I'v lane split many of times, but never at 80 mph, maybe i'm to old but cager shift out of lanes open doors to dump stuff out or just plane see you coming and move over to block your pass. Be careful out there moving that fast in traffic.

 

No need to open a door, just hug the line.

 

Don't even think about it in the Atlanta area unless you wanna die in a hurry!

 

YEA, I saw that on TV, really? i dont think so

 

Never done it, probably never will.

You'll rarely ever see it here in NJ. All laws aside, with all the traffic jams around here cagers WILL block your access because if they have to sit in it so do you. The soccer moms from hell live here.

As far as the iron a$$hole is concerned; Not only a bad biker, but a bad human being as well!

 

>>I was told by a cop once that it is legal in Ca because of air cooled engines not being able to sit in traffic for long periods of time. Don't know if thats why,<<

No, that's not why . . .

California Highway Patrol motor officers want the ability to split lanes without surprising the cagers so to that end they want the rest of us doing it too. (As an aside the CHP bikes are water cooled. I know they rode Kawas, but I think they are BMWs now.)

And this is where the louder than stock pipes debate goes off the rails. In California there are smaller city police departments that also run motors and some of them actually run louder pipes as there is no doubt splitting lanes is safer when the cagers hear you coming. When you live in a state where splitting lanes is illegal you can't stand on that argument.

In any case when I'm splitting lanes (I'm in So Cal) in slow moving freeway traffic I can tell cagers hear me coming and surprisingly a lot of them move over to give me more room. I used to think these were bikers who happened to be in their cages but there's just too many that do it for that to be the case.

On the other hand when I'm in my truck I can't tell you how many times I've been totally surprised by a quiet bike whooshing by my right door. You'd have to be totally staring into your right hand mirror for that not to happen. I would also imagine lane splitting in a state where it's illegal is a lot more dangerous simply because you're surprising the cagers who don't see lane splitting everyday.

Also, if you are splitting lanes when there's a chance a cager can change lanes then the traffic isn't bad enough to split lanes in the first place. I work on an ambulance and most lane splitting involved accidents I respond to happen on city streets, not freeways.

 

Without reading back over umpteen pages of responses I'd simply say that in the UK that is the reason to have them - getting through traffic. No self respecting motorcycle communter would sit in a queue of cars - it's simply wrong.

If you are going to sit in the traffic then you may as well be in a car with the air con on.

 

I lived in San Francisco for 10 years and always split lanes. It's illegal in this state, but I do it all the time anyway. Had a couple of GoldWingers holler at me once while I was doing it...I just laughed as they sat behind a couple of busses and a few dozen cars waiting for the traffic light to change about a dozen times before they got through the intersection. I sometimes jump curbs,too.....

 

Yep, that's it in a nutshell...

 

80mph? Probably why it's illegal here.