A Democrat state senator in the Connecticut is proposing a bill that would allow motorcyclists to lanesplit in that state.
For years now, politicians in the US have been pushing to legalize lanesplitting at the state level. California is the only jurisdiction that has legalized the practice in the US and Canada, but politicians in Texas, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Utah have proposed similar legalization in their regions, while Hawaii has legalized a watered-down version, which allows motorcyclists to filter ahead on the shoulder of the road in congested traffic situations.
All of those proposed law changes have originated in western states, emphasizing the country’s cultural divide. That’s why the proposed bill in Connecticut is highly interesting; not only is it the seventh state to show interest in the practice in recent years, it’s the first in the northeast, and in the heart of the I95’s wasteland. Should lanesplitting ever be legalized there – a long shot, for sure – it’d be a good example to all the east coast that the practice is safe, and does work.
Should the law be amended to “permit the operator of a motorcycle to operate between lanes of traffic, as is permitted in other states and countries and thereby ease traffic congestion,” maybe we’ll even organize a CMG group ride south, to go partake in the glories of lanesplitting?
I live in Connecticut and wouldn’t trust most of the brain-dead cagers who I’d have to lane-split by….legal or not!! Once, I was trying to stay ahead of a snow storm on my way home, and this a-hole in a pickup kept pulling over to lhe left when I tried to pass. Finally, on the third attempt his wife I guess, (the gal riding with him), must have told him he was acting like a jerk again, and he let my by. I’m sure there will be some cagers who would toss cups of coffee, cigarette butts or other trash at legal lane splitters. 🙁
Too many road ragers in the US…heaven forbid any cager thinks you are getting an advantage over them thru lane splitting…personally , I TRY to stay a safe distance far away from objects heavier then me and my bike ( I believe this practice lets me live / ride longer)
I would refer any naysayers to this piece: https://canadamotoguide.com/2018/04/22/canada-needs-lanesplitting-now/
If y’all don’t want to do it, suit yourself, but it works very, very well.
Legal you would have to be awful stupid to split lanes. I see the people in favor of it are not the most intelligent riders out there. It is just a matter of bad attitude and we do not need to piss off the rest of the drivers any more.
I disagree.
It would appear that you just called the CMG writers dumb! Lane splitting has a multitude of benefits to everyone on the road. Obviously you have not done any research.
I’m in favour of it, have done it lots in Europe, I think I’m a pretty intelligent rider. I find people who are against have little education on the subject and even less riding experience.
What would you do if you went to many other countries in the world and a motorcycle filtered past you. Motorcycle filtering is extreamly safe to do. The report by California Highway Patrol and Berkely University showed that you are safer to filer than being rear ended. Riders who filtered also wore full gear compared to the not so clever riders. It is all about education, would you rather sit in congested traffic, or get home faster from work as motorcycles are no longer sitting in the traffic making the line longer. More drivers would also switch to their bikes if they new they could filter. Pratically the only two countries in the developed world that does not do it are….. Canada and the US…. Everywhere else does it.