It's not recommended to split two lane roads.

 

Who is forcing an opinion... I thought they were being expressed??????????

 

If I lived in a state where the cage drivers were cool with it, I would do it...Where I live, they would block you...open a door on you...or just shoot you out the window. The argument that it is safer, is silly to me...you are just trading one danger for another, for your convenience...if I was that worried about safety...I wouldn't be on a motorcycle.

 

That's a pretty hilarious visual.

 

Here's a tree hugger response:
Why sit in a traffic jam an idle mountains of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere destroying Mother Earth when you can manoeuvre around the jerks that can't drive in the first place.
I support splitting, running down the side medium anytime traffic is less than 0 to 10mph

 

But you won't see me "zipping by you". That's not how it works, and I think that's the big misconception many people here have.

There is a certain rhythm to lane-splitting correctly. You have to approach slowly enough to be able to stop quickly if necessary, while at the same time going fast enough to be already past the car who may choose to dart in front of you unexpectedly. Often, we can have chains of multiple motorcycles moving through traffic, which heightens awareness. And, believe it or not, many motorists will see us approach and move over to give us more room to get by. It is VERY rare somebody would try to pinch us off, especially since that is against the law.

Most motorists are experienced enough to know when they're in a situation where a motorcycle may be coming alongside. Also, in alot of heavy commute traffic, motorcycles are allowed in the car pool lanes. Granted, I always use extra caution when coming alongside a car with out of state plates, because it's obvious many out-of-staters are ignorant. And, yeah, obviously there are some places where lanes are so narrow that lane-splitting is unwise. But it really doesn't take as much room as you'd imagine, once you get into the rhythm.

Like I said, I don't like lane-splitting. It's exhausting. But so is sitting in stop-and-go traffic. I don't always split, but. Not only is it more risky to take a chance getting rear-ended, you are also increasingthe length of exposure to being rear-ended the longer you're in stop-and-go traffic.

Why not reduce the risk and the length of time you're exposed to the risk ? It's a no-brainer, once you know what you're doing. But if you have no idea about what you're doing, it probably seems pretty scary.

 

I don't agree with idea that we should live by rules in our society that are created because of other people's ignorances, recklessness, or stupidity. If that were the case, we wouldn't be able to do anything outside of our own property. Yes, people are idiots on the streets with their cars. Whether it be intentional or not. The laws of the land should reprimand those people for their harmful actions and set straight anyone else who follows in their path. That is how society works. This is not too different than the 2nd amendment debate/argument that has been on going. You don't take away guns from law-abiding citizens because of others who choose to break the law...do you?

My apologies. I am not trying to hijack the thread and turn it in to a 2nd amendment debate. Just used it for comparison. Move along now....nothing to see here.

 

edilgdaor, You make a compelling point and none of us like to be stuck in traffic. I just think it would be tough to implement nationwide without tremendous numbers of accidents and injuries. I respect your opinion.

 

Two lane roads ?

Scary. I mean, even in a car going 50mph, an oncoming truck will be approaching from the opposite direction LESS THAN TEN FEET AWAY. Who would willingly choose to do something SO SCARY . THAT'S DANGEROUS !

Oh, wait. We do it all the time. It's not so bad once you do it and get comfortable with the idea.

What a concept, huh ?

 

In 2002 the wife and I toured for a year in the U.S. we were in NY splitting lanes not thinking about the other state law. A guy on a bike can up to us and asked what the h$ll are you doing. Had no idea what was going on with him. oops look safe to me damn California's