Splitting at speed...why is this a thing?

[vought]

It's an adrenaline rush. I actually notice when I don't split that something is missing from my ride during rush hour. It also has a certain element of skill, different from cornering skill. You have to judge the cagers, predict their behavior to a certain degree, stay calm while doing 70 between two trucks and keep the motorcycle very straight.. it is fun. And I suspect most people who split fast don't do it for the time savings, they do it for fun.

You understand this is a public road and you're putting more than yourself at risk, right?

Just checking….

 

[planegray]

I have no words.

That's why we have emoticons.

Like this:

 

[weasel]

I used to go gap-to-gap. Then a motor cop tolde that he never does that, he only goes when the cars are side by side, .

The Motor is right. Fear the gap.

I have the most close calls when there's a gap in traffic and a cage decides "Hey, an open lane" and changes with looking or using a blinker.

So why do you split at speed then? And what kind of speeds are we talking about?

Because it's fun and at whatever speed I feel is safe for 'me'.

You understand this is a public road and you're putting more than yourself at risk, right?

Just checking….

So is HWY 9 etc...

 

[Sharky]

So much hand wringing over lane splitting.
Yawn.
Be safe out there and ride your own ride.

 

[Surj]

It's an adrenaline rush. I actually notice when I don't split that something is missing from my ride during rush hour. It also has a certain element of skill, different from cornering skill. You have to judge the cagers, predict their behavior to a certain degree, stay calm while doing 70 between two trucks and keep the motorcycle very straight.. it is fun. And I suspect most people who split fast don't do it for the time savings, they do it for fun.

Deltas of up to 30. That's kind of the high end, and I only go that fast if the lanes are wide, traffic is calm and I feel alert. I would say 15-20 is probably the average. It's about the speed that if the cars were standing still and a kid jumped out from behind one of them, I could most likely make a full stop.

At which ground speeds do I split? Well, given that I don't split with a delta over 30 much and most people don't do more than 70-80, you do the math..

So much hand wringing over lane splitting.
Yawn.
Be safe out there and ride your own ride.

There's so much hand wringing because behavior like the post quoted above ("riding his own ride") increases the likelihood of splitting going away. Riding one's own ride doesn't happen in a vacuum, with no consequences.

 

[Mr Pepsi]

If you don't think things will change if enough stupid reckless riders die splitting at high speed, you are certainly clueless.

 

[DataDan]

So why do you split at speed then? And what kind of speeds are we talking about?

It's an adrenaline rush. I actually notice when I don't split that something is missing from my ride during rush hour. It also has a certain element of skill, different from cornering skill. You have to judge the cagers, predict their behavior to a certain degree, stay calm while doing 70 between two trucks and keep the motorcycle very straight.. it is fun. And I suspect most people who split fast don't do it for the time savings, they do it for fun.

Thanks for saying that, YellowBastard. Those of us who urge our fellow lane-splitters to keep speed down (absolute and relative) need to understand that our reasoning won't penetrate if the object ISN'T to make the commute quicker and safer.

On the other hand, riders who think they are slashing commute time by splitting 50mph traffic, take note:

 

[Sharky]

There's so much hand wringing because behavior like the post quoted above ("riding his own ride") increases the likelihood of splitting going away. Riding one's own ride doesn't happen in a vacuum, with no consequences.

Because no one every lane split fast before the CHP guidelines were passed. Seems like there were people lanesplitting at high rates of speed when I started riding some 30 years ago. Now there is just an internet forum for people to congregate at and complain about others (rightly or wrongly).

Sorry, I just can't get into this hysteria...

 

[Surj]

Because no one every lane split fast before the CHP guidelines were passed. Seems like there were people lanesplitting at high rates of speed when I started riding some 30 years ago. Now there is just an internet forum for people to congregate at and complain about others (rightly or wrongly).

Sorry, I just can't get into this hysteria...

I wouldn't characterize it as hysteria, but discussion and attempts at education. Sure, people were splitting fast back in the day—I was one of them, splitting fast without a license or helmet back in the eighties. I don't think that this means we should just ignore the issues and assume splitting will be legal forever. There are already periodic attempts to ban or regulate splitting—thus the concern.

