Berkeley proves lane splitting safe.

[16hypen3sp]

Was this posted back in October somewhere and I missed it?

What's you guys' thoughts on this?


http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread...lane-splitting

http://ca.autoblog.com/2014/10/24/be...fer-than-ever/


My thoughts... Should have been legal long ago. Other drivers emotional reactions to a motorcycle "cutting in line" at a red light are always going to be a problem.

[spikerS]

[ExtraSlow]

[killramos]

» Click image for larger version

[bjstare]

Lane splitting is the shit. That was my favorite part about riding in California. Well that, and the PCH haha.

[Masked Bandit]

As preached to me when I was learning to drive:

"It doesn't matter who is in the right if you're dead" - R.L.E. aka, my Dad.

[blairtruck]

i think splitting at the red light at slow speed should be ok. but not while actually driving thou.
i think there would be a lot of dead young drivers if splitting at high speeds was legal.

coming from a person who has never ever sat on a running motorcycle in my life.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by blairtruck
i think splitting at the red light at slow speed should be ok. but not while actually driving thou.
i think there would be a lot of dead young drivers if splitting at high speeds was legal.

coming from a person who has never ever sat on a running motorcycle in my life.

That's commonly referred to as filtering and yes, when the general public is on board it's very effective. You see it a lot in developing countries where there are a lot of scooter and other small displacement bikes. Everyone moves to the front and when the light turns green they all take off faster than the four wheeled vehicles thereby creating more room. I think allowing filtering could even work here during our short season.

[japan_us]

Originally posted by cjblair
Lane splitting is the shit. That was my favorite part about riding in California. Well that, and the PCH haha.

Yep, same experience riding in Cali. Coming from here, the first few lane splits felt a bit weird, but after that it felt very natural and made riding a lot more enjoyable.

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
...You see it a lot in developing countries where there are a lot of scooter and other small displacement bikes. Everyone moves to the front and when the light turns green they all take off faster than the four wheeled vehicles thereby creating more room...

Best place I've seen this in action was Barcelona. Even with very dense traffic, it was amazingly effective. I remember standing at intersections just to watch - it was impressive.

[japan_us]

*edit: double post

[Rocket1k78]

I've done the lane splitting in LA and its awesome to get through rush hour and for the most part people move over for you but it wasnt exactly a simple task sometimes. Its beyond scary at first and for an inexperienced rider this would def be a no no. I had a bmw s1k on my ass and i had to stop splitting because there was 2 pick ups in front who werent moving over, sure enough the s1k passed me and went through and actually clipped the trucks mirrors with his, the bike kept going and i could see the truck was pissed.


I would love to see this be legal here but i doubt that'll ever happen. The good thing is our traffic here is not that bad. If you think its bad go drive in la for 3 days anytime of the day and you'll see we have it really good traffic wise.

[blairtruck]

people wont even let you pass or merge in a car/truck. imagine what people would do if they seen you coming up the middle of the 2 lanes. it would infuriate most people in rush hour as you are just sitting there and bikes are cruising on by.

[16hypen3sp]

I emailed the government with the links to the study and what not.

Response:

Thank you for your provincial government web inquiry.

Alberta Transportation is not considering changes in legislation to permit lane splitting. Given the short riding season in Alberta and the increased risk faced by riders due to their reduced visibility and greater vulnerability, the safety risks outweigh any benefits to increased traffic flow. Also, as the practice is uncommon in North America, other road users in the province would not be accustomed to it and may react unpredictably.

Alberta’s Traffic Safety Plan 2015 identifies recommendations for a reduction in collisions amongst vulnerable road users, which includes motorcycle riders.

To review the Plan, please visit

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2...HRGqEfC3w08&e=

[adamc]

I filter in Calgary as much as possible, and lane split when it's safe to do so (when deerfoot is a parking lot in the summer, for example).

Never faster than 15-20km/hr for lanesplitting here though, Calgary drivers be fucking loco.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by adamc
Calgary drivers be fucking loco.

Seriously. I can't believe any rider would WANT to do anything like that in this city. Pretty much just playing russian roulette, it's only a matter of time before you encounter a white bmw x3.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by Rocket1k78
I've done the lane splitting in LA and its awesome to get through rush hour and for the most part people move over for you but it wasnt exactly a simple task sometimes. Its beyond scary at first and for an inexperienced rider this would def be a no no. I had a bmw s1k on my ass and i had to stop splitting because there was 2 pick ups in front who werent moving over, sure enough the s1k passed me and went through and actually clipped the trucks mirrors with his, the bike kept going and i could see the truck was pissed.

Gotta fold your mirrors in when you're in LA traffic. When the widest part of your bike is the bars, you can get through some pretty tight squeezes haha

[jacky4566]

Valiant effort 16hypen3sp but i don't think its going to happen. I'm surprised Alberta Transport was gracious enough to give you a response.

Its also a poor comparison with Asia cities for 2 reasons:
1. They mostly ride scooters and small 125/250 bikes. North America? Harley, 1000 sport bikes, 1200 duel sports. Our bikes are not small by any means.
2. Bike constitute a large share of transportation. When its common practise to lane split it become much harder to ban.

So while I ultimately agree with you we have bigger fish to fry. Like all the old people who cant see the line or speed limits.

[M.alex]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Seriously. I can't believe any rider would WANT to do anything like that in this city. Pretty much just playing russian roulette, it's only a matter of time before you encounter a white bmw x3.

This; lane splitting is the last thing I'd ever attempt here.

[Mibz]

I've ridden the shoulder a few times, and even then I kept thinking somebody was going to swerve over just to block me. Lane splitting? Not a chance.

[BrknFngrs]

Riding where splitting is allowed is amazing, but I've seen some pretty crazy anti-bike behavior on the roads here. I had a van pull into the passing lane to block me from passing on the highway and it was on dotted lines. Still have no idea what brought that on, scared the hell out of me though!