Lane Sharing is it time to legislate it?

[Jakemate]

I didn't read all the opinions, just want to chime in on my own. To preface, I'm 36 years old. Been riding for 20 years. Been hit by inattentive/dangerous drivers, and had more than an acceptable amount of aggressive/violent interaction with cagers. I've done long distance touring, as well as year round commuting and track activities.

I believe it needs to be taught to the motoring public. Cager and rider alike. Giving it legitimacy by making it 'legal' and not just 'not illegal', would be spectacular.

My major accident, I had been sharing. The number one started to move close to the speed limit, so I moved in. My big mistake was not moving all the way to the left of number one. Because, about a mile in, the carpool lane ended. I had a car cut into me. The only forward motion he had was moving towards the number one shoulder, not in my direction of travel. It sucked. Had I been sharing, it likely would have sucked more, given that the number one was moving at the limit.

For one, I believe all motorcyclists know about lane sharing. It is, to me, in ignorant knee-jerk to claim it will increase the practice.

As far as speed differential, I believe 10-15 above traffic flow, up to the speed limit, is the safe speed.

For safe, well, if the #1 is moving, and #2 is stopped; your ass better be careful. Also, sharing should be done in and around the lanes, not the #1 shoulder. Any time you are going to share for a long distance, (say, 5 miles), you should be between the #1 and #2. But, sometimes you need to share/filter to get there. So a distance caveat is essential.

 

[TrplGrl]

I say doing public outreach/education would just make the public angrier. Most of them think it's illegal and that we're just assholes getting away with breaking the law.

But...I think that the fact that most drivers think we are breaking the law IS what makes the them angry! I think some sort of educational program combined with signage along busy commute corridors might go a long way in helping. There could be PSAs explaining the legality of lane sharing and showing safe lane sharing in action. Just my

 

[silversvs]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

No suggestions?

 

[Z3n]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

No suggestions?

Use the amber alert signs! I have no idea what sort of message you'd put up there, but maybe "LANE SHARING IS LEGAL".

Besides that, you guys are getting a DMV question about lane sharing, which is great. I haven't had a chance to look through any of the newer DMV handbooks, is there a line in there explaining that it's legal?

 

[Jakemate]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

No suggestions?

Mailer with registration or license renewal, just like the DUI paper they include.

 

[Gabe]

For the record, 26 is the number of media reports I've found statewide, but with sparse news coverage in LA. In the Bay Area (with much better coverage), there have been 13 deaths reported 2004-2009, 3% of the total. Also a small percentage, I acknowledge, but those are 13 dead people who wouldn't be dead if they knew how to split lanes more safely.

In the MSF course, we talk about a "ladder of risk" and a "crash chain" of causation, where the more risk factors are present, the more likely a crash will happen. So, in those 13 crashes, were the riders just innocently splitting between 1 and 2, with a speed delta of less than 15 mph when a car quickly changed lanes and took them out in every case? Or were they splitting, being inattentive, unaware of the width of their bike (that happened in one case, I'm pretty sure) drunk, or riding in poor visibility/road conditions? If so, splitting was just one factor of many, not the primary cause. It kind of surprises me that you see it otherwise.

From what I read in the news (including the Sac Bee article that is the subject of a recent BARF thread), the public knows it's legal. Some support it, but others do not and see no benefit, so they have no interest in preserving it.

But whether or not they know it's legal, they hate it, so why bother telling them it's legal?

I've been splitting lanes for 25 years, commuting in both Orange County and the Bay Area. So I do a when I read about all the lane-splitting crashes. Some riders don't understand where the dangers are and how to avoid them. You'll find links to more than 20 BARF threads with first-person accounts of crashes and close calls in this post.

"All the lane-splitting crashes?"" Less than 3% and it's unclear if that's the primary cause of in most of the cases? Should we legislate high-speed cornering too? Because that accounts for WAAAY more rider deaths, as you well know.

