autoevolution
 

Lane Splitting, You're Doing It Right if Crashing Was Your Goal

Lane splitting is definitely a good thing, no matter how dangerous some people see it especially the non-riding ones. Just as many other good things on the road, abusing it turns out nasty results and when it comes to traffic versus riders, it’s always the latter ones who come off worst.
Lane splitting goes wrong for silly rider 1 photo
Photo: Liveleak
Lane splitting is legal in many places around the world, and local authorities seem to gradually begin to understand that it’s no use keeping bikers waiting in extremely slow or even stuck traffic, adding up to the congestions. Since most motorcycles can effortlessly fit between the rows of stopped cars, allowing them to slowly filter to the front means easing up the street… which is a good thing.

Now, some motorists are getting mad when they see a biker slowly finding his or her way to the front of the row, but getting unnerved in such a situation is plain stupidity. The fact that some road users have chosen a two-wheeler and are therefore more nimble in busy traffic has nothing to do with the rows of stuck vehicles. Au contraire, if more people would use bikes and scooter, the roads will be less congested. Asking a guy who can pass you to wait just because your truck can’t make it an inch forward is really stupid.

On the other hand, there are some motorists who claim that lane splitting is dangerous exactly because riders like the one in the video below. Speeding between the slow or even stopped cars is definitely not a smart thing to do, and such “stunts” end up in crashes almost all the time. In fact the California Highway Patrol Police and more road safety agencies in the world advise that riders should not travel at speeds 10mph (16 km/h) higher than that of the surrounding traffic.

Such advice is given with a safety time frame in mind, the moderate speed allowing the rider to spot potential threats and stop, or at least slow down as much as possible, avoiding collision with obstacles and other inattentive drivers who may open a door in front of the bike. Just like this fellow did!


If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories