Lanesplitting
A Homeland Security Imperative
Lanesplitting — passing between lanes of stopped or slower-moving vehicles on a motorcycle — is not explicitly legal in any state of the United States.
It should be. Lanesplitting is a homeland security imperative.
Lanesplitting is “technically already legal in California, simply because there is no law prohibiting it. It is illegal in all 49 other states, but legal in Europe and Asia.” — LA Weekly
Lane splitting, also called lane sharing and traffic filtering, is 100 percent legal in the Golden State, simply because it’s not illegal. — Wired
Having said this, bikers are still charged with obeying the same rules of the road with respect to lane delineation as other motor vehicle operators. — Steven Sweat
Traffic Safety
In 2015 the University of California at Berkeley concluded “Lane-splitting appears to be a relatively safe motorcycle riding strategy if done in traffic moving at 50 MPH or less and if motorcyclists do not exceed the speed of other vehicles by more than 15 MPH.” Or, as a Jalopnik writer summarized it, “it’s safe — if you’re not a tool.”
UC Berkeley found that motorcyclists who split lanes in heavy traffic are significantly less likely to be struck from behind by other motorists, are less likely to suffer head or torso injuries, and are less likely to sustain fatal injuries in a crash.
An older, frequently cited study is “Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report,” Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007, Contract No. DOT HS-5–01160, January 1981 (Final Report), commonly known as the Hurt Report. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has taken note of its finding that “traveling between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars (i.e., lane splitting) on multiple-lane roads (such as interstate highways) slightly reduces crash frequency compared with staying within the lane and moving with other traffic.”
The MSF stops short of endorsing lanesplitting, instead calling for studying the safety implications. In contrast, the Motorcycle Industry Council supports “state laws that allow lanesplitting under reasonable restrictions.” MIC reports “other potential benefits include an increase in conspicuity since the motorcyclist is moving relative to other traffic; a reduction in motorcyclist fatigue from constant shifting and braking in traffic, since the vast majority of motorcycles have a manual transmission; a reduction in the motorcyclist’s exposure to ambient heat in the summer and car exhaust year-round; and a reduction of engine damage from extended idling, especially for models with air-cooled engines.” The American Motorcyclist Association is “cautious to issue a blanket endorsement supporting the practice” but “given the ongoing success of lane splitting in California and the recent enthusiasm for lane splitting and/or filtering in other states, the AMA endorses these practices ….”
Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you. — Jeremy Clarkson
A study by Steve Guderian concludes “Lane-sharing is a safety technique that can positively affect all riders regardless of the type of motorcycle ridden or the riding style applied.”
Congestion Reduction
Loz Blain observed “Where many drivers get it wrong is that they see lane splitting as “queue jumping” that will cause each car to go one further spot back in the queue. In truth, a filtering bike disappears from the queue altogether, the only time a motorcycle holds a car up is when it sits in traffic and acts like another car.”
Fourteen thousand people petitioned the President for legalization by stating it “reduces car traffic because of the space a motorcycle takes up behind a car.”
A 2011 study in Belgium found that replacing 10 percent of cars with motorcycles and allowing lanesplitting would cut time stuck in traffic by 63 percent — for everyone. Further, the study found considerable environmental benefits because each motorcycle that lanesplits actively reduces the amount of time every other vehicle on the road spends sitting in traffic jams, total emissions would decrease by 6 percent.
Opposition
Opposition centers around the automobile driver’s perception of danger and other aspects of legislation, such as whether the motorcycle rider must wear a helmet.
The Motorcycle Industry Council notes “critics of the technique cite the possibility of a car changing lanes, cutting off the motorcyclist and causing a collision. However, most riders will only split lanes when traffic is moving slowly, limiting the speed at which a driver can make a lateral move and giving the rider ample opportunity to avoid a collision.”
Other drivers are opposed because it appears to be granting special favors to motorcycles. Taking things a step further, 7 percent of California drivers say they have attempted to block a lane-splitting motorcyclist from passing them.
Or, as expressed by Clifford Gibson of Odessa, Texas, “If you don’t wanna get hit on a motorcycle on your way to work Monday morning THEN GROW UP AND GET A CAR!!”
