OK, I am prepared to endure the most brutal of responses to this thread about my choice to not sit in traffic behind a half mile or so of nearly motionless cars. If ya'll are familiar with the East-bound George Bush interchange onto North-bound 75 into Plano this will be easy to picture. It's a long elevated one-lane ramp that curves gradually left and puts you onto the north-bound lanes of 75 North Central Expressway. To make matters worse, the West bound traffic from G.B. also has to merge into this one lane bottle neck just before merging all traffic onto the NB 75. AND to make matters even more absurd, as soon as you get the chance to actually merge onto 75 there's an exit ramp for 15th St. that lots of people are trying to get into. In fact the 75 entry and 15th exit are the same lane for about 300 feet.
It's Friday afternoon and traffic gets horribly backed-up here. I normally take the easy way around this fiasco by taking the shoulder (and it's a good wide unabstructed shoulder - @ 5 feet wide) to by-pass tons of nearly parked cars. I don't do this fast either (literally lugging it in 2nd gear) and I'm accutely aware at all times that somebody (a homicidal maniac perhaps) could easily try to block the shoulder to impede my progess.
I had a lady do this today. I don't believe she really wanted to deliberately endanger me but more likely express her disapproval at my actions. Regardless, no contact was made and I continued unscathed along my merry way after some spirited vocal exchange.
My immediate reaction to this is; OK I realize what I'm doing is probably illegal, only slightly unsafe, maybe even morally wrong and I'm completely willing to accept a traffic citation for it - if caught. But, I really don't feel that I deserve being injured or even possibly killed for taking advantage of an obviously benefical traffic loop-hole, nor do I think anyone should be so offended by my actions as to risk an "assault with a motorvehicle" charge or even a man-slaughter charge.
Sorry for the long rant. I am interested in opinions. You encounter a traffic jam. You see an obvious and realtively safe option that harms noone else and in no way makes matters worse. What do you do, what have you done and what was the outcome?

 

I believe this thread is going to be something similar to:

CA riders - approve
non-CA riders - disapprove and insult/spout made up statistics

Although there will be the stray one or two non-CA riders who approve and CA riders who don't. But to be fair, I never split on the shoulder. CHP frowns on that and I don't want the ticket or payment associated with it.

 

I'm from Georgia...no lane splitting allowed. I completely approve. Why not take advantage of another thing that makes motorcycles better than driving cars?

 

Exactly one of my justifications for my action. Although Texas law doesn't specifically address "Lane Splitting" it both leaves the LEO room to cite and/or leaves the rider choice to do so "if movement from lane can be done safely".

 

I've got no problem with it. As far as the car that tried to cut you off or whatever, I would have ignored her, no vocal exchange. Regarding her actions, to quote my 85 year old father in law, "everyone's got to be a cop."

 

I think it freaks people out because they aren't used to it, and they kinda get off guard and get pissy. Nobody wants to hit a biker and I guess some don't like them coming so close.

 

I won't and never will "split lanes". And I'll never approve of it.

 

That's not lane splitting, your were riding on the shoulder, also illegal in Ca.
Non-lane splitting states don't accept lane splitting like Ca drivers do. It's like "cutting in line" and hence the hostile reaction.

 

And if all motorcycles did it, EVERYONE, including the car drivers, would get to their destinations sooner. People like to get pissed off at things that are in their own best self interest.

 

So much for the Land of the Free.

Lane splitting for bikes is obviously sensible for all traffic.

But feel free to sit in the traffic and carry a gun to pull on dump trucks y'all