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Lane Splitting

Bodhisattva said:
Just because motorcycles are legally allowed to lane split does not mean that car drivers are mandated to give them room to do so. Car drivers have every right to use all of their lane and when bikers come flying through and/or get mad when a car is in their way the biker is an asshole. What I would really like to do is catch one of these ****ing ******s that hit a car's side mirror as they flee off in to the traffic like the little bitches that they are.

What are your thoughts?
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What is lane splitting? Is it where the MC has the same right as a car? Lane to themselves??
 
Tim the plumber said:
You have to share. Remember when you were little and momey told you to play nice?
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I did not say it was a car drivers right to use all the lane either... good Lord man, do you have any ability to debate properly?

You said that you considered it your right to use all the lane.

That is not your right. You do not own the road.
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Do you have any concept as to what the laws pertaining to lanes and driving actually are? There are reasons why there are lanes and we use blinkers and cops can get people for unsafe lane changes and such...
 
JANFU said:
What is lane splitting? Is it where the MC has the same right as a car? Lane to themselves??
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I am from CA so it is normal there for a long time... I just looked it up and apparently CA is the only state it is legal.

It is where a MC can drive between lanes over the dotted white lines in between cars. It is very dangerous and used a lot of our freeways...
 
Bodhisattva said:
I am from CA so it is normal there for a long time... I just looked it up and apparently CA is the only state it is legal.

It is where a MC can drive between lanes over the dotted white lines in between cars. It is very dangerous and used a lot of our freeways...
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In traffic jams??
 
Bodhisattva said:
Just because motorcycles are legally allowed to lane split does not mean that car drivers are mandated to give them room to do so. Car drivers have every right to use all of their lane and when bikers come flying through and/or get mad when a car is in their way the biker is an asshole. What I would really like to do is catch one of these ****ing ******s that hit a car's side mirror as they flee off in to the traffic like the little bitches that they are.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

I bought a new Sportster in 2006. I owned it for 2.5 years and put about 4500 miles on it. The last time I'd owned a bike, was from 1987 to 1989, which was my ONLY transportation at that time. I was 19 when I bought it new, on sale as a leftover. It was a Honda Rebel. It SUCKED to ride it during the extra-cold winter of 1987-88. I lived over 30 mins from where many of my friends lived, and it was brutal riding 30-40 minutes in sub-freezing temerature! It was ALWAYS my hands/fingers that suffered the most. It didn't matter if I wore 2 pairs of gloves, my hands would be freezing after about 10-15 solid minutes of riding.

Anyway, in 2006 - 2009, my Sportster was NOT my only transportation, so I didn't have to ride a motorcycle 15-40 minutes through rainstorms, or down snow covered roads etc. I also didn't "have to" wear a helmet, but I always did. I always rode like I was in a car. I didn't ride down roads side by side with other bikers in the same lane. I didn't pass on shoulders, and I didn't split lanes and pass in between cars. I was all too aware of a guy from my high school who had his head decapitated by a bread truck, because he went around a sharp corner on (lovely)Pa rt 896 in the oncoming lane, went into a slide under the truck. But he had his head up, which was taken off by the bread truck's bumper. He was 2-3 grades ahead of me, and he died not much more than 1-2 years after he graduated.
 
JANFU said:
In traffic jams??
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Mostly... they go flying between cars and 40 mph or faster as cars are in stop and go traffic. They are also allowed to pass on the inside shoulder (if there is one) on the freeway and in fast flowing traffic they do lots of weaving... there are great and respectful motorcycle drivers out there... the ones I am talking about (the A-Holes) are a minority.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Just because motorcycles are legally allowed to lane split does not mean that car drivers are mandated to give them room to do so. Car drivers have every right to use all of their lane and when bikers come flying through and/or get mad when a car is in their way the biker is an asshole. What I would really like to do is catch one of these ****ing ******s that hit a car's side mirror as they flee off in to the traffic like the little bitches that they are.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

I have split traffic for over 40 years... I probably have more miles splitting than many, many weekend warrior riders have total.

Not one accident due to splitting. More close calls due to other factors and one crash after I quit splitting and was riding "responsibly" .