Same question to you I asked someone else: If you did give a shit about the safety of your fellow motorcyclists, how would you motivate and educate them--no laws necessary--to improve the practice of lane splitting?

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

No suggestions?

I like the idea of the Amber Alert signs reading "Safe, Prudent Lane-Sharing is Allowed in CA! Watch for Motorcyclists!" to educate motorists (although my preferred option would be to do noting).

For educating motorcyclists, I'd like to see a paragraph added to MSF cirriculum in California explaining the legality, dangers and acceptable practices of lane-sharing. I'd also like to see a video, narrated by a CHP motor officer, where there's a discussion of lane sharing--why it's permissible, how to do it safely, and why it benefits everybody. It could have on-board footage of him lane-sharing, and that could show viewers it's not as dangerous as they think it is (if done prudently).

This could be spread virally (forward it to your non-riding friends and family) or shown as a PSA.

 

[DataDan]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

This might be a problem for MSF, but CMSP could add lane-splitting classroom modules to the beginning and/or experienced rider courses (does ERC still have classroom instruction?).

More than just legalities, best practices should also be covered. And best practices should be determined by knowledge of crash occurrence. What we often hear now are general rules: #1-#2 lanes only; 10mph delta; max of 45mph (or some variation). Unfortunately, riders may think that the combination of de-facto legality and following the accepted rules is sufficient to stay safe. What they also need is an understanding of how crashes occur and tactics to prevent them. With this knowledge, basic MSF strategy can be applied: Use SEE, searching far enough ahead to see problems developing, then evaluate and execute preventive maneuvers. But the threats are different when splitting, as the crash occurrence study will show. And that's what the lane-splitting module will emphasize. Instead of "car ahead waiting to turn left; may not see me" you could have "vacancy in right lane; car in left lane may cross; slow down and be ready to brake". Or "truck merging left to reach left exit lane; may flatten me like a roadkill possum; stay the fuck away".

It would be nice to base that on data from several years of crashes. In a previous post you recalled that there are about 10,000 injury motorcycle crashes in California per year. That's right, based on the publicly available SWITRS reports (9,000-11,000 per year 2004-2008, see 2008 Section 7, Table 7I). As an interim measure, in the years that will elapse until more detailed data collection can be implemented, identifying lane-split crashes from existing crash narratives (assuming those are in the SWITRS database) probably wouldn't be a job as monumental as it first seems. In most California counties, lane splitting is a non-issue because most of the crashes are on urban freeways. So limit the analysis to the heavily traveled freeways in LA and the Bay Area. Since these would all be CHP, there's probably some uniformity in the way narratives are written, so searching for only a few keywords would identify lane-splitting crashes.

It would also be beneficial to draw on moto-LEO experience and training for a CMSP lane-splitting module. I would guess that there's a wealth of wisdom inside CHP on safer lane-splitting. Not as a law-enforcement technique, but as a routine practice for getting from Point A to Point B.

 

[Roadstergal]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

Have a line in the DMV manual, maybe a Q on the written test. Doesn't need to be fancy, just a line to the effect that lanesharing isn't illegal.

 

[DataDan]

"All the lane-splitting crashes?"" Less than 3% and it's unclear if that's the primary cause of in most of the cases?

Fatalities aside, the 20+ crashes and close calls described in BARF threads at my link were all while splitting lanes. I haven't kept count, but I believe that's one of the most frequent kind of street crashes experienced by BARFers.

 

[masameet]

I've given your questions, silversvs, some thought. And I think the one bit of information that most riders are unaware of is how much stopping distance they have given the speed they're traveling.

For instance, you once posted in the LEO forum that

"[f]or every 1 mile per hour you are driving/riding you are traveling 1.467 feet per second."

How many riders know this and understand what it translates to out on the freeway and surface streets?

And how many riders know this other tidbit -- that we as individuals take about 0.75 sec. to perceive danger and about 0.75 sec. to react to it?*

So what do these braking tidbits have to do with lanesharing?

