VOL. 53 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 9, 2016 P27
LANE SPLITTING BILL SWEEPS STATE SENATE
C
alifornia is one signature
away from being the first
state to officially legalize lane
splitting on a motorcycle. As-
sembly Bill 51 (AB 51)—a piece of
legislation put forward by Rep.
Bill Quirk (D-Hayward)—received
sweeping support from the Cali-
fornia State Senate last week in
a 74-0 "yes" vote. The legisla-
tion now moves to the desk of
Governor Jerry Brown for his
signature.
If signed by Gov. Brown,
which he is expected to do
this week, the bill would make
California the first state to for-
mally legalize the practice. Lane
splitting has been commonplace
in California for some time,
and has been tolerated by law
enforcement agencies as legal,
although no specific language of
the law has ever existed. Studies
have shown lane splitting to be
safer for motorcycles in heavy
traffic as it reduces the odds of
getting rear-ended.
The new legislation would
allow the California Highway
Patrol to create guidelines for
motorcycle riders on exactly
when and how to split lanes. The
original language mandated the
usage only at speeds under 50
mph and only at 15 mph over the
flow of traffic, but motorcycle
groups were opposed to the
restrictions. The bill was revised
to leave out the specifics, and
leave decision making to the
CHP. CN
FREDRICK NOREN IN FOR SEELY
T
he absence of Cole Seely has left a vacancy in
the factory Honda tent, and once again, Team
Honda HRC has called up their Swedish standby,
Fredrik Noren, to fill the void. Honda recently
announced that the Rocky Mountain MC Honda
rider will fill in for Seely, who was sidelined earlier
this year with a broken finger, for the remainder
of the series. Seely will ride a factory Honda
CRF450R at the final three rounds of the Lucas
Oil Pro Motocross Championship: Unadilla, Budds
Creek and the Ironman National.
This will mark the third time the Swede has
served as a substitute rider for the factory Honda
team. While pitting under the Team Honda HRC
tent in 2015, Noren posted his career-best finish-
es of a fifth-place moto finish and seventh overall
(Spring Creek). He also finished seventh at the
RedBud National.
"We're excited to have Freddie back under our
tent," said Team Honda HRC manager Dan Betley.
"We have a longstanding relationship with him,
so he understands our bike and program, which
has been a big asset to our team over the years.
I'm confident in his ability to deliver solid results
through the final rounds of the season. I'd also like
to thank Rocky Mountain MC Honda for making
Freddie available to us."
"I'm happy to get another chance to fill in with
Team Honda HRC," Noren said. "The relation-
ship I have with Honda is awesome. Everyone on
the racing team is great, and I'm very thankful for
the opportunities they've given me. I'm looking
forward to giving my best effort and to working
together with the team to keep improving." CN
Rocky Mountain MC
Honda rider Fredrik
Noren is set to finish out
the 2016 season with
Team Honda HRC.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
HONDA
HRC
