A bill introduced in Washington last week would make this the second state in the U.S. to allow lane splitting. What do you think about this practice? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
A maneuver that is common practice in California and the majority of the world is most often met with staunch opposition and sometimes hostility by non-riders in the United States. The general consensus is that lane splitting is either an incredibly dangerous practice, or it is viewed as 'cheating' traffic by motorcycles. YouTube is littered with videos of riders splitting at dangerous highway speeds and paying the price -- in reality, this would still be illegal under the proposed change in Washington.
The bill specifically states that a motorcycle may not exceed the flow of traffic by more than 10 MPH, and traffic may not be going faster than 25 MPH. These limitations allow the benefits of lane splitting while restricting the practice to safe speeds. There's no doubt that traffic in the Seattle area is bad (8th worst in the U.S. according to some reports) and getting worse. Recent efforts to improve Seattle's overloaded highway system have been met with significant delays. With no end in sight for traffic, it only makes sense to allow lane splitting and reduce some of the congestion. This is purely speculation but perhaps lane splitting will encourage more people to choose to ride motorcycles, further reducing the number of cars on the road.
In addition to reducing traffic, lane splitting allows riders to filter to the front at stoplights, reducing the number of rear end collisions. We've all been there -- wondering if the distracted driver behind you will stop in time at a stoplight. While it's still important to be constantly aware of your surroundings, allowing lane splitting moves motorcycles to a safer position at the front of the line.
It's not just Washington riders looking for change -- similar bills have also been introduced in Texas and Oregon. The Washington bill was heard by the Washington State Traffic Committee on February 3rd. Only time will tell if Washingtonians are ready for lane splitting.
I will fully admit that I am biased on this issue. As someone who commutes daily on a motorcycle, the time savings alone make it worth arguing my point of view. But what do you think? Should we move to allow lane splitting outside of California? If so, how can we educate non-riders and show them that we all benefit from this practice?