Everything. Our given speed while lanesharing (or traveling anywhere on the road) dictates whether we will make contact during emergency with the vehicle that crosses directly in our path.

Braking/stopping distances used to be illustrated in the DMV Driver Handbook. But I couldn't find it in the old 2002 handbook that's been in my car. And I don't recall hearing about it in my MSF class. And for sure, it us not mentioned in any of these pamphlets regarding motorcycling --

• You And Your Motorcycle Riding Tips
• Motorcycle Operator Manual
• Ten Things All Car & Truck Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles
• Basic RiderCourse Handbook

-- listed on the MSF website.

Anyway here is a link to a site that gives braking/stopping distances for motorcycles, including for ABS-equipped bikes: http://www.bikesafer.com/detail/braketime.html

If anything, I wish some film production company would come out with a video for motorcycles similar to this one:

[youtube]9kV24bhdzLI[/youtube]

__________

* Motorman4life discussed perception and reaction time in the LEO forum. But I didn't hear about it until I took the Alameda County Sheriff's Office 1-Day Civilian Motorcycle Training Basic course.

 

[masameet]

And for 2008 the CHP kept tabs on lanesharing incidents for motorcycles. But I think the CHP labels it as "improper passing." The figures came out to:

4 fatalities and 225 non-fatal injuries

In contrast, in 2008 19 fatalities and 853 non-fatal injuries were due to improper passing by drivers of motor vehicles other than motorcycles. (And obviously non-motorcycles do not lane share.)

This information is listed in the SWITRS link that DataDan posted above.

But so far, no SWITRS data has been posted online for 2009. So we have to look to the NHTSA FARS, which in 2009 showed that 411* motorcyclists died on California roadways. Of those deaths, 258 fatalities involved another vehicle. From that total, we subtract the 158 riders who died in head-on collision, the 48 riders for whose impact with other vehicles is unknown, and the 11 riders who died from either hitting the rear of a vehicle or being hit from behind. Now we have 41 riders who might have died due to "improper passing." But given the known data from 2008 -- 4 fatalities -- most likely the fatalities from lanesharing for 2009 are similarly low (or high, depending on one's perspective). DataDan previously pointed out that in the last 6 years, 24 riders died while lanesharing in California. That number is also still relatively low as to the number of licensed riders.

___________

* In looking for fatality statistics online, the rate in California differed on various sites. I dunno why.

 

[masameet]

And I'm just throwing this in, since you mentioned other CVC sections. But I believe the CHP cites "improper passing" using these sections:

V C Section 21750 Overtake and Pass to Left
Overtake and Pass to Left
21750. The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle or a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left at a safe distance without interfering with the safe operation of the overtaken vehicle or bicycle, subject to the limitations and exceptions hereinafter stated.

Amended Sec. 7, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.

V C Section 21751 Passing Without Sufficient Clearance
Passing Without Sufficient Clearance
21751. On a two-lane highway, no vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless the left side is clearly visible and free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be completely made without interfering with the safe operation of any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction.

Amended Ch. 50, Stats. 1973. Effective January 1, 1974.

V C Section 21752 When Driving on Left Prohibited
When Driving on Left Prohibited
21752. No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the roadway under the following conditions:
(a) When approaching or upon the crest of a grade or a curve in the highway where the driver's view is obstructed within such distance as to create a hazard in the event another vehicle might approach from the opposite direction.
(b) When the view is obstructed upon approaching within 100 feet of any bridge, viaduct, or tunnel.
(c) When approaching within 100 feet of or when traversing any railroad grade crossing.
(d)When approaching within 100 feet of or when traversing any intersection.
This section shall not apply upon a one-way roadway.
Amended Sec. 7, Ch. 596, Stats. 2000. Effective January*1,*2001.

V C Section 21753 Yielding for Passing
Yielding for Passing
21753. Except when passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall safely move to the right-hand side of the highway in favor of the overtaking vehicle after an audible signal or a momentary flash of headlights by the overtaking vehicle, and shall not increase the speed of his or her vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle. This section does not require the driver of an overtaken vehicle to drive on the shoulder of the highway in order to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass.

