles and 4 full 4-season riding years I did my share of splitting and filtering. A lot, in fact, probably about 2000 miles total! I saved a lot of time and became really appreciative of the integration of the technique into European society. I'll also note lane splitting is not a "fair weather" technique - it's good any time. Makes a big difference in 4-season riding, though the risks go up because there are so few riders out and you become the exception rather than the rule.
I had to lay into my brakes fully maybe 5 times - for very late, unexpected stops or lane changes, but always knew it only takes one time going bad and always covered. In tight situations I tapped 2 mirrors with my handlebars and really whacked a third. In that case, I broke the plastic backing off a Spanish car's mirror one night inbound to Madrid - I was tired and Sunday traffic returning into the city was bumper to bumper for 50 miles. I was probably exceeding the CHP recommended 10mph differential, closer to 20mph difference. I stopped and we reinstalled his plastic without incident. He was incredibly nice about it, though I didn't speak Spanish and I startled everyone in the car. The incident stopped my splitting for that night - you really do need to be hyper alert. And, you need to be fully willing to accept responsibility for any damage you may cause. I rolled by probably 4-5 accidents that I believe likely involved splitting in 4 years. I witnessed one on the peripheral road in Paris, and honestly the rider deserved it (wasn't hurt, but his scooter was crunched).
I've described the most serious incidents, but there are others, usually related to the discomfort cagers feel when a bike comes up between the cars and they didn't expect it. Euro riders run their flashers, flash their high beams, honk periodically or rev their motors so people will know they're coming before they arrive. Still, occasionally you roll by someone and surprise the hell out of them.
European law, written in every language but English, is usually silent on lane splitting, just like California's was before and is now again. So, why does this work so well in Europe? Good question, but here's my theory:
1. Motorcycles and scooters are accepted much more readily as "respectable" transportation that a lot of people, regardless of income level, will use (including big Goldwing based motorcycle taxis in Paris). But, it's also seen as affordable to a large part of the lowest income class.
2. Europeans respect fuel efficiency and don't see any point in a motorcycle idling in traffic. Remember, they pay almost $10 a gallon for fuel.
3. Europeans are used to operating their vehicles in tight spaces. So, even with narrow lanes and larger and larger cars, they are tolerant of lane splitting bringing a bike literally inches from their quarter panels and doors.
4. Europeans generally observe lane position discipline better than Americans. For example, on my way to work on a 2-lane road through a 1-mile tunnel the cagers "spread out" and create the space in the middle whenever they can. It's just natural to them (and protects their mirrors). On the autoroute, no one passes to the right, and the left lane is not a place to cruise, it's a place to pass. This makes their lane changes more predictable.
5. Europeans are more comfortable with "gray areas" in their interpretation of motor vehicle law. Remember, as a continent, they write laws in over 20 languages and the various countries have approached the law from very different social norms. So, in the new European Union everyone has to be a little more tolerant of the other guy (it's true in their society at large, as well, in my experience).
6. European governments spend a lot of money on driver awareness of motorcycles and scooters... and a lot on speed cameras and stop light cameras - but they don't "patrol the highways" looking for infractions. If they're on the road and they see something stupid they'll do something about it, but that's not what they're up to as their primary mission.
So, my belief is those cultural expectations must be put in place for widespread splitting to be reasonably successful and safe. That takes years - aka California's long experience. I don't know how you'd make inroads in this part of the country in a meaningful way, absent a massive shift in awareness and tolerance. Working on that a little at a time is probably key.
(a) I think the best case scenario is encouraging adoption of the "silence" option California has taken on the topic (though I'm appreciative that they inadvertently published their own view of best practices, since it kind of tells me what they'll usually tolerate). Finding some compelling examples of training or daily driving videos and stories from overseas and showing how they could be applied in America might be useful to help garner support, too.
(b) And, for starters, targeting tolerance of limited, low-speed use of the breakdown lane for "filtering alongside traffic jams" might serve the best possible starting point to allow Americans to start getting accustomed to the flexibility and utility of a motorcycle in busy suburban highway systems, and to see them in tight spaces that today are not normal. I don't think that's obtained by lobbying the statehouse as much as by informal education campaigns with law enforcement associations and others who might be willing to partner in developing tolerance for the practice. Otherwise, I don't believe anyone will ever tell us it's a legal right in any of these cases.
So, I think the CHP did the good thing in permitting a "common practice" to be discussed. I do appreciate the impossible legal position it put them in, too. Now we just have to find a clever way to leverage their piece to start this big culture change, one driver at a time. Thanks for a spot to share my thoughts and experience.