Dec

California Lane Splitting Rage

Car Driver Blocks Motorcycle California Lane Splitting

Motorcycle rider says: Before you rip me… I’M NOT WEARING EAR BUDS! I’m wearing ear plugs (motorcycle approved 29db) to prevent hearing loss. I can hear this jerk talking, but I just can’t understand him (or care what he has to say). The music sounds loud because my goPro microphone is inside my helmet right next to the Sena Bluetooth speaker. I can hear horns, sirens, motors, etc. no problem. I can hear better than when I’m in my car with the windows rolled up for example. CVC 27400 section D if you want to look it up.

In 2015, a study from the University of California, Berkeley showed that lane splitting is safe for motorcycle riders, and in fact is often safer than waiting in traffic! Read more

Feb

Motorcycle Lane Splitting California

Motorcycle Lane Splitting California is legal!

Heading out of the bay .. I left at the wrong time…there were some breaks in traffic but not much..it started clearing up outside of Vacaville…. longest session yet!

Assembly Bill 51, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, for the first time legally defines lane–splitting, the practice of motorcyclists riding between lanes to move quickly through traffic.

Personally, and most probably because I’ve been riding motorcycles for over 40 years, I try to avoid lane splitting whenever possible. naturally here in Southern California, when you’re riding in the air-cooled bike sometimes lane splitting is unavoidable to prevent damage to your engine.

But, with that said, there’s been many times when I’ve been invited to ride from San Diego up to LA and have declined just for the fact that I knew it would entail lane splitting in super-heavy LA traffic. I’ve seen my share of distracted drivers here on the California roads, and really don’t want to increase my odds of injury by splitting lanes on the congested freeways.

Driving a car here in San Diego, on a number of occasions, I’ve been rear ended by an inattentive driver. Luckily, there were never any injuries and only some fender damage in each case. Now, keep in mind that if the same accidents occurred while I was on my motorcycle, the outcome would have been totally different. Read more

Mar