Is it safe to lane split? This is a very hot topic amongst bikers as well as non-bikers. Lane splitting is riding your motorcycle between two lanes of traffic, ignoring the marked lanes. Normally you would only do this when you need to get through traffic and get to where you’re going a little quicker. So let’s talk about it a little bit. Lane splitting is very tempting. I know it is for me. I think it is for most people when you are stop and go traffic. However, there are some significant dangers you must be aware of. Let’s talk about them. One is unpredictability. As a motorcyclist, you should always try to keep all your movements predictable on the road.
In fact, being as predictable as possible is really the basis for almost everything we do when we ride. This goes from brake lights to let people know if we’re braking from turn signals to know if we’re going to be turning. It’s just safer on the road when you can anticipate what another vehicle is going to do. Number two is lane changes. Lane spitting is especially dangerous in traffic where the drivers are in stop and go traffic because people are always kind of looking for this sort of quicker lane. I don’t know if one really exists, but people look for it. In my opinion, I believe lane splitting is a little safer when the traffic is moving slowly and people are less tempted to just try to suddenly move lanes. Your third risk on lane splitting is just vehicles drifting. Even if a car is not gonna change lanes, often people get lazy and they kind of drift into the middle of the road. And that could result in sideswiping and causing you to go down. So there’s definitely a lot of risk to lane splitting and it’s definitely something you have to be careful with. But there are a couple of very big benefits. Two big benefits. One is you’re much less likely to get rear-ended. And that’s a big risk in stopped traffic. And of course two, the biggest benefit, you will get to where you’re going much quicker. Now, late splitting is not legal in every state within the US. Some states specifically forbid it, while many of the states really don’t have a law to address it at all. But there are three states, at least as of the end of 2022, that are actually legal to lane split. And those states are California, Utah, and Montana. So if you live in one of those states, feel free to lane split, just be careful. If you don’t, make sure you check where the laws in your state to see the legality of it. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to always give us a call at 1-800-MOTORCYCLE. Please be safe. Be well. This is Andrew Kass standing up for bikers that go down.
