Splittin Lanes

[badiozam]

How often do you guys do it? More importantly, what's legal and what's not? From what I understand from the motorcycle safety course that I took (and I may be totally off here), you can ride down the middle only if the traffic is going between 0 - 5mph and then you can't go over 15mph faster than the traffic (so maximum is 20mph). Is this true?

[greenFUGU]

or wenever you feel like it thats juss me. and my opinion might not be safe. but i do it cuz i can

[Robert]

I do it. There is no law against lane sharing, so long as the conditions deem it safe to do so. It's up to the officer to determine if it is done safely or not, has nothing to do with the speed of traffic. Just like you can get a ticket for going the speed limit if road conditions are not suited for it. If the officer is having a good day then you prob. won't get a ticket, but if he needs to meet his quota he just might.

[YuJinha]

Do it all the time during traffic on the freeways (except when riding with new riders) and when I'm riding on my own on the streets.

[pgold21]

Whenever cops aren't around and not much faster than the cars around me.

[afrothunder]

i used to commute on my bike when i was back in LA...
dude... i AM the lane splitting master.
good thing i don't commute nor ride on the streets much anymore...
thus, no need to lane split! well....... ocassionally on the
way back from p-momma. :D

[Knightshade]

not particularly fond of doing it..but when the opportunity arises, I will. Hell..one of the perks of riding...right?

[dre_2k2_f4i]

I've had local police and even CHP on motorcycles move over to let me by when I'm splitting/sharing. Obviously, a LEO's concentration is on more than riding, so they cannot safely split/share as fast.

[typerflip]

I commute everyday on my bike . . .

I "share" all the time . . . my route is mostly freeway

my mirrors are my feelers :-p

I do it as safely as possible, yield to signal lights of the cagers, run as fast as comfortable (i.e. if there is a tight lane from construction or surface streets, then I just creep to stay up and up to 10 MPH faster than traffic, wider lanes, I'll push 15 faster)

I wave to the cagers that make room for me . . . and get outta the way of faster splitters

[Padu]

Originally posted by typerflip
I commute everyday on my bike . . .

I "share" all the time . . . my route is mostly freeway

my mirrors are my feelers :-p

I do it as safely as possible, yield to signal lights of the cagers, run as fast as comfortable (i.e. if there is a tight lane from construction or surface streets, then I just creep to stay up and up to 10 MPH faster than traffic, wider lanes, I'll push 15 faster)

I wave to the cagers that make room for me . . . and get outta the way of faster splitters

Same here. The only time I get a little unconfortable is on freeway ramps... I split if there is enough space for sharing the lane, but never (or almost never) I cross the solid white line.

[CBR250RR]

Never... because I never had to. But once I get more experienced, I see myself doing it occasionally.

[soberf4i]

I read in that little DMV handbook that you can share lanes as long as the traffic is going 25MPH or less. Just have to be safe.

[BioHazard]

Originally posted by soberf4i
I read in that little DMV handbook that you can share lanes as long as the traffic is going 25MPH or less. Just have to be safe.

I also think it stipulates that you cannot be going more thatn 10 mph faster than surrounding traffic while splitting lanes.

[badiozam]

Anyone come across a situation where someone opens their door to spit or something like that and you're riding by? Or maybe someone gets jealous and tries to hog the lane?

[typerflip]

Originally posted by badiozam
Anyone come across a situation where someone opens their door to spit or something like that and you're riding by? Or maybe someone gets jealous and tries to hog the lane?

I have my share of lane hoggers but usually the car in the other lane moves over too . . . but I give the obligatory mirror smack . . . if they move towards me while I'm sharing next to them they get a smack or kick plus the obligatory finger . . .:grr:

these occasions are rare, in the 5 months I've been commuting from temecula I've seen prolly 3 or 4 intentional lane hoggers. for the most part cagers don't see you and they have no chance of reacting either way . . . most of the ones that do move over and get a wave:clap:

[Cbr6newbie]

I always do it when possible (unless it's like 1 car in front of me or something :-) )

Seriously though, I think it's often times safer to lane split than to wait in the pack. I dont know how many times ive been cutoff and cut into while riding. I'd much rather take a chance with splitting lanes to get to the front than wait in the back hoping that nobody hits me from an errant lane change.

Better for them 'foos' to be behind me than for me to be behind them..

As for the laws, Ive heard so many different variations to the rule that i dont know what to believe. Ive come to the conclusion that lane splitting is just another accepted convention (whether legal or not) that as long as you're 'SAFE' about it, the cops wont bother you.