Amended Sec. 9, Ch. 440, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.
Amended Sec. 40, Ch. 724, Stats. 1999. Effective January 1, 2000.

V C Section 21754 Passing on the Right
Passing on the Right
21754. The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass to the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:
(a) When the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn.
(b) Upon a highway within a business or residence district with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles in the direction of travel.
(c) Upon any highway outside of a business or residence district with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width and clearly marked for two or more lines of moving traffic in the direction of travel.
(d) Upon a one-way street.
(e) Upon a highway divided into two roadways where traffic is restricted to one direction upon each of such roadways.
The provisions of this section shall not relieve the driver of a slow moving vehicle from the duty to drive as closely as practicable to the right hand edge of the roadway.

V C Section 21755 Pass on Right Safely
Pass on Right Safely
21755. The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under conditions permitting such movement in safety. In no event shall such movement be made by driving off the paved or main-traveled portion of the roadway.

V C Section 21756 Passing Standing Streetcar Trolley Coach or Bus
Passing Standing Streetcar, Trolley Coach, or Bus
21756. (a) The driver of a vehicle overtaking any interurban electric or streetcar stopped or about to stop for the purpose of receiving or discharging any passenger shall stop the vehicle to the rear of the nearest running board or door of such car and thereupon remain standing until all passengers have boarded the car or upon alighting have reached a place of safety, except as provided in subdivision (b) hereof.
(b) Where a safety zone has been established or at an intersection where traffic is controlled by an officer or a traffic control signal device, a vehicle need not be brought to a stop before passing any interurban electric or streetcar but may proceed past such car at a speed not greater than 10 miles per hour and with due caution for the safety of pedestrians.
(c) Whenever any trolley coach or bus has stopped at a safety zone to receive or discharge passengers, a vehicle may proceed past such trolley coach or bus at a speed not greater than 10 miles per hour.
Amended Ch. 969, Stats. 1959. Effective September 18, 1959.

V C Section 21757 Passing Streetcar on Left
Passing Streetcar on Left
21757. The driver of a vehicle shall not overtake and pass upon the left, nor shall any driver of a vehicle drive upon the left side of, any interurban electric or streetcar proceeding in the same direction whether the street car is actually in motion or temporarily at rest, except:
(a) When so directed by a police or traffic officer.
(b) When upon a one-way street.
(c) When upon a street where the tracks are so located as to prevent compliance with this section.

V C Section 21758 Passing on Grades
Passing on Grades
21758. In the event any vehicle is being operated on any grade outside of a business or residence district at a speed of less than 20 miles per hour, no person operating any other motor vehicle shall attempt to overtake and pass such slow moving vehicle unless the overtaking vehicle is operated at a speed of at least 10 miles per hour in excess of the speed of the overtaken vehicle, nor unless the passing movement is completed within a total distance not greater than one-quarter of a mile.

V C Section 21759 Caution in Passing Animals
Caution in Passing Animals
21759. The driver of any vehicle approaching any horse drawn vehicle, any ridden animal, or any livestock shall exercise proper control of his vehicle and shall reduce speed or stop as may appear necessary or as may be signalled or otherwise requested by any person driving, riding or in charge of the animal or livestock in order to avoid frightening and to safeguard the animal or livestock and to insure the safety of any person driving or riding the animal or in charge of the livestock.

 

[masameet]

How do we get other motorists to stop hating us and trying to hurt us?

What happened to CHP Sgt. Lincoln McKenna as he rode home on his KLR650 could happen to any of us. For sure, some riders have been killed in road rage incidents.

Wearing full-face helmets, looking like biker gang members, and whizzing by other motorists, I suppose we look alien and unfriendly. If anything, I'd like to see a high-values production PSA that explains who we motorcyclists are.

