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/405298
IN THE WIND P36 LANE SPLITTING DEEMED SAFE L ane splitting is a relatively safe maneuver when both the mo- torcyclist and nearby drivers know the law and adhere to "safe and prudent" practices, according to two California studies released last week. One report is a crash study that examined nearly 8000 motorcy- clists who were involved in crashes while lane splitting between June 2012 and August 2013. The second report examined lane-splitting hab- its among various groups in 2012 and 2013. California has more than 800,000 registered motorcycles. "We compared the proportion of collision-involved, lane-splitting motorcyclists with injury across several body regions by whether the lane-splitting was done only in traffic flowing at 30 mph or less and that the motorcycle speed should exceed the traffic speed by no more than 10 mph," the crash study stated. "We found that the proportion with each injury type was high when the lane-splitting was consistent with neither speed component, was lower when it was consistent with one speed com- ponent, and was lower still when it was consistent with both speed components." The speed components men- tioned in the report closely align with the lane-splitting guidelines posted on the California Highway Patrol website in 2013 and removed this summer after a complaint from one Sacramento resident. "These findings bolster the po- sition of motorcyclists and traffic- safety officials that responsible lane splitting is a safe and effec- tive tactic for riders, particularly in heavily congested areas," said Wayne Allard, vice president of government relations for the AMA. "The AMA endorses these practic- es and will assist groups and indi- viduals working to bring legal lane splitting or filtering to their states." California is the only U.S. state where lane splitting is permitted. State law neither prohibits nor spe- cifically allows the maneuver. In many countries, lane split- ting and filtering are normal prac- tices for motorcyclists, Allard said. Particularly in the highly urbanized areas of Europe and Asia, motor- cycle and scooter operators are expected to pass between conven- tional vehicles and advance to the front of the group. Among the findings in the Cali- fornia studies: Lane-splitting riders (2.7 percent of crashes) were less likely to be rear-ended by another vehicle than were other motorcyclists (4.6 per- cent); Lane-splitting motorcyclists involved in crashes were notably less likely than other motorcyclists in crashes to suffer head injury (9.1 percent vs. 16.5 percent), torso injury (18.6 percent vs. 27.3 per- cent), or fatal injury (1.4 percent vs. 3.1 percent) than other motor- cyclists. The proportion of motorcyclists with a head injury was 6.3 percent for those lane-splitting consistent with the "safe and prudent" traffic speed guidelines, 10.7 percent for those lane-splitting in traffic flow- ing at 30 mph or less but exceed- ing the traffic speed by more than 10 mph, 9 percent for those lane- splitting in traffic flowing faster than 30 mph but exceeding traffic speed by less than 10 mph, and 20.5 percent for those who were lane-splitting in traffic flowing at more than 30 mph and who were exceeding traffic speed by more than 10 mph. "Motorcyclists who oppose lane splitting should remember that it is optional in California," Allard said. "Permitting lane splitting is not the same as requiring it. So those opposed to the practice should consider the desires of other mo- torcyclists who believe they would benefit from it. Lane splitting is an issue of choice." The data came from collision in- vestigations by CHP officers and by officers at more than 80 allied law enforcement agencies in the state.