Although I am a biker lawyer, I try to ride my motorcycle as much as possible when I do not have to be in Court, especially now that gas prices are through the roof. Bumper to bumper traffic here in Southern California is another incentive to commute on my Harley Davidson motorcycle as well.
Speaking of gas prices and traffic; here in California many people are not only commuting more and more to work on their motorcycles, but many new motorcyclist are buying motorcycles to beat the traffic and the high gas prices as well.
Luckily for us bikers and motorcyclist, lane splitting is legal in the State of California. As a matter of fact, the State of California is one of only a couple of States that legally allow lane splitting.
What is Lane Splitting? I know many of my Biker Law Blog readers are experienced bikers and motorcyclist, and know what lane splitting is, however many of my readers are from other States, or are new riders, so I will offer a quick explanation of what lane splitting is.
Lane splitting in a nutshell is riding your motorcycle in between lanes on freeways, interstates, or roads. In California it is legal to ride between the lanes on the dotted line, so long as you are riding no more than 15-20 miles faster than the flow of traffic. Obviously this would be different on a public street where the speed limit is only 35 miles per hour.
Lane splitting is legal in this State because the legislature determined that it is safer for a biker or motorcyclist to not be parked in bumper to bumper traffic totally exposed with a risk of being rear ended, and because air cooled motorcycles require a constant flow of air to keep from overheating. This is another subject.
Anyway getting back to the fine art of lane splitting while riding your motorcycle in California; if there is one word I can use to describe what you need to exercise while lane splitting, it would be CAUTION!
Although lane splitting is legal, it takes the utmost caution and attention to be done safely, especially during the morning commute when cagers are in a big rush to get to work and not necessarily looking out for you when they switch lanes.
I regularly ride my motorcycle in a morning commute to downtown Los Angeles from the San Fernando Valley that is arguably one of the most treacherous morning drives for a biker or motorcyclist. I take the 118 freeway east to the 5 freeway South to the 110 freeway south, to Downtown Los Angeles! The traffic is an utter nightmare and there is no diamond lane or carpool lane to rely upon. (In California motorcycles can legally ride in Carpool lanes.) Some would argue that the 405 freeway is worse but I beg to differ.
Interstate 5 is the main artery up and down the State of California, and all of the big rig trucks and every other thing you can think of is on this freeway in the morning. It is so bad that I only see a few other motorcycles most mornings riding this route.
What I personally have learned lane splitting during morning commutes on the 5 freeway and the 110 freeway, is that literally every man and women are out for themselves.
Regularly there are rear ender or other types of accidents, and everyone is constantly switching lanes while in a rush to get to work in the bumper to bumper traffic. There are cagers on cell phones, putting on makeup, drinking coffee, etc. You get the picture.
So what is the best way to lane split; in my opinion the best position to be in is between the number 1 and number 2 lanes. (The number 1 lane is the left most lane, and the number 2 lane is the lane next to it to the right.)
If you are going to lane split you need to get into what I call the zone. It is almost a meditative state of utter concentration. You must look for any sign that a car or truck is going to cut in front of you, veer towards you, or even intentionally cut you off because they are pissed that you can beat the traffic and they cant.
I was lane splitting behind a motorcycle police officer the other day and he got cut off!!
You must be prepared to stop or switch into lanes at a moments notice. This is only possible if you are not going too fast. Pay special attention to trucks and SUV’s because they cannot see you and they take up most of their lane. Sometimes you will have to wait until there is an opening before you pass. Sometimes you will even have to stop to ensure that you have enough room to get between the cars while splitting lanes. Often time’s cars will move enough to give you room to pass, other times they seem to intentionally cut you off.
It can very hairy while lane splitting on your motorcycle. A split ½ second could mean the difference between making it in between the cars or being taken out. This is why you must, and I repeat must exercise extreme caution. You must assume that the cars do not see you. Pay extra attention when you approach a situation while lane splitting where there is a gap in a lane next to you. Assume that a cager will try to fill that gap to beat the traffic. If you rush into the gap you just might be taken out by a cager. Be careful!
