Great efforts are underway in the State of Oregon to legalize lane splitting, and now we see Oregon’s lane-splitting law moving to the next phase of its legislative process.
With testimony already heard in the Joint Committee on Transportation, the time is now for Oregonians to contact their state representatives about House Bill 2314.
Fortunately, the folks at Lane Share Oregon have made it super easy for you to do that, with these four simple steps:
- Go to: laneshareoregon.com/#get-involved
- Enter your address and name to find your state legislators.
- Select your Representative, and click the “Send an Email” button. A note will auto-populate your email. Feel free to customize the note, tell them about yourself, and why YOU support HB2314. (We recommend adding your address to the email; it helps your legislators know you’re in their district.) Then SEND the email.
- Repeat (3) for your State Senator.
This whole process takes only a few minutes…time you would easily be wasting in traffic on your motorcycle if lane splitting continues to be outlawed in the Beaver State.
When legislators tell the bill-makers “I’ve been hearing good things about HB2314 from my constituents!” that’s how we win support in the state government. You can learn more about the bill and reasons to support it at laneshareoregon.com.
For the quick TL:DR it overview, HB2314 will create the following provisions:
- Lane splitting would only be allowed on highways, with a posted speed limit of 50 MPH or faster
- The surrounding traffic must be stopped, or moving 10 MPH or slower
- The motorcycle or moped may only travel 10 MPH faster than the flow of traffic
- Riders may not split lanes under the following conditions:
- between a traffic lane and the curb and bicycle lane (on either side)
- between a traffic lane and a row of parked vehicles (on either side)
- in a school zone
While we all know that the research has shown that lane splitting in California is safer for motorcyclists, and effective at decreasing congestion on the roadways (not to mention easier on the environment), there is still a great deal of education that needs to occur to the masses.
This attempt at legalizing lane splitting in Oregon isn’t a perfect bill, and it falls well-short of what is practiced just one state further south, but it is also the first step to bringing lane splitting into law outside of California, and the first step to a more comprehensive overhaul of the Oregon vehicle code for motorcycles. This is a good thing.
So, share this story. Share the laneshareoregon.com website. And most importantly, get active with your representatives on email or Twitter.
Source: Lane Share Oregon
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