Is it legal to drive in between lanes of cars where you live?

mellowyellow

mellowyellow

Well-known Member

bikers.jpg​

Paris, France​

Motorcyclists ride on the Champs Élysées during a day of protest organised by the Federation of Angry Bikers demanding the right to drive in between lanes of cars. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

NSW Australian Law:

Lane filtering is where a motorcycle rider moves past stationary or slow moving vehicles safely at a speed of 30km/h or less. Lane filtering is legal in NSW. Lane splitting is where a motorcycle rider moves past vehicles at an unsafe speed of more than 30km/h. Lane splitting is illegal.
 

Yes, "lane splitting" is legal in California, have to stay under 20 or 25 MPH I believe. Why not, in rush hour traffic and speeds usually under 10 MPH it's not hurting my feelings if the bikers go ahead and be on their way.
 

It's legal here but I don't think it's very safe or smart.
But (then again,) a biker is riding a fast vehicle with only his clothing for protection, so..........
 
Nope.
"Lane sharing is legal for motorcycles in Michigan, as long as the number is limited to two motorcycles riding abreast in the same lane. Lane splitting, in which a motorcycle rides in between lanes of traffic on the dotted white line, is not legal in Michigan."

I would wonder about blind spots. Seems like it might be an accident waiting to happen.
 
Backstory to the bikers in Paris

The new ban provides for a fine of 135 euros for offenders and the withdrawal of three points from the driving license. The possibility of passing between the cars in a row was introduced in 2016, notwithstanding the highway code, for an experimentation in certain sections.

According to Road Safety, the test was not encouraging; in these areas, road accidents on two wheels increased by 12%, with 1650 light accidents, 161 serious and 16 fatal. But the bikers disagree. "It is the characteristic of motorbikes to circulate among the rows of cars - said Jean Marc Belotti, coordinator of Ffmc - if they forbid us to do so, we no longer need a motorbike". The situation could still be resolved with a new experimentation, deemed necessary since the first just finished did not produce sufficient results to draw a definitive balance sheet.
 
I would be a bit hesitant to drive a motorcycle between cars....especially if they are stopped. Can you imagine a person opening their car door just as a motorcycle starts to pass that car? Then, there are a lot of larger pickups now that have rear view mirrors extending quite a bit from the cab.
 
The first time a motorcycle blasted between me and the car in the other lane (in california), I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I've seen them do it here in Florida, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal.

It should be illegal everywhere. Those lane markers are there for a reason......
 
jujube said:
The first time a motorcycle blasted between me and the car in the other lane (in california), I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I've seen them do it here in Florida, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal.

It should be illegal everywhere. Those lane markers are there for a reason......
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I chatted with a coworker about his Harley. I asked him why it was so loud. He said, "I split lanes; I want drivers to hear me coming."
 
I've observed motorcyclists approach long waiting lines on busy highways and ride the soft-shoulder or centre line to bypass all vehicles stopped in order to get to the front of the line, and IMO that isn't right.
 
Let's see. The average car is about 6.5 feet wide. The average car lane is 12 feet. If the car is in the middle of the lane, as most cars are, that leaves a little over 2+ feet on each side of the car. That's plenty of room to squeeze the average 400 lb. bike, with 200 pounds of driver and gear in a space that's a few inches short for the average 28 inch wide bike. Hey! No Problem!
 
This is from the Michigan Auto Law blog:

"Riding motorcycles is dangerous. Motorcyclists account for 14% of all crash-related fatalities, even though they are only 3% of the vehicles on the road. Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely than passenger-vehicle occupants to die in a car crash. More than 80% of these type of crashes result in an injury or death."

So that's why I don't ride motorcycles. I'm also thinking that going forward I will only ride bicycles in places (like trails) where I don't have to share with motor vehicles.
 
jujube said:
The first time a motorcycle blasted between me and the car in the other lane (in california), I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I've seen them do it here in Florida, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal.

It should be illegal everywhere. Those lane markers are there for a reason......
Click to expand...
Me too! I just didn't expect it. I was about to change lanes too.
 

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