When done intelligently it is only marginally more dangerous than riding in traffic.

In some cases it is even encouraged in some places.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Just because motorcycles are legally allowed to lane split does not mean that car drivers are mandated to give them room to do so. Car drivers have every right to use all of their lane and when bikers come flying through and/or get mad when a car is in their way the biker is an asshole. What I would really like to do is catch one of these ****ing ******s that hit a car's side mirror as they flee off in to the traffic like the little bitches that they are.

What are your thoughts?
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Actually in California impeding another motorist is against the law.
 
Crovax said:
Seen it happen on the 405 and there weren’t many people mourning the rider’s injuries
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Opening a door on a rider in California is a quick way to earn an arrest and a lawsuit.

Also opening a door and leaving your arm in harms way is a trip to the hospital or the morgue. Had one idiot do it in Orange County. The bike struck his arm and tore it out of the shoulder socket severing arteries and veins... Bled out before paramedics got there.

I didn't cry for him either.
 
Fledermaus said:
Actually in California impeding another motorist is against the law.
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Not if it is not on purpose... and certainly no excuse for a biker to hit the car, which IS illegal.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Even if the car is purposely driving close to the side of the lane that only means that the biker needs to wait a minute until a safe opening occurs in order to pass... becoming a dick about it and honking or hitting a side mirror is not acceptable...
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Maybe if you quit texting you would notice you blocked his progress...


Kidding. ;)
 
Bodhisattva said:
Not if it is not on purpose... and certainly no excuse for a biker to hit the car, which IS illegal.
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If I speed, but didn't mean to..

If I run a red light, but didn't mean to...

If I cross six lanes of traffic and sideswipe a bus full of nuns but I didn't mean to...

... I can still be cited because I am supposed to be in control of the vehicle at all times.
 
Fledermaus said:
Maybe if you quit texting you would notice you blocked his progress...


Kidding. ;)
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/Like

On purpose or not if you block another motorist you can be charged.

And had you hit him it would have been loads worse for the motorcyclist.
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You can't be charged for being to the far side of your lane while in moving traffic...

If I speed, but didn't mean to..

If I run a red light, but didn't mean to...

If I cross six lanes of traffic and sideswipe a bus full of nuns but I didn't mean to...

... I can still be cited because I am supposed to be in control of the vehicle at all times.
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that is taking my comment out of context... the point is that driving within the area of your designated lane is not impeding others that are trying to drive in your lane past you...
 
Bodhisattva said:
Even if the car is purposely driving close to the side of the lane that only means that the biker needs to wait a minute until a safe opening occurs in order to pass... becoming a dick about it and honking or hitting a side mirror is not acceptable...
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I only agree with the bold.

If you're purposely driving close to block, you are endangering a life Bodhi. Doesn't mean they get to hit your side mirror, but I understand.

What is your problem with bikers that you would do this?
 
Spartacus FPV said:
I only agree with the bold.

If you're purposely driving close to block, you are endangering a life Bodhi. Doesn't mean they get to hit your side mirror, but I understand.

What is your problem with bikers that you would do this?
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Really?
 
I had no idea that was legal in some places. I assumed it was reckless driving.
 
Bodhisattva said:
I am from CA so it is normal there for a long time... I just looked it up and apparently CA is the only state it is legal.

It is where a MC can drive between lanes over the dotted white lines in between cars. It is very dangerous and used a lot of our freeways...
Click to expand...

It is not necessarily dangerous. I've done it in NY on highways in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It's completely safe done that way as long as some fool doesn't open their car door in front of you. I personally see not point in doing it under any other circumstances than when traffic is pretty much at a standstill.
 
i definitely wouldn't ride in between stopped cars. that's just asking for it. of course, i've finally reached the point where riding a motorcycle at all just seems like too much of a risk. i'm not too old to ride, but the consequences from someone else running into me while trying to make a phone call just don't seem worth it. i'll probably sell my bike in the next year or two. kind of sucks, because i really did enjoy riding.
 
