Lane Splitting, or I Love Traffic

Back when I worked in the dotcom biz, I used to commute to work 30 minutes a day to my little cubicle in the sky. My helmet had a car-sized bumper sticker on the back of it that read “I Love Traffic” that I re-purposed from a web company called I-Traffic. I’d lane split practically the whole way and it was a hell of a lot better than being stuck in traffic. Northern California 101 is ripe with well-trained car commuters- trained in the art of being aware of swift moving bikers buzzing past, for the most part. But get out of the Bay Area or get in the city or any other over-trafficked area and the aggravation caused by non-movement in a driver can get just plain dangerous. Combine that with the folks who are downright “lane splitter haters” and it can get ugly.

When you’re in a car, it’s easy to get spooked by a biker buzzing past you. “Shit, I practically hit that guy”. Even us motorcyclists will catch ourselves in near misses when we’re in our cars. In a car it’s easy to lose focus and be less alert. When this happens, it’s easy to focus aggression at the guy on the bike instead of your own state of being. “I’m in a car, I’m supposed to be asleep at the wheel”.

And then there’s the character who whines and moans because you’re not stuck in traffic just like them, as if you’re cutting. It’s the notion that says: ““They don’t have any respect. They ought to wait in line like everybody else.””. Huh? You mean you would actually prefer it if I were stuck in traffic just like you, preferably directly in front of you and I was driving my lifted Chevy Tahoe with the bass hammering at you while I sip my cafe mocha, yap on my cell phone and try to look at my navigation system and listen to the radio at the same time? Because, if I weren’t whirling past you and to my workplace in half the commute time as you, that’s what I’d be doing. Wise-up, agro-commuter, those bikes speeding by you are the reason you were only 5 minutes late to work instead of 15.

Not only is lane-splitting legal, it’s a great antidote to the ills of traffic. For motorcyclists, it’s also the safest place to be when speed is kept to a moderate pace and the rider remains constantly alert. Getting whacked in the back by a truck is far more life threatening than being side swiped. Yet, California is one of the few states in the US that actually allows lane splitting. Doze off for a bit though and you’re done.

If you do a search on Google News for “motorcycle” you’ll find plenty of news about motorcycle deaths and accidents. Funny thing is, none of them appear to be about riders crashing while lane-splitting.

Then there are the various personality types you come across as you split. These are the cars, the cagers, the obstacles.

You run into a handful of types on a daily basis as a lane splitter:

One I’m both appreciative of and yet skeptical too is the car that actually scoots over a little to let you pass. Nice gesture, but I never really know whether you’re being nice, overly paranoid, or just getting ready to take a full swing. In the end, I tend to prefer if you simply hold your course and keep an eye out for me. Thanks for noticing though.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the completely oblivious driver who’s parked their car on the lane divider giving you all of 4 inches to pass. They have no idea you’re there, don’t care and in fact they don’t really know they themselves are there or that any other type of being is withing 5 miles from them for that matter. They are completely oblivious to their surroundings and a threat to any motorist of pedestrian.

An in-bred criminal cousin to this character, is the car that does all of the above, but does it intentionally. It’s the guy who just likes to mess with you, no matter the risk and it’s the car that causes some motorcyclists to actually lane split with a full stock of various types of retaliatory ammo: rocks, bricks, lead pipes and so forth. A sad example of humanity, a potential criminal, and very much a real threat to motorcyclists and drivers alike.

There’s Mr. or Mrs weavy. He weaves this way and that, you really can’t tell what this guy will be up to, so it’s really best to just blip the throttle and be done with him. He might be comixed with the cell-phone-chatting gotta-get-to-that-meeting-
on-time-but-first-I’ll-finish-that-argument-with-my-girlfriend-on-the-way-to-work guy and that’s a nasty concoction for any lane splitter.

And then there’s the rest of the alert world who understands the benefits caused by two vs four wheel commuting.

If you’re a driver here’s some tips for dealing with Lane Splitters:

1. Be alert of your surroundings. I think driving a car you’re already supposed to be doing this… and if you’re just going straight and not changing lanes, sure do your own thing, but when you feel the need to change lanes, we suggest turning your head to make sure there’s not a bike in your blind spot.
2. When you see a bike approaching, hold your course, keep it steady.
3. If you catch yourself about to switch lanes when there’s a lane splitter there, no big deal, but hold your course and let the rider pass and relax in the notion that the rider is not in a car and he’s not in front of you, causing more traffic.

If you’re a rider- here’s some tips to make sure the car-driving public doesn’t some day vote you out of the middle of the lane:

1. Got loud pipes? Do us all a favor and tone it down when you’re splitting. Think of the public you’re passing- that minivan could be full of 4 sleeping babies.
2. Keep your speed down to just a little over the flow of traffic. Whizzing past stopped traffic doing 40 mph isn’t a good idea for you or the traffic you’re passing.
3. Make sure you are on and stay on high alert.