5 Reasons America Needs Motorcycle Lanesplitting

Lanesplitting — passing between lanes of stopped or slower-moving vehicles on a motorcycle — is not explicitly legal in any state of the United States, but should be. From saving money to saving lives, from daily routine to when The Big One hits, this simple law change could make a big difference.

5. Best Use of Infrastructure and Resources

reddit.com / Via imgur.com

Highways are expensive critical infrastructure. Traffic congestion in the Washington area alone adds 180 million hours of traffic delay and consumes 85 million excess gallons of gas.

Loz Blain observed "Where many drivers get it wrong is that they see lane splitting as "queue jumping" that will cause each car to go one further spot back in the queue. In truth, a filtering bike disappears from the queue altogether, the only time a motorcycle holds a car up is when it sits in traffic and acts like another car."

Fourteen thousand people petitioned the President for legalization by stating it "reduces car traffic because of the space a motorcycle takes up behind a car."

A 2011 study in Belgium found that replacing 10 percent of cars with motorcycles and allowing lanesplitting would cut time stuck in traffic by 63 percent — for everyone. Further, the study found considerable environmental benefits because each motorcycle that lanesplits actively reduces the amount of time every other vehicle on the road spends sitting in traffic jams, total emissions would decrease by 6 percent.

4. Faster Emergency Response

Dallas Morning News / Via thescoopblog.dallasnews.com

Traffic incidents account for about one-quarter of all congestion on U.S. roadways. For every minute that a freeway travel lane is blocked during a peak travel period, four minutes of travel delay results after the incident is cleared. Crashed motorcycles are easier to clear from a roadway — lighter weight, fewer large parts.

With fewer motorcycles taking up lane space, emergency vehicles can cover more ground quicker. At intersections, motorcycles are more responsive and agile than cars, providing more maneuvering room for emergency vehicles.

3. Safer Traffic

i.imgur.com / Via medium.com

In 2015 the University of California at Berkeley concluded "Lane-splitting appears to be a relatively safe motorcycle riding strategy if done in traffic moving at 50 MPH or less and if motorcyclists do not exceed the speed of other vehicles by more than 15 MPH." Or, as a Jalopnik writer summarized it, "it's safe — if you're not a tool."

UC Berkeley found that motorcyclists who split lanes in heavy traffic are significantly less likely to be struck from behind by other motorists, are less likely to suffer head or torso injuries, and are less likely to sustain fatal injuries in a crash.

An older, frequently cited study is "Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report," Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007, Contract No. DOT HS-5–01160, January 1981 (Final Report), commonly known as the Hurt Report. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has taken note of its finding that "traveling between lanes of stopped or slow-moving cars (i.e., lane splitting) on multiple-lane roads (such as interstate highways) slightly reduces crash frequency compared with staying within the lane and moving with other traffic."

The MSF stops short of endorsing lanesplitting, instead calling for studying the safety implications. In contrast, the Motorcycle Industry Council supports "state laws that allow lanesplitting under reasonable restrictions." MIC reports "other potential benefits include an increase in conspicuity since the motorcyclist is moving relative to other traffic; a reduction in motorcyclist fatigue from constant shifting and braking in traffic, since the vast majority of motorcycles have a manual transmission; a reduction in the motorcyclist's exposure to ambient heat in the summer and car exhaust year-round; and a reduction of engine damage from extended idling, especially for models with air-cooled engines." The American Motorcyclist Association is "cautious to issue a blanket endorsement supporting the practice" but "given the ongoing success of lane splitting in California and the recent enthusiasm for lane splitting and/or filtering in other states, the AMA endorses these practices …."

2. Traffic Moves Faster and Cleaner (and funner)

reddit.com / Via youtu.be

Loz Blain observed "Where many drivers get it wrong is that they see lane splitting as "queue jumping" that will cause each car to go one further spot back in the queue. In truth, a filtering bike disappears from the queue altogether, the only time a motorcycle holds a car up is when it sits in traffic and acts like another car."

Fourteen thousand people petitioned the President for legalization by stating it "reduces car traffic because of the space a motorcycle takes up behind a car."

A 2011 study in Belgium found that replacing 10 percent of cars with motorcycles and allowing lanesplitting would cut time stuck in traffic by 63 percent — for everyone. Further, the study found considerable environmental benefits because each motorcycle that lanesplits actively reduces the amount of time every other vehicle on the road spends sitting in traffic jams, total emissions would decrease by 6 percent.

1. When TSHTF

User / Via youtu.be

Granted, in disasters traffic laws can be suspended or ignored with a high probability of impunity. However, those who prepare for such things point to the speed, versatility, and economy of motorcycles as transportation. As we've learned from Daryl on the Walking Dead and as Elijah Wood demonstrated in the 1998 movie Deep Impact, lanesplitting provides unparalleled mobility.

This article originally appeared on Medium.com.