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Lane Sharing PSA Site: LaneSplittingIsLegal.com

This article from the Los Angeles Times and the video that they have put with it looks pretty good for the car drivers to read and watch. It doesn't make any unsupportable claims about safety and the splitting speed seems reasonable.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-smith-lane-split-20130119,0,3665468.story

And a follow-up from yesterday with reader reaction: Revved up about motorcycles zooming between cars.

For any Angelenos out there, Doug Smith is the son of the late Times columnist Jack Smith. Jack was to Los Angeles as Herb Caen was to San Francisco.
 
Yeah nice site! Good shiz.

:thumbup Thanks!

Also spread the word on other m/c sites, like SBR, ADV, Pashnit, etc.

Definitely - feel free to post it around, too. I'm not as active on other forums but plan to slowly post it out on these if it doesn't get their organically. I'm already seeing links from other moto forums, which is awesome!

Can't see your site now (at work, it's blocked :thumbdown) but I'll check it out tonight.

Hah! Must be all the :boobies

You should sell patches and stickers with that logo on it. Would be cool to have a giant back patch with that to remind the cagers as I go past them :ride

There are a few stickers here. I'll make an announcement when I have a batch to give away. Patches are a good idea, too. LaneSplitters MC FTW!

1) Nice site - clean and to the point.

2) I'd be awesome to have a 70's-style PSA on TV with some mid-level celebrity, complete with soft focus.

3) While lane splitting in the Bay Area can be tough, it is nothing compared to LA. There they close in and try to squish you.

Thank you! I wish I had the budget for TV. Maybe we could get Brad Pitt - he rides, yeah? :laughing

Folks have tried to squish me here too!
 
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This article from the Los Angeles Times and the video that they have put with it looks pretty good for the car drivers to read and watch. It doesn't make any unsupportable claims about safety and the splitting speed seems reasonable.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-smith-lane-split-20130119,0,3665468.story

And a follow-up from yesterday with reader reaction: Revved up about motorcycles zooming between cars.

For any Angelenos out there, Doug Smith is the son of the late Times columnist Jack Smith. Jack was to Los Angeles as Herb Caen was to San Francisco.

Thanks for the tips, Scott and Dan. Those are both already in the news section - I'm putting up everything decent I can as I find it.
 
If you get a sticker going that reads lane splitting is legal instead of just the logo id would put one on my cage. I think the text would do more to notify people than the logo alone.
 
This is from the San Diego Union Tribune yesterday, Scared to death of lane splitting:
The other day, I was cruising in free-flow traffic on Interstate 215 in Menifee and a motorcycle blew past -- and through -- the line of cars at 100 mph.

And that's no exaggeration. The biker might have been going faster.

Of course, as we all know, or should know, lane splitting is perfectly legal in California, even if it is not elsewhere in the country.

The maneuver seems to be handled relatively safely, most of the time, during rush hour. Commuting riders work their way through traffic slowly and methodically, straddling lane lines as cars and trucks on either side lurch forward a few feet at a time.

But there are other times when traffic is rolling along and riders roar by as if the lead car doing 80 mph in the fast lane is standing still.
The BARF reaction to "that's no exaggeration" would be "Oh bullshit!"

But then there's this news article from last week about a crash on the very same freeway, Motorcyclist Survives Injuries in I-215 Crash:
CHP's preliminary investigation revealed [the rider] was traveling at speeds greater than 100 mph on his 2006 Suzuki GSXR, splitting between lanes when his right mirror struck the side of a big rig, according to the report.​
 
If you get a sticker going that reads lane splitting is legal instead of just the logo id would put one on my cage. I think the text would do more to notify people than the logo alone.

I agree 100%! I actually have both, and there are more versions to come. Conveying that message through text and simple URL was the primary goal of the site. The road sign graphic turned out so cool that I want to do some designs with that as well.

Go here to check out the current batch of stickers.

Here are two of them. They link to the page to get 'em, if you're so inclined.



 
This is from the San Diego Union Tribune yesterday, Scared to death of lane splitting:
The other day, I was cruising in free-flow traffic on Interstate 215 in Menifee and a motorcycle blew past -- and through -- the line of cars at 100 mph.

And that's no exaggeration. The biker might have been going faster.

Of course, as we all know, or should know, lane splitting is perfectly legal in California, even if it is not elsewhere in the country.

The maneuver seems to be handled relatively safely, most of the time, during rush hour. Commuting riders work their way through traffic slowly and methodically, straddling lane lines as cars and trucks on either side lurch forward a few feet at a time.