You see us but sometimes you don't see us. For some drivers we're "Joe Cool." For others we're just a blur. Some folks even see us as "cheaters" because we ride to the front of the line at red lights. But we're not. We're motorcyclists who get around on a motorcycle that enjoys great maneuverability.

It would have images of riders taking off their helmets while standing next to their bikes, and saying things like:

We're young, we're old, we're male, we're female, we're new riders, we're veteran riders. We're somebodies' child, brother, sister, dad, mom, grandpa, grandpa, husband, wife, friend, co-worker. We might be famous, we might be just famous in our own little worlds. We're cops, we're housewives, we're students, we're bankers, we're actors, [etc.].

For sure, we're probably somebody you know.

Many of us riders are continuously learning and improving our riding skills. Because every time we're out on the road, it can be our last ride.

Come on. Take a ride with us and see what lanesharing is all about.

And then we show the channel or pathway or open lane we see and ride in to laneshare.

Other things can be added as well, like "Before you change lanes, look twice for a motorcycle." Maybe even throw in "Opening a door on an oncoming motorcyclist can result in that rider's death. Please don't do it."

 

[masameet]

For motorcyclists, I'd like to see California provide some kind of incentive for riders to buy and install headlight modulators. Heck, even BARF could do a group-buy discount thingee. And maybe some rider(s) can compile data that shows which street bike's electrical system can handle the modulator's load and which cannot.

A PSA with high-values production like the one I posted about braking but for motorcyclists regarding lanesharing could include this idea:

Nobody likes being told "Don't do this." But what if we tell you what some riders did in lanesharing that ended up being their last mistake on earth?

Show scenarios and then show photos of the riders before their deaths. Have a family member, if willing, narrate the fallen rider's segment.

For example, lanesharing alongside a big rig (either I-580 or Hwy 238 crash involving a BAD rider -- but the father is against lanesharing and may not want to be involved) or without keeping in mind the width of one's hardcase saddlebags (I-880 crash of a BMW rider who was a school teacher) or going too fast and not accounting for stopping distance (probably lots of riders to choose from).

Include a segment of the Saddletramps incident -- how passing a line of staggered riders on a 2-lane highway led to five deaths.

Maybe suggest to groups of riders who are going the speed limit voluntarily to move to the fog line and allow faster moving vehicles to get by. (Because if we riders grumble about "rolling roadblocks," how can we object if other motorists see us as "rolling roadblocks" too?)

 

[masameet]

As to legislation, in my opinion if any language is to be added to the CVC regarding motorcycles, it should be to enlarge CVC §§ 21750 (Overtake and Pass to Left) and 27154 (Passing on the Right) by encompassing ", including a motorcycle," in the first line after "The driver of a (motor) vehicle …."

For obviously the intent of these CVC sections was to allow free and unrestricted movement of motorists traveling in conformance with the Basic Speed Law. The added language dispels any confusion as to whether a motorcyclist is a "driver of a motor vehicle" and thus allowed by law to overtake and pass another motor vehicle, even within the same lane.

 

[CaptCrash]

The difficult questions are:

What change do you want to effect in people? In fact are you looking to change minds and behaviors or just "heighten awareness"? Do you want people to accept and embrace lane splitting or just tolerate it?

How big is your throw?--how many can you reach? (Which can be limited by how much money can you spend? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?) Can you buy TV time? Or Billboards? Radio?

I would think that the cheapest way to go would be to change the education information that NEW drivers are getting. Be sure that the Drivers Ed BASIC has a page or two on "Dealing with Motorcycles". Yeah, and put a question on the DMV test. Why? Because you're never gonna get to a large sample of people with public service messages--BUT--you can reach out to every driver that is being trained. Those 16 to 18 year olds will grow up with that knowledge. Drivers Ed cirriculum is always under scrutiny and there WILL be updates in the future; one of those could be defining Lane Sharing to other users.

Adding a queston to the DMV test would allow you to gather information on WHAT the public knows and impress on them what they SHOULD know.

You want to get water to the leaves? Pour it on the roots.

