The Washington State Legislature has a pro lane-splitting bill on its 2015-2016 docket, HB 1515. The law is moderately written, adopting a 10 mph speed differential between the motorcycle and traffic, with a 35 mph speed cap, as acceptable during lane-splitting activities.
Loyal Asphalt & Rubber readers will recognize these provisions as being more restrictive than the California Highway Patrol’s now defunct guidelines.
Lane-splitting is a near-and-dear topic to us here at A&R, as we believe a national effort to legalize the practice should be mission #1 for the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).
As a native Californian, who now spends most of his time in Oregon, I know personally the struggle of motorcyclists outside of the Golden State, as California is the only state in the USA that permits lane-splitting.
This fact makes America an outlier, as lane-sharing, lane-splitting, or filtering is allowed in some form or another all through Europe, Asia, and Australia.
A study by the California Highway Patrol has even shown that when done safely, lane-splitting is no more dangerous than merely riding a motorcycle, and then one has to consider that the act has the benefit of relieving traffic congestion, which further reduces accidents on the whole.
It is also reasonable to argue that legalizing lane-splitting throughout the United States would give an extra incentive to citizens about riding a motorcycle, thus not only bolstering our industry with bike and apparel sales, but also further aiding in the decongestion of city streets and highways, especially during commuter hours.
We sincerely hope that the State of Washington passes HB 1515, and helps set a trend for the rest of the United States. If you’re a resident of Washington, please contact your representative, and tell them why they should support this bill.
Source: Washington State Legislature
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