Photo: Wikipedia
If you’ve ever been on a motorcycle, you can tell it wasn’t created to sit around. It heats up quite a lot, it can’t sit upright on its own, and it exposes the rider to more danger. That’s why lane-splitting should be legal everywhere. The State of Utah has finally acknowledged this, and a lane-splitting bill has been introduced.
HB410 would permit lane splitting, defined as passing a vehicle moving in the same direction in the same lane, when motorcyclists determine they can safely make the move while not exceeding 40 mph.
The new lane-splitting bill’s sponsor, Rep. Gage Froerer, called on physical therapist and motorcyclist Dave Moss to help present the idea to the people and answer many of the committee’s questions.
"The primary problem with getting lane splitting passed in states is that non-motorcyclists think that it is dangerous," Moss said. "Motorcycles are seven times more likely to be hit while stopped, compared to crashing while lane splitting."
Moreover, legalizing lane-splitting will encourage more people to switch to riding motorcycles. In return, this decongests traffic and frees up parking spaces. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
What the drivers need to do is to put their phones down while behind the wheel, check their mirrors more often, and signal their intention to change direction, things which they should do regardless of having motorcycles coming in between the lanes or not.
On the other side, motorcyclists should be extremely careful not to clip mirrors and don’t exceed the other vehicles’ speed by more than 10 mph when lane-splitting. Again, common sense precautions every rider should take when performing such maneuver.
Froerer also said that the Legislature ends March 9th, leaving little time for the bill to be considered in both the House and the Senate.
The only State that legally allows lane-splitting now is California. Several other States tried to introduce a similar bill, but as of the moment of writing this, they haven’t got any success.
The new lane-splitting bill’s sponsor, Rep. Gage Froerer, called on physical therapist and motorcyclist Dave Moss to help present the idea to the people and answer many of the committee’s questions.
"The primary problem with getting lane splitting passed in states is that non-motorcyclists think that it is dangerous," Moss said. "Motorcycles are seven times more likely to be hit while stopped, compared to crashing while lane splitting."
Moreover, legalizing lane-splitting will encourage more people to switch to riding motorcycles. In return, this decongests traffic and frees up parking spaces. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
What the drivers need to do is to put their phones down while behind the wheel, check their mirrors more often, and signal their intention to change direction, things which they should do regardless of having motorcycles coming in between the lanes or not.
On the other side, motorcyclists should be extremely careful not to clip mirrors and don’t exceed the other vehicles’ speed by more than 10 mph when lane-splitting. Again, common sense precautions every rider should take when performing such maneuver.
Froerer also said that the Legislature ends March 9th, leaving little time for the bill to be considered in both the House and the Senate.
The only State that legally allows lane-splitting now is California. Several other States tried to introduce a similar bill, but as of the moment of writing this, they haven’t got any success.
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