Video of my afternoon commute

Los Angeles Westwood UCLA 405 to 10 to LaBrea S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa5H2Fm ... hRi6JBRIQw

Sorry for the -to-the-left video I took it with my cell phone basically tied with a lanyard to my handlebar/mirror

the black car at 15:56 the guy was on his phone...
at 16:49 I am singing "ride of the Valkyries"

 

LA traffic. I thought it was bad here.

 

Hey man...that is not cool.. you shouldn't be driving between cars ,, passing cars on the right.. crossing solid white lines.. where are the cops to pul you over.. If you were in Miami I would pull you over and give you a huge ticket..

Stay in your lane man

 

I'm speaking for William here but I believe lane splitting is legal in SoCa.

 

That doesn't make it SAFE. Or necessarily even a good idea.

If traffic is moving at all, somebody can suddenly decide to try to force a lane change and squash you like a bug.

If traffic is completely stopped, somebody is likely to open their car door to dump out a stale cup of coffee or for whatever reason and completely ruin your day.

 

I'm just stating that as far as I know it's legal to lane split there. I personally agree that's it's far from safe. But if a person chooses to do it that's up to them.

When I ride I stay off of interstates such as that anyway. I'll go many miles out of my way if need be to stay on less traveled roads. I don't trust people in cars.

 

Splitting lanes is illegal where I come from, but in many European countries (and perhaps so-cal too) splitting traffic is the norm.

Wherever you are though, splitting lanes is irresponsible.

Your risk of accident, injury or death are increased greatly, regardless of rider skill level, equipment or attitude.

Choose wisely, Dr. Jones!

 

I certainly wouldn't do that on a regular basis. It scared me just looking at it!

 

I was of the same attitude when I first started riding. but you find out it is practically necessary here. some of these riders I see split at 45 or 50 mph. those guys have a death wish. As you saw from my vid... I watch every car I pass like a hawk. I don't split on greens because people are focused forward in go mode. I wont split any faster than 15 through stopped and any faster than 30 through rolling traffic. I NEVER split between two trucks. And you have to constantly watch for over-sized mirrors and for people talking on the phone...I avoid those

Is splitting safe?


I say it is safer than being squashed between two cars in a rear-ending.
I still feel a bit nervous when I do it. I really don't want to lose this nervousness because I believe that is what keeps me safe.
There have been many studies on the safety benefits of lane splitting.
(One study showed that lane-splitting nationally could prevent 18,000 freeway motorcycle accidents and up to 170 motorcyclist fatalities annually.)
I will leave you to Google more of those articles.

One of the main things splitting and filtering does is that it puts me in control of who is near me. I do not have a cage to protect me is someone runs int me so I must do my best to put myself in a better position that helps me avoid being squashed. It eliminates being boxed in.

Is lane splitting safe?
Some say no some say yes.

 

Way back in the '80's my dad would do Lake Elsinore, to Long Beach (90ish miles) on his Suzuki, he would lane split on occasion on the 91. It beat being stuck in that veritable parking lot. One time he got pulled over by a bike cop for doing it... On another note, I thought I read recently that California decided to do away with lane splitting?

 

Just found this link regarding lane splitting in CA. they used to offer guidelines there, but none of them are enforcable, so they removed the guidelines.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/programs/lanesplitguide.html

Looks like as far as CA is concerned, lane splitting appears totally kosher.

I agree with the comments above about avoiding a 'boxed in' situation. Rider safety is paramount and every situation is unique. So, choose wisely, Dr. Jones

 

moto movie: http://youtu.be/6fbmsmgC64Q on friday I filmed again. this time I put it to ride of the valkeries