I cannot tell you how many lane splitting accident cases I have handled as a biker lawyer. It is dangerous; there is no doubt about that.
If you do not feel comfortable lane splitting, then don’t do it! Furthermore do not let others pressure you to ride beyond your limits. Know your limits!
Lane splitting takes knowing your bike, staying in a low gear and using lots of front brake when needed.
I myself have no problem blowing my Mini-Beast Air Horn if I feel like a cager is closing me off, or about to cut me off.
Lane splitting will ultimately save you time and money in bumper to bumper traffic if done right. Get into the zone and do not speed!
Keep Both Wheels on the Road!
By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007
Welcome, my name is 
Lane splitting
I moved to California a couple years ago, coming from the Midwest. Before moving here I never dreamt of splitting lanes as they do here in So Cal. And I vowed I would never do such a dangerous thing…
Splitting lanes is not legal is all states! Watch Out and be careful
We had a story here in washington not to long ago that one of these Lane Splitters was splitting lanes recklessly and was ran over by a 18 wheeler as he lost control of his bike. If you practice this manuver again be careful and dont run people off the road.
I have on many occasions had a biker hit the side of my car ostensibly because he did not like that he had to slow down to get between my and the car beside me. I witness on a daily basis the numerous instances of bikers driving recklessly on streets and freeways; speeding and cutting others off and hear hearing how they go “down” in crashes. I can only hope that more go down as the ultimate response to their behavior!! Perhaps only then will these uneducated, classless, wanna-be pseudo-rebels be chastened.
Paul is a very sick person to wish for harm to befall another person. Maybe he is just aggravated that he can not split lanes and therefore tramped in a traffic jam and the biker can navigate past the traffic jam.
I am sure that your article will be good. I feel the same way as you do. Drivers do not like motorcycles on the road and they never show courtesy towards a biker….hence pulling out in front of you when you can not stop or move over in your lane and cut you off because they are in a big hurry, riding so close to your butt you can feel their engine heat,,,,,,,,,,,,,and dirty enough to steal your helmet. There is no doubt we put up with a lot!!! People in Florida do not want you to go the street after their bedtime but they can blow out and do the things they do to clean their boats after taking it out for the day at 6:30 AM on a Sunday morning. The sound of a air boat is like a air raid without the sirens. They will mow their yards at 6:30 AM as well. Seems like nobody has any respect for other people. Everyone is out for themselves. Instead of having joy in ones heart….they look for something to gripe about and how to make someone miserable. I look forward to your article.
Hey Norm, I live along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi and frequently ride into Louisiana. Our summers are painfully HOT and humid! Many times my hog was about to over heat sitting in traffic. How do I find out if it’s legal to ‘lane split’ here? Is it only allowed on the freeway?
Yup there is nothing hairier then splitting lanes next to a big rig truck! Always be careful when riding, especially when lane splitting. By the way, I wrote the book on beating speeding tickets over a decade ago! You can read it for free by going to http://www.norman-law.com
Norm
Paul you are one sick individual wishing that bikers go down as a result of their legally lane splitting.
I doubt very seriously you have “on many occasions” been hit by a biker lane splitting. I have been driving since I was 16 and was only clipped one time by an idiot on Hollywood.
Remember what you wish onto others comes onto you!
Norm
Sandie I will tell you that I have received many calls, emails, and comments that were worse then Paul’s. I finally got sick of it and published one so that I can comment on it.
I am shocked at the amount of people who are against bikers and motorcyclist. I have no doubt in my mind that many of these idiots may intentionally cause accidents against us.
Anyway I am going to write an article about it soon.
Norm
Bobby since I am a California lawyer I cannot give legal advice for Louisiana or Mississippi except on Federal Law issues related to those states.
If you go to the AMA website, specifically this link: http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/laws.asp
You can get the motorcycle laws for each State. It appears from information on the AMA website that Lane Splitting is illegal in Louisiana but not in Mississippi. The only way to really find out is to consult an attorney within each State, and to call their respective Highway Patrol.
Norm
I should show this to my bro. He lives in San Jose. May be these tips will be of help to him.Thanks Norm