I live in California, where I split lanes nearly every morning to get to the highway (surface streets and on-ramps have a lot of traffic in the morning).  I had never split lanes before I came to California.  A couple weeks ago, I went home to Delaware and took a ride on an old 250 I used in college down to the beach with a friend of mine.  Beach traffic was pretty bad, so I suggested that we split lanes for the last few miles to get to the beach.  My friend said it was illegal in Delaware, though according to this -- http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp?state=DE -- it isn't.  And it doesn't appear to be illegal in a few other states I've ridden in, like West Virginia.  But I've never seen riders split lanes in those states.  I figured it was just because those states don't really have as much traffic as California.

My question is, does anyone split lanes in a state besides California?

EDIT:
Make sure to say what state you live in.

Also, check your state on this page -- http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp -- and comment on whether what it says meshes with the impression of legality that riders have in your state.

It depends on what exactly you're asking - I lane split through stopped traffic, which some people call filtering (or vice versa), but if it's moving along I just defend my lane and hold the spot.  I do it anywhere I go.  If a cop sees you moving through stopped traffic, how exactly are they going to stop you?

Peace,
Syzygy

Where do you live?

Lane splitting in any form is Illegal in Arizona.  It's permitted for a law enforcement officer in the "line of duty" to split lanes on a motorcycle.
Interesting to know that it is also illegal to have handlebars that your hands are above your shoulders.. No ape hangers in AZ.. even though I see it all the time. 
We are allowed to ride "two abreast" in single lane, as long as both riders are "consenting" to it.

28-903. Operation of motorcycle on laned roadway; exceptions
  B. The operator of a motorcycle shall not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.
  C. A person shall not operate a motorcycle between the lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles.
  E. Subsections B and C do not apply to peace officers in the performance of their official duties.

This is in Queensland, Australia... lane splitting will get you fined and loss of points from your license - if you are caught. The only cops that can catch you are motorcycle cops.

The Reason it is illegal is that it is considered Dangerous. But, apparently, not too dangerous for a MC Cop to ride through half a mile of traffic, lane splitting, to nab you for it.

We can go past cars on the left (we ride on the left so this would be like passing cars on the right, on the shoulder) IF they are stopped or turning right. Most just assume you cannot pass on the shoulder/left unless the car is turning. But the "Stopped" thing is hidden deep within the Traffic Act andf you got to read it to discover. I'd bet most cops don't even know it.

Personally, I find it easier to hit side roads and cruise along than lane split to make up my time.

Michael

Quote from: mister on June 30, 2010, 12:06:21 PM
We can go past cars on the left (we ride on the left so this would be like passing cars on the right, on the shoulder) IF they are stopped or turning right.

The concept of a car crossing the oncoming lane for a RIGHT turn blows my (American) mind.....   

Here in Brazil lane spliting is allowed for stoped or moving car traffic. The last left division (between lanes 1 and 2) are supposed to have motorcycles in it. When all car drivers know that there's a motorcycle lane, it's not dangerous anymore, all drivers double or triple check their mirrors before cross this line.


Obviously it dangerous in freeways, with a rolling traffic at 70MPH and motorcycles zigzagin at 140MPH. But it's illegal to ride that fast, anyway...

I believe California is the only place where it is regularly practiced and expected by car drivers and police.

Some states like your DE example don't explicitly prohibit it, but nobody expects it and there's an excellent chance a cop would pull you over for it.

The fact that nobody but Californians expects it makes it riskier to do.  American drivers tend to get pissed easily and view driving as a competitive activity.

If they attack you with their vehicle, there is nothing you can do about it and they will literally get away with murder.

Not allowed to lane split in PA, which sucks. I waste so much sitting in traffic just staring down a wide open gap between traffic.

It's even worse considering I do pretty much all my in-town commuting by bicycle, where you can literally do absolutely anything you want right in front of a cop and they won't think a thing of it. The thought of stopping at a redlight just for the sake of stopping doesn't ever happen, and the idea of sitting in traffic is a joke. That makes riding a motorcycle a lot harder.

Surprisingly though it says I don't need turn signals. I wish we didn't need mirrors.

It's dangerous enough here in south Florida, I wouldn't do it if it were legal.

In Texas it is not illegal.  Which doesn't mean it IS, just that the statute doesn't mention lane splitting.

That said, I have not seen it done here.  Lane splitting would be a very unexpected move and therefore quite risky.

I would not split lanes even if permitted as it reduces an already narrow margin for error to zero.  After all, intelligent risk management is the game here.

Keep the shiny side up.

Chuck

i split lanes here in Kansas doing 85  people don't really realize what just happened until I'm 50 yards ahead of them, now of course i do this occasionally

Unfortunately, according to the AMA, lane splitting isn't legal in Kansas.

Probably neither is going 85mph.  In Arizona 85 and up is a criminal offense...

No helmet law in Colorado, and you only need a plate, headlights, and a brake light for your bike to be street legal, but they don't allow lane splitting in Colorado. Retarded law, I do it at stoplights anyway.

Here in UK, I believe, it's perfectly legal - and practiced all the time (it's called filtering here).  On some roads there are even signs stating "Drivers beware of motorcycle filtering" and a picture of a biker almost on a side - as in a very sharp bend.  If it were not for the ability to filter, I'd never get the bike in the first place, as I can get to work in an hour, while without filtering there's no difference from driving a car (time-wise) and would take about 2.5 hours.

in Maryland, Motorcycles can ride it the HOV. That alone can be worth the price of admission.

Yeah, they can ride in the HOV in California, too.  They even get discounts at some of the tolls.  I'm not sure if they still do this, because I haven't done this commute in a while, but in the Bay Area, during rush hour, tolls were free for motorcycles.

yeah, they USED to be free.....i blame them for going overbudget on the western expansion of the bay bridge....

Yeah, I heard the carpool lanes were going from FREE to $2.50 on some of the bridges.  But you have to admit, the area on the SF side of the bridge does look a lot nicer since they tore all those eucalyptus trees down.