From my experience with things Political you'll need more than a majority on your committee to actually get some action--you'll need consensus. Good luck!

 

[Razel]

To tackle the education part, do we know who we have to reach? Is it the car-driving masses asking for changes, or just a few folks in the "right" places looking to make a change?
For the most part, my lane-s____ing experiences have been good. I think a good part of the non-motorcycle riding people on the freeways don't care. Some move over to add some room, some move over as if their car was about to be crushed, but it's pretty rare that I get closed off or entertained by the horn-honking.
I figure the best place to "educate" is where the push is coming from. The folks that are initiating the legal steps to make it illegal. Let them trickle the "new" information back down the path it came from. What to educate them with will be determined who it is we need to educate. Find out who "they" are, and then formulate the way create the educations and make the delivery.

 

[Motech]

Still no answers on how to "educate" motorists and riders with the current legalities.

No suggestions?

I like the posted idea to include a reminder with DMV renewal notices. Also, the electronic billboards are currently displaying occasional moto-safety messages, and the added statements in DMV driver license testing literature is helpful too.

I really think pushing it much further is not a good idea, no matter how well intentioned. Taking a sublime issue and pasting it onto the forefront will draw out the opposition to counter the advocates, and making a public debate out of it could backfire on us.

Besides, those of us who have been riding street for decades surely can attest to the improved cooperation of drivers to lane-sharing over the years. How many of us see motorists moving over to give us more room when they see us coming these days? This is something that has been developing over time to the point that cooperative drivers are FAR more common now than pissy ones when it comes to lane-sharing, especially when compared to 10, 20 and 30 years ago. Call it cager evolution. Whether it's due to more people with motorcycles in their lives, or more education, it's getting better--much better.

I'd hate to see this freedom jeopardized by our own peers. It's not a significant issue right now; let's not help make it one.

 

[MysterYvil]

Not hard science, but a good anecdote

Spurred by this thread, I took advantage of a gathering of coworkers to get their impressions of motorcyclists in general and lane-sharing in particular. 16 females (ages 21 to 60+) and two males (both in their late 20s). None of them ride, five have family members and/or friends that do.

In short, they notice the high-speed sharers, those who swerve in and out of traffic, and the loud pipe riders. Negatively. VERY negatively.

When prompted to think about it, most realized that they don't notice or particularly remember the vast majority of riders one way or another. But they sure as hell remember fast and loud.

Three did acknowledge noticing (in a positive fashion) those riders who gave thank-you waves when let by. Two of the three were among the family/friends who ride subsection.

Eight or nine believed that lane-sharing is illegal, and at least two of them still believe it, even after others pointed out that it is legal. Many of them hate with fury the fact that motos can slip through slow traffic, viewing it as "cutting in line." Few were aware of the safety aspect (for motos), and only one had considered the fact that one less vehicle waiting in line is one vehicle closer every driver is to their destination. (And that fact did get a few positive, reconsidering comments.)

About half believe that every moto can out-brake a car; the other half seemed to believe that every moto takes much longer to slow down.

Biker-type riders are less vilified than "crotch-rocket" riders, unless the biker-type is on a loud bike (then he's an HA, and therefore scary).

My take away from this?

1- We're all ambassadors; every negative thing we do reinforces the negative stereotype. Every finger that is flipped, every mirror that is punched off, adds to the prevalent stereotype; the rider may know perfectly well that the ass deserved it, but other drivers only see a "crazy rider"...

2- Drivers need to be educated as to the legality and benefits of lane sharing. I think the poster who proposed adding that question to the DMV test has a very good idea. The level of ignorance was astonishing to me.

(And just an aside- at least two of them thought that most riders know one another, because we always seem to wave at each other. Odd what folks notice, and stranger what they conclude.)

 

[MysterYvil]

Legislators

Any idea where a list of moto-friendly CA legislators might be obtained?

Perhaps a pre-emptive campaign of reasonable letters/emails to our supporters is in order.