It used to be in the wording but was removed some time back.

 

In California it is OK for two vehicles to "Share" a lane. This is how "Lane Splitting" or in foreign countries what is called "Filtering" is considered quasi-legal in the Golden State. But (there's always a but); the overtaking vehicle has the responsibility if anything goes wrong and that would almost always be the bike. Also it is up to the Officer to decide if what you are doing constitutes "Reckless Driving." The general rule of thumb is not to go faster than 10 MPH more than the rest of the traffic. If there is contact between you and a car guess who is guilty of Reckless Driving?

I don't know how far your commute is (mine is 16 miles of which 10 are on the 405), but I've found that taking surface streets and pulling to the front of the line at every red light is much safer, 'cause the cars aren't moving, and is also just as fast as splitting lanes on the 405.

For all the cage drivers who say they don't see a MC coming up on them . . . it's really interesting to follow a CHP Bike when you are Lane Splitting because the cages sure as heck seem to pick up a CHP Bike in their mirrors without any trouble at all, and they give the officer a nice wide path for the most part.

 

One other piece of advice I can offer is to watch out for the TEXTERS in traffic. You can spot them pretty easy as they have their heads down, too much space between them and the car in front. It is almost like watching a drunk drive. Never new how prevelant texting was until I started splitting lanes.

 

I just love it when Cops make up the law. Did he give you the actual law number? No, because there is no such law.

 

That's because there is no such law. What was the vehicle code violation written on the ticket?

 

I learned out of necessity. My commute to work is 35 miles one way and 80% of that traffic is moving at 30mph or less. It took me a while to get over the nerves and to get used to the size of cruisers but now it's second nature. Take your time and don't take anything for granted. Assume no one sees or hears you coming and let idiot drivers slide. They're not worth the anger and frustration.

 

Not sure if this is pertinent but today a car tried to pass me in my lane(not the carpool) on the 405. I saw what he was doing and tried to change lanes but I was boxed in. Next thing I know a CHP motor was lighting him up. Sweet. Sometimes there is one around when you need them.

 

Here in Utah lane splitting/sharing is illegal. I lived in Riverside, CA for a number years and traveled the 91 and 57 daily to Orange, rain or shine. My formula for spitting lanes is to keep the overtaking speed slow enough to do an avoidance manuever if needed. That's the first part, the second is always have a way out. Most drivers expect motorcyclists to travel in the inside lane or the HOV lane. But, if one wants to do a sudden or abrupt lane change, there must a space for him to that, and you just make the same lane change.

The biggest danger is when traffic is creeping along or stopped. That's when drivers will open door, throw coffee or cigarettes out the window. At that time, I would just idle along in 2nd.

 

There's an interesting background story to lane splitting in California and something some folks in other states don't understand when they blanket say lane splitting is suicide.

Back when all California motor officers rode Harleys and the traffic started to get bad they wanted to keep the ability to lane split for three reasons. One is sitting still on a freeway is dangerous in itself (and for a cop double dangerous as it makes them sitting ducks for cop haters) and also they wanted to keep patrolling (sitting in traffic isn't patrolling.) And third they wanted to avoid overheating their air cooled motors. (Most agencies went metric but the LAPD, and a few others, still have a few Harleys.)

Now they could have made it so just LEOs could lane split but that would be too dangerous as cage drivers wouldn't be expecting it so by letting us all lane split is just safer for them. There's pretty much no cage driver in California that is surprised by motorcycles splitting lanes because they see it all the time. This is also what makes it very dicey to lane split in states where it isn't permitted.

With the advent of diamond lanes (carpool lanes) lane splitting actually became a bit safer as generally cages won't move between the diamond lane and the number one lane except in those areas where it's permissible. I'd guess if California didn't have an overabundance of motor officers who ride year round there would be no lane splitting in California.

 

Due to my work hours I rarely have to lane-split, but I do it when necessary. I only do it when the traffic is stopped or crawling very slowly. If traffic is moving to the point where I dont have to keep stopping/putting a foot down then I'll just stay in my lane and flow along with the crowd. The freeway lanes here in San Diego are pretty wide, so it's not hard to do even on a bagger - plenty of room usually and people will move over if they see you coming 90% of the time.

I have seen some freeways in LA where the lanes seem much narrower and I doubt I'd try lanesplitting on those roads unless the bike was about to melt.