But there are other times when traffic is rolling along and riders roar by as if the lead car doing 80 mph in the fast lane is standing still.
The BARF reaction to "that's no exaggeration" would be "Oh bullshit!"

But then there's this news article from last week about a crash on the very same freeway, Motorcyclist Survives Injuries in I-215 Crash:
CHP's preliminary investigation revealed [the rider] was traveling at speeds greater than 100 mph on his 2006 Suzuki GSXR, splitting between lanes when his right mirror struck the side of a big rig, according to the report.​

Interesting. I commented on that article yesterday and linked to Laneshare.org, my site and the CHP guidelines. I guess they took down my comment. Bummer.

I didn't put that article on the site because I felt it was pretty slanted and not really "news" - but maybe I need to be thinking "lane splitting in the news" versus "lane splitting news." What do you think?

I do see the occasional asshattery in my commute, but the majority of riders I see seem to be going above and beyond to be good representatives of the community. I had an interesting conversation with someone on Facebook yesterday, though, in which the other party said 99% of the bikes and scooters he encounters in LA are splitting "recklessly."
 
I didn't put that article on the site because I felt it was pretty slanted and not really "news" - but maybe I need to be thinking "lane splitting in the news" versus "lane splitting news." What do you think?

Good idea. This was not an article; it was editorial commentary. An article is supposed to be unbiased; this clearly was not. As such, it has no place in your site, which I would say is meant to educate with facts, not rhetoric.
 
Very cool, thank you for doing this. :thumbup

I've been slowing down my lane splitting speeds now that there is an official policy. The faster I go the more those cages look like cones...
 
I didn't put that article on the site because I felt it was pretty slanted and not really "news" - but maybe I need to be thinking "lane splitting in the news" versus "lane splitting news." What do you think?
I'm not saying it should be on the site, which is promoting lane-splitting, not trying to present an unbiased view.

But I think the Union-Tribune writer did a good job presenting both sides. He offered his own observations, negative and positive. He quoted a transplanted Chicagoan who is terrified by it. And he quoted an advocate who made a positive case for splitting when it's done sensibly.
 
Thank you so much for your efforts. It humbles me, as I have been lax in my community service, lately.

As indicated by this thread, and some barf discussions, there are those who simply will make your efforts more difficult by their irresponsible actions. Do not be discourage by the few. And don't let nit-picking about your site make you second guess your efforts. Those reactions are common "human nature". You are doing well. Thank you, again.
 
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I'm not saying it should be on the site, which is promoting lane-splitting, not trying to present an unbiased view.

But I think the Union-Tribune writer did a good job presenting both sides. He offered his own observations, negative and positive. He quoted a transplanted Chicagoan who is terrified by it. And he quoted an advocate who made a positive case for splitting when it's done sensibly.

Agreed. But the thing that bothered me about that piece was the title was so slanted - it wasn't representative of the overall content.
 
Very cool, thank you for doing this. :thumbup

I've been slowing down my lane splitting speeds now that there is an official policy. The faster I go the more those cages look like cones...

Hah! I find that towards the end of the week I need to make more of an effort to mellow out.

Thank you so much for your efforts. It humbles me, as I have been lax in my community service, lately.

As indicated by this thread, and some barf discussions, there are those who simply will make you efforts more difficult by their irresponsible actions. Do not be discourage by the fews. And don't let nit-picking about your site make you second guess your efforts. Those reactions are common "human nature". You are doing well. Thank you, again.

:thumbup Thank you!
 
He quoted a transplanted Chicagoan who is terrified by it.

He, (and other drivers) are terrified by it because they aren't paying attention! Suddenly a bike appears 'out of nowhere' going 'way too fast' and the adrenaline kicks in. (It'd help if we bikers stuck with quieter pipes too, but that's a well-worn discussion around here)

I am hoping that informing car drivers that lane splitsharefiltering :laughing is legal, will also get the thought of motorcycles actually existing in real space and time onto their radar so they start looking and paying attention.

Damn, I sound grumpy this morning. :laughing
 
Quick update - I've been slammed with "real work" and haven't gotten a mass sticker order in. Hoping to get that dialed in the next couple days. But tonight I got home to this - my wife had some fridge magnets made and put 'em on the garage door.

magnet-heart.jpg


My wife is awesome. PM me if you want a fridge magnet. :teeth

Here's a shot of the 3x3 stickers from the CafePress store. They're a bit small but look decent.

magnets-n-stickers.jpg


The white borders aren't part of the sticker. You can get 'em here.
 
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