Topic: lane spliting

[tortelvis]

I do it all the time in the UK. It's the only way to get around during the rush hour.

It's not illegal here but you do have to be VERY careful.

I don't travel at more than 30mph and never split traffic that is moving.

Some of our roads (non-motorway) are too narrow to split so I just have to sit there with the cages and wait until we get to a wider bit.

I must be mad then, as I used to lane split moving traffic in the UK! I found most cars would move over to give you room, aside from the odd wanker who moved closer to the line to block you out. Those usually ended minus a wing mirror.

[andy750]

In Japan we were splitting lanes at 80mph which was fun until I discovered my riding partner (I was a passenger) had fallen asleep  ....lucky she woke up just before we hit the car  After a 30 min nap she was back to splitting lanes...especially fun around Tokyo.

Cheers
Andy

[1timduke]

Yes I split lanes occasionally, but always using extreme caution.   Idiots on 4 wheels are everywhere!
-Tim

[Sparked]

In Japan we were splitting lanes at 80mph which was fun until I discovered my riding partner (I was a passenger) had fallen asleep  ....lucky she woke up just before we hit the car  After a 30 min nap she was back to splitting lanes...especially fun around Tokyo.

Cheers
Andy

I spent a fair amount of time in Hiroshima, and there when the car traffic stops anything on two wheels is splitting the lanes, motorcycles & bicycles. And when the lights turned green, the cars would wait just long enough for the motorbikes to get ahead and the bicycles to move outta the way and the race would be on again. 

I'd be scared to lane split here, with our lovely winter cage drivers just arn't used to having bikes mixed in with the traffic.

[BeSeeingYou]

Maybe it's my age or having survived a serious accident (car drivers fault) but this would scare the hell out of me at anything but a very slow 10-20 mph pace.  I now assume that the diver of any car within 100 feet of me is an idiot and take no chances.  Put some people behind the wheel and they get so territorial that they do stupid and dangerous things.  Not to mention if your bike is loud it can startle some old fart not expecting it and who nows what can happen.  Maybe where this is commonplace people are more aware but around here it isn't done all that often.  I don't use my bike for commuting and I avoid the freeways at rush hour so I have no need for this practice nor do I have the nerve to do it.  No need to put my safety in the hands of strangers in cars any more than I have too.  Maybe I sound a bit "chicken" but at this point in life I value life and limb over having "balls".

[GoatBaSS]

Alabama drivers + out of state drivers = No 

[MrHellpop]

I believe the law in CA is that it is legal, but the motorcycle rider must not split lanes at a speed faster than 15 mph above the flow of traffic. I did it a few times when I lived in Los Angeles, but mostly just went to the head of the line at every light. In a city like LA, that cuts your traffic time by 50-75% minimum! And honestly, at least where I was riding, traffic often never got above 45 mph because it was so congested, so it didn't seem particularly dangerous riding around that town. People were surprisingly good drivers and I never experienced any anti-motorcyclist anger, but I ride like a wimp (according to some macho friends!) and just enjoy cruising without going too fast. Of course, I was also still hyper vigilant and assumed that no matter where I was, I was invisible to all cars on the road! Safety first for me. I once saw a guy get clipped merging into oncoming traffic at what was probably 60+ mph right in front of me, and I will never forget how awful that was...