Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1463045
Lane Splitting Legalized In Arizona A rizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a law legalizing lane filtering after the bill cruised through both the Senate and House chambers with strong bipartisan support. The law now puts the state in the company of Utah and Montana. The passage of Senate Bill 1273, sponsored by Sen. Ty- ler Pace (R-Mesa District 23) and championed by ABATE of Arizona, allows riders to cruise slowly between lanes at speeds no faster than 15 mph if the other vehicles are stopped. Modeled off Utah's legislation, the prac- tice can only be done on roads posted at 45 mph or less. It does not allow riders to pass on the shoulder or on the median "This law has been four years in the making," said Michael Infanzon, legislative director for ABATE of Arizona. "But we had a really great sponsor for the bill this year with Senator Pace. He is an active motorcycle rider and it was key to have someone who understood the danger of being rear-ended. This is all about safety and nothing more than part of the plan to reduce motor- cycle fatalities in Arizona." With the law set to be in effect 90 days after adjournment, likely to be mid-September, ABATE of Arizona and the Arizona Mo- torcycle Awareness and Safety Foundation will be working with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety and the Department of Public Safety to educate rid- ers and the public on the new legislation. "Once the legislation was sent to the Governor's desk, we started collaborating with the government to get PSAs and TV spots moving," said Infanzon. According to the Arizona Department of Transportation's most recent data, 30 percent of all motorcycle crashes in 2020, including 11 out of 106 fatal motorcycle collisions, were the result of rear-end collisions. "ABATE of Arizona put up a strong showing to successfully get this law signed," said the American Motorcyclist Associa- tion's (AMA) Western States Rep- resentative Nicholas Haris. "It is a welcome sight to see more states adopting commonsense safety laws that protect motorcy- clists when they are most vulner- able to a collision. The AMA is committed to working with riders nationwide on efforts to pass similar legislation and educating the public about its benefits." Meanwhile, Utah has ex- tended the authorization for motorcyclists to lane filter for an additional five years to allow state officials to review the practice and gather data on its safety benefits. With the passage of H.B. 10 on March 22, the state is affirming that its initial experi- ence has been a success worth continuing. IN THE WIND P28 Splitting lanes is now legal in Arizona. Hopefully, more states will soon follow.