Legislature may let Motorcycles do Lane-Splitting (Austin: 2015, live, law)

[SA Greed]

I heard they are trying to pass a law (not sure if it's a law specifically) where motorcycles can drive in between traffic. This is something they already allow in California and boy was it a shock when I visited CA and had a motorist fly by for the first time. I hope to God this doesn't pass as it's very dangerous and I could not get used to it in CA. It's apparently to alleviate traffic but I see this doing more harm than good. My wife made a good point when discussing this as people in CA tended to have smaller motorcycles and mopeds whereas here in Texas it seems a lot of the motorcycles on the freeways are Harleys or some other huge bikes. Because it's something most Texans aren't used to, I can see it going very badly for the motorcyclist because most people don't tend to think about the space between you and the guy next to you. Any thoughts?

Please don't move to the Texas board, I was hoping to get SA opinions.

[SA Greed]

Oops, it should be "They're". Sorry about that.

[prim8]

They aren't supposed to be "flying by" when they do it, they're supposed to be carefully moving their way through traffic.
I don't see a problem with it at all, and we're about the only nation that doesn't allow it.

[Pancho-Villa]

I agree...as long as their speed is reasonable, no problem. I've lived in CA and we just got used to it. It actually forces you to pay more attention to the surrounding area...a good thing!!

[Azure110]

Not sure if it is legal or not, but I saw a lot of this when I was in Puerto Rico. I didn't like it because I wasn't used to it. I think the biggest problem here is avoiding huge tow mirrors that extend out like the ones you see on the obnoxious diesel trucks.

[EmergencyOps]

AUSTIN – Bills have been filed in the Texas legislature that would allow motorcycles to move between vehicles when traffic is moving slowly or stopped.
The sight of motorcycles splitting lanes on highways is a fairly common sight in California. There is no law prohibiting lane sharing or splitting lanes in California, but it is the only state where it is tolerated.
...

Lawmakers propose allowing motorcycles to split lanes

Both bills (Senate and House) have not been referred to committees yet, and no timetable as to when that will happen.

[Montirob]

Originally Posted by prim8

They aren't supposed to be "flying by" when they do it, they're supposed to be carefully moving their way through traffic.
I don't see a problem with it at all, and we're about the only nation that doesn't allow it.

I think the proposal states that they cannot be traveling more than 5mph faster than the congested traffic. (gotta look for article I read that stated this speed)

[SA Greed]

Wow, what a busy day! I just got around to seeing the progress of this thread. Thank you for your comments. I appreicate the link as well. I have a question. Say, you are moving with traffic and a motorcycle comes between you and the vehicle next to you as your 'drift' within your lane but still hit the bike, who's fault is it?

[davis449]

Originally Posted by SA Greed

Wow, what a busy day! I just got around to seeing the progress of this thread. Thank you for your comments. I appreicate the link as well. I have a question. Say, you are moving with traffic and a motorcycle comes between you and the vehicle next to you as your 'drift' within your lane but still hit the bike, who's fault is it?

If I had to guess: YOURS.

I am FIRMLY against lane splitting. It's the dumbest thing in the world to me.

[SA Greed]

lol, I figured. I am too, Enjoy your weekend. 2 minutes til 5!