Homeland Security Perspective
From a homeland security perspective, legalized lanesplitting would provide a number of advantages.
- Maximized use of infrastructure and resources. Highways are expensive critical infrastructure. Traffic congestion in the Washington area alone adds 180 million hours of traffic delay and consumes 85 million excess gallons of gas.
- Economic benefits. The Chicago economy lost $1.7 billion in 2011 due to the increased travel time and other operating costs of large trucks and the extra diesel consumed.
- Environmental benefits. The additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions attributed to traffic congestion in 2012 was 56 billion pounds — about 380 pounds per auto commuter. Less congestion = less pollution.
- Faster incident clearance. Traffic incidents account for about one-quarter of all congestion on U.S. roadways. For every minute that a freeway travel lane is blocked during a peak travel period, four minutes of travel delay results after the incident is cleared. Crashed motorcycles are easier to clear from a roadway — lighter weight, fewer large parts.
- Faster movement for emergency vehicles. With fewer motorcycles taking up lane space, emergency vehicles can cover more ground quicker. At intersections, motorcycles are more responsive and agile than cars, providing more maneuvering room for emergency vehicles.
- Better debris/disruption avoidance. At higher speeds and under normal traffic conditions, cars have an advantage in that they are more likely to be able to travel over debris or slippery surfaces with minimal damage. However, when highways are blocked or disrupted, a motorcycle’s agility makes it more able to turn around, clear, and find alternate paths forward.
- Electromagnetic Pulse. A number of variables affect whether cars or motorcycles are more likely to survive an EMP. Without going into that, a commission in 2008 found that “with modern traffic patterns,
even a very small number of disabled vehicles or accidents can cause debilitating traffic jams” and “traffic light controllers will begin to malfunction following exposure to EMP fields as low as a few kV/m, thereby causing traffic congestion. Approximately 10 percent of the vehicles on the road will stop, at least temporarily, thereby possibly triggering accidents, as well as congestion, at field levels above 25 kV/m.”
- When TSHTF. Granted, in disasters traffic laws can be suspended or ignored with a high probability of impunity. However, those who prepare for such things point to the speed, versatility, and economy of motorcycles as transportation. As Elijah Wood demonstrated in the 1998 movie Deep Impact, lanesplitting provides unparalleled mobility.
Conclusion
Safer traffic. Faster emergency response. Less pollution. Better use of infrastructure. Economic savings. Improving homeland security at minimal cost. Seems reasonable, doesn’t it?
This article was written by Steven Polunsky for Inside Job and is not intended to represent the official position of anyone or anything other than the author, if that. A version of this article, “5 Reasons America Needs Motorcycle Lanesplitting,” also appeared on Buzzfeed.
Image credits:
Cover image: by https://www.reddit.com/user/errorik at http://imgur.com/a/IAaOd used with permission
Motorcycles in Traffic: http://www.gizmag.com/motorcycle-lane-splitting-filtering-safety-research/34425/pictures#1
Lane Splitting was Awesome: Reddit user https://www.reddit.com/user/letstalkaboutrocks video https://youtu.be/pUBbzbPCGaE edited to GIF at http://www.gifs.com/gif/vZL4Ml
Lane Splitting Laws Map: By Jisjuh Own work [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AUSA_lane_splitting_legality.png
You’re Doing It Wrong: https://youtu.be/Kz4ZGqfwNEM http://j.gifs.com/Kkpggn.gif converted to GIF at https://www.gifyoutube.com/gif/Kkpggn
See how easy that is? https://youtu.be/slMhgcwSqeM
Clifford Gibson: http://www.bikerspost.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/129/photo_id/286747 https://www.facebook.com/127038027339734/photos/a.156139537762916.27021.127038027339734/882848145092048/?type=1
Motorcycle Lane-Split Divide: Wall Street Journal, http://on.wsj.com/1Kz1qLC
Rear-ended: Reddit http://i.imgur.com/PqTuY.jpg
Flooded highway: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/05/
Elijah Wood in Deep Impact https://youtu.be/dUOh-adhPiI via https://www.gifyoutube.com/gif/y71xQZhttps://www.gifyoutube.com/gif/y71xQZ
More Resources
http://americanmotorcyclist.com/About-The-AMA/lane-splitting-1
