P96
CN
III LOWSIDE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
S
ome of you are going to
hate this column, but I sus-
pect most will be in agree-
ance with what I have to say.
We live in one of the greatest
countries in the known world,
especially so if you're into rid-
ing motorcycles. The problem is
there are very few good reasons
to ride a motorcycle in most
states rather than drive a car.
Parking is generally a pain (I hate
it that in most states/cities a bike
must use a car parking space
even though it's a quarter the
size), insurance costs go up ev-
ery year; and most drivers would
rather see us on a bus than on
the road. Actually, you could save
that last point for most countries
around the world.
But the thing that sucks more
than any of those points is the in-
ability of most American riders to
lane split/lane filter.
American riders, for the most
part, are robbed of one of the
great aspects of riding—that of
getting to the front of traffic and
into clear air. It makes traffic flow
faster, it's safer for riders with
less chance of rear-end ac-
cidents, and it gets you to your
destination faster. Currently, only
California, Utah, and to a lesser
extent, Hawaii, have legitimized
lane splitting, and the argument
has been on the table in Oregon,
Washington, Connecticut and
Maryland. Here's a helpful link on
the subject https://www.motor-
cyclelegalfoundation.com/motor-
cycle-lane-splitting-guidelines/.
I have ridden all around the
world and most—not all—countries
allow some form of lane splitting.
In many countries, it's frowned
upon if you don't lane split—car
drivers don't want to be near bike
riders any more than we want to
be near them.
Helping get lane splitting
legislated nationwide should be
one of the foremost items on the
agenda for the American Mo-
torcyclist Association. In an era
where motorcycle ownership is
dropping every year, shouldn't
the AMA help make it as appeal-
ing as possible to own and ride a
street-legal motorcycle?
I spoke with Nick Harris, the
AMA Western States Representa-
tive, on this issue.
"What we do is try to offer
guidance to members or other
activists in other states," Harris
said, who was instrumental in
getting the California lane-split-
ting bill passed. "But it's truly up
to the individuals or the groups in
those (other) states to say, 'We
want to pursue this issue.'"
In other words, the AMA won't
jump first. It's up to the people
of a given state to put forward an
idea that they would like to legiti-
mize lane splitting, at which point
the AMA will help said group in
meeting with legislators, public
officials, etc, to put weight be-
hind the move. Personally, I think
AMERICA'S SPLITTING HEADACHE
Should legalizing
lane splitting
across the nation
should be at top
priority of the
AMA? We think so.
