Re: [ST] Rules of lanesplitting

[al bailey <acb@xxxxxxx>]

"Strizver, Chris L" wrote:
> 
> I will be riding my bike in Calif. for the first time this week, and I
> understand that lane splitting is legal there. What are the rules, both
> legal and common sense (other than, "don't do it 'cause if friggin'
> dangerous) for reasonably safe lanesplitting? This is one of the things that
> I'm actually looking forward to, and plan to go out in rush hour just to
> have some fun.
> 
> -Crazy Chris

quick into: i'm al, in northern calif., have had a '00 rs for a
month, as a result of someone knocking me off my ex-chp kz1000p
*while lanesplitting*. if you're involved in an accident while
splitting, you will most likely be found at fault. i was not, 
and was able to get my new orange mount courtesy of the other
guy's insurance.

if you do a thread search in the newsgroup ba.motorcycles, there
was a 'tips on lanesplitting' thread a couple months back. i split
between 5 and 10 miles of stop and go traffic on my way to work
each day, so i'll offer a few off the top of my head:

while lanesplitting is not illegal, neither is it
expressly legal (no direct california vehicle code
covering it). what i mean here is that you can
lane share when conditions are safe, but there are
a number of violations which you can and will be
cited for, if caught. some of those are:

unsafe lane change - weaving back and forth from one
 side of the lane line to the next. ideally your bike
 should fit within the lane in which you're sharing.

unsafe speed - generally accepted speed is 10 to 15mph
 over surrounding traffic. when you're in this range, the
 chp don't bother you. personally, i don't split over
 35-40mph, as the costs start to outweigh the benefits.

check your mirrors - there are a lot of splitters
that will want to go faster. when i note someone
behind me, i'll signal and pull fully into that
lane. conversely, when you come upon a slower
rider, give them some extra room and a minute or
two to notice you. if a cage drifts and shuts 
them down, your options are limited. if they don't
notice you/don't want to yeild, you can always
move over a lane and pass them that way.

if you're unable to safely check your mirrors while
splitting, *you're going too fast*.

watch the openings - they're a vacuum, and cars come
out of nowhere to fill them up quick.

passing a bus/large truck on one side is fine - it can
be pretty ugly to get pinched between two!

while i see a lot of folks split up to the front at
stoplights, i don't, because i don't want to be the
first person out when that red light runner comes
through.

good luck! - al.

p.s. there's an awful lot of twisties that go the same
place as the freeways and are a *lot* more fun.

- -- 
       /\ _
      /  \ \    al bailey
     / /_ \ \ _  415.448.crud
    /_/  \_\___\  acb@xxxxxxx

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