[johnnyvee]

My brother lives and rides in San Diego. He and I were discussing the CA "lane sharing" law. CA is the only state to make it expressly legal to "lane split" or "white line". He said that as the law is written the details, like the 15 mph max. relative velocity, are more of an advisory than a requirement.

He also said that he thinks that there is a downside to the practice. Where previously he felt like he had ownership of his lane, now the car drivers' expectation is that motorcyclists will be flexible, and will move out of the lane as conditions allow. They don't expect the bikes to behave like cars, and one that does may be in greater danger.

Even in Illinois, where it's definitely not legal, bikers will ride the white lines. One thing that can happen, is when pulling out of a lane into the "grey space", you find another bike is rapidly moving into that space from behind. I've seen a very near collision of two bikes in this scenario. Be careful out there!

 

[johnnyvee]

Law enforcement is already using social media to collect evidence to prosecute crime. That GoPro footage is better than a signed confession.

 

[johnnyvee]

And this is exactly why the most congested places tend to have the highest percentage of two wheeled transport. A bicycle or a small motorcycle doesn't need to wait in the queue that the 4 wheelers are stuck in. I'm not dealing with really horrible traffic, but for my commute here in Chicago, I can get to work just as quickly on a bicycle as I can in my car, and in half the time on a motorcycle. I still have to wait at the stop lights, but I don't have to wait to GET to the stop lights. At certain intersections, a car has to wait for 2 or 3 cycles of the stoplight before it gets close enough to the front of the line to get through, and even more if something has gone amiss, like road construction. This is how one ends up averaging 5 mph, or less on streets that allow 30mph traffic.

I'm surprised that more people don't ride 2 wheelers. I guess they just don't know the secret. Shhhh... Don't Tell!