ModerationNow! said:
I bought a new Sportster in 2006. I owned it for 2.5 years and put about 4500 miles on it. The last time I'd owned a bike, was from 1987 to 1989, which was my ONLY transportation at that time. I was 19 when I bought it new, on sale as a leftover. It was a Honda Rebel. It SUCKED to ride it during the extra-cold winter of 1987-88. I lived over 30 mins from where many of my friends lived, and it was brutal riding 30-40 minutes in sub-freezing temerature! It was ALWAYS my hands/fingers that suffered the most. It didn't matter if I wore 2 pairs of gloves, my hands would be freezing after about 10-15 solid minutes of riding.

Anyway, in 2006 - 2009, my Sportster was NOT my only transportation, so I didn't have to ride a motorcycle 15-40 minutes through rainstorms, or down snow covered roads etc. I also didn't "have to" wear a helmet, but I always did. I always rode like I was in a car. I didn't ride down roads side by side with other bikers in the same lane. I didn't pass on shoulders, and I didn't split lanes and pass in between cars. I was all too aware of a guy from my high school who had his head decapitated by a bread truck, because he went around a sharp corner on (lovely)Pa rt 896 in the oncoming lane, went into a slide under the truck. But he had his head up, which was taken off by the bread truck's bumper. He was 2-3 grades ahead of me, and he died not much more than 1-2 years after he graduated.
Click to expand...

Been there in the cold. An interestingly enough with a Rebel as well. After our kids were born and my wife stopped working we were down to one car and the Rebel. For two solid years I rode it daily in all kinds of **** weather - including snow a couple of times - and froze my nuts off both winters. It made me a very good rider but I really wouldn't recommend the experience if you can avoid it. I have a older Honda that I use to commute to the train station on nice days only and am looking at getting a decent ride.

Had a mid 80s vintage 1200 Sportster for a few years. Nice bike but the hard mounted engine rattled my teeth. Wife and I toured the Nevada desert on a (rented) Heritage Soft-tail Classic a few years back. Loved that bike enough to be saving my pennies for one.
 
Not a fan of lane splitting. I'm more OK with running on the shoulders during backed up traffic...but then the compacts want to try it and before you know it...there's chaos in the streets....

just not a fan...as a driver of bikes and trucks.
 
It's like when you're jogging and a cyclist speeds past you, about gives you a heart-attack, very dangerous too.
During stopped traffic backups, I get it I suppose, otherwise seems crazy.
 
Helix said:
i definitely wouldn't ride in between stopped cars. that's just asking for it. of course, i've finally reached the point where riding a motorcycle at all just seems like too much of a risk. i'm not too old to ride, but the consequences from someone else running into me while trying to make a phone call just don't seem worth it. i'll probably sell my bike in the next year or two. kind of sucks, because i really did enjoy riding.
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I have ridden on and off for a long spell. I may be getting a bit too old and inflexible to ride. I cannot put in the saddle time that I used to. That being said, it’s my opinion that riding on two wheels make one a better four wheel pilot. You pay more attention, imo.
 
Mach said:
It's like when you're jogging and a cyclist speeds past you, about gives you a heart-attack, very dangerous too.
During stopped traffic backups, I get it I suppose, otherwise seems crazy.
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I experienced it in CA. Someone stated that CA is the only place that lane splitting is legal. Although it was an enjoyable experience I can see the problems that come with it. As restrictive CA is on emissions, safety and other things, I am not sure how they justify the practice. I had a chance to ride in CA in the early 1970’s and there was no helmet law then. That has changed. MD used to be a choice state and they went mandatory many years ago. PA used to require a helmet and the last time I rode helmets were optional, SC as well iirc. Many laws don’t make sense ........
 
Bodhisattva said:
Just because motorcycles are legally allowed to lane split does not mean that car drivers are mandated to give them room to do so. Car drivers have every right to use all of their lane and when bikers come flying through and/or get mad when a car is in their way the biker is an asshole. What I would really like to do is catch one of these ****ing ******s that hit a car's side mirror as they flee off in to the traffic like the little bitches that they are.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Thats why I keep a camera rolling in whatever vehicle I am in.
 
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