 

[NoTraffic]

Because no one every lane split fast before the CHP guidelines were passed. Seems like there were people lanesplitting at high rates of speed when I started riding some 30 years ago. Now there is just an internet forum for people to congregate at and complain about others (rightly or wrongly).

Sorry, I just can't get into this hysteria...

I agree with Sharky, besides death and taxes, there will always be a sub-culture of people breaking the rules for everything. I'm sure most posting on this topic lane split safely anyhows. People will do what they want when their are no laws provisioning it (squids, road racers, etc).

Tell cagers who speed that it is illegal and they shouldn't go more than the speed limit. That's how I feel about lane sharing topics these days. Squids who are trying to drag knee with shorts and flip flops, probably aren't reading this forum in the first place (been on a group ride with one yet?)

 

[Kurosaki]

I lane split as speed. And as long as moto LEOs (I've had a few come around me at speed) do it, I'll keep doing it too.

 

[clutchslip]

Be safe out there and ride your own ride.

I'm not picking on you, Sharky, but this trite, overused phrase just makes me nuts after so many years of it. The guy doing a 60mph wheelie while splitting "just rides his own ride." And being an obvious moron, he probably thinks it's safe.

Can we have a barf contest to come up with a better phrase than "mind your own business, [even if the business fvcks you up]."? I'll donate a pair of ear plugs to the contest prizes. Thanks for the thought.

 

[Sharky]

I'm not picking on you, Sharky, but this trite, overused phrase just makes me nuts after so many years of it. The guy doing a 60mph wheelie while splitting "just rides his own ride." And being an obvious moron, he probably thinks it's safe.

Can we have a barf contest to come up with a better phrase than "mind your own business, [even if the business fvcks you up]."? I'll donate a pair of ear plugs to the contest prizes. Thanks for the thought.

You are right, it is a rather overused phrase. How about, "try not to wad it up and if you do keep it to a single vehicle accident".

 

[planegray]

You are right, it is a rather overused phrase. How about, "try not to wad it up and if you do keep it to a single vehicle accident".

How about "ride like Sharky" ?

 

[Carlo]

There's so much hand wringing because behavior like the post quoted above ("riding his own ride") increases the likelihood of splitting going away. Riding one's own ride doesn't happen in a vacuum, with no consequences.

Yep. Try living in a state that doesn't allow it. Washington and Oregon both have big cities (well, Oregon only has one) with pretty bad rush hour traffic, and we have to sit and take it.
Splitting is NOT a privilege! It isn't even sanctioned by the law, it's just that it's not specifically mentioned in the California Vehicle Code, so the California law enforcement community decided many years ago to take that as meaning that it's ok for two vehicles to share the same lane if there's room.
In Oregon and Washington, it's been treated as reckless driving. And I understand Oregon has now re-written the lane usage section of the Oregon Vehicle Code to specifically disallow it.

No motorcyclist in California should take that privilege for granted, or use it in a manner that will annoy or anger other road users - let alone do it in a manner that increases risk of injury or death if something goes wrong. Do you think that a "low delta" of only 30 mph when you're passing traffic that's going 60 is going to make it ok if you should happen to get clipped by a car? You're doing 90! That's gonna hurt! A lot.

 

[Mr Pepsi]

It isn't even sanctioned by the law

Kinda is now.

 

[Sharky]

How about "ride like Sharky" ?

Well if you are going to do it right...

 

[Sharky]

Well if you are going to do it right...

I should edit that to read, "ride like Lou", since he's got bars and a Scotts and such.

 

[Carlo]

Kinda is now.

What I meant was that it's not written into the Vehicle Code. I know that the CHP has issued guidelines.

Someday it's going to come up for a vote, or maybe two:

1. It's officially legal, and here are the conditions under which you can do it....

2. It's no longer permitted. The People of California have spoken.

You guys have a lot of say in which eventually happens, based on how you behave out there.

 

[TheRiddler]

It's a frustrating endeavor to get all riders to cool it considering how many people simply on this forum don't care.

I follow the CHP guidelines, ride with a bright white helmet and a hiviz jacket, and wave to people who are kind enough to move over. Then someone blows by, nearly clipping (or actually clipping) a car in front of me and all my good efforts go out the window. Hardly anyone remembers the bike who was being safe. Everyone remembers the bike who was riding recklessly.