If you like to ride a motorcycle, you may buy one. Perhaps you’ll save up to make the purchase. Maybe you will get it as a birthday or Christmas gift to yourself.
You should have a lot of fun riding your motorcycle, but you must also acknowledge the inherent danger that goes along with ownership. Even if you’re careful when you’re out riding, you don’t have a protective metal shell around you like you do in a car. That means, if you get in an accident, you can fall off the bike and seriously injure yourself.
You can avoid many of the most dangerous motorcycle behaviors if you’re careful. Some individuals who ride still seem to engage in lane splitting, though.
Injuries sustained from lane splitting accidents can prove costly. You might suffer permanent damage or even die. You’d think that would deter most people from this activity, but some can’t seem to help themselves.
In this article, we’ll talk about lane splitting in detail. We’ll cover what the term means, when motorcycle riders do it, and also its legality.
What Does the Term “Lane Splitting” Mean?
The term lane splitting means you’re riding a motorcycle, and you hit the gas and ride it in between two lanes of traffic. Usually, you will have cars on both one side and the other, and you’ll decide that you don’t want to wait in line to get where you’re going.
When Do Motorcycle Riders Do It?
Most motorcycle riders lane split when they’re sitting in a traffic jam. They might decide to get out of line and ride on the shoulder of the highway, or else they can lane split by riding down the narrow aperture in between two traffic lanes of stopped cars.
You might also see a situation sometimes where a rider lane splits with the cars moving in the lanes on either side of them. If they do, then they’re most likely in a hurry and willing to fly by slower-moving traffic to get to their destination faster.
Does Lane Splitting Have Legal Status in the US?
There is only one state in America where you can legally lane split as a motorcycle rider, and that’s California. Not every resident there agrees that motorcycle riders should legally do this, but they can.
In every other state, though, if a cop sees a motorcycle rider doing this, then they can pull the rider over and ticket them if they can catch up to them.
If you do lane split in California, then the experts feel that you should not ride over 10 miles per hour or so. By keeping to this slow speed, you probably will not sustain very serious injuries if the traffic conditions suddenly change around you.
Why Does Lane Splitting Have a Negative Reputation?
Some drivers get pretty angry if they see a motorcycle rider engage in lane splitting. That’s understandable to some degree. If you’re in a car, and you’re sitting in traffic, you might resent it if you see a motorcycle rider go flying by, disobeying the law on a whim and leaving you behind.
Lane splitting has the reputation that it does because it’s dangerous as well. Imagine that you’re on a motorcycle, and you’re lane splitting. If a car decides to switch lanes suddenly, and you don’t see them in time, you might smash into the vehicle’s front, side, or rear.
If that happens, then you might seriously injure yourself, even if you’re only going 10 miles per hour. If you’re going a lot faster than that, though, you could break every bone in your body or kill yourself. That’s even more true if you’re not wearing a helmet, like some riders.
You must decide if you like to ride whether you will lane split if you ever get the opportunity. If you’re not in California, understand that you’re doing something illegal if you engage in this activity.
Also, think about the potential dangers. If you like to lane split, that’s aggressive driving, and there’s usually very little point to it. Yes, you might get to your destination a little faster, but if the traffic pattern changes suddenly, you might wind up in the hospital in traction before you’re even aware of it.
If you exercise a little patience and don’t lane split, you will probably get home safely. Your family will doubtless prefer that, so think of them before you try this maneuver.
