Many seemed determined to commit suicide by vehicle.
I have hit one, another jumped over me. Both happened incredibly fast.
I am glad Sunday's incident was not too bad. I will never question anyone who hits a deer or has an accident because of deer; they are quick and entirely unpredictable.
It works in Italy because the scooters and bikes continually lane split. They do not filter and then zip to get in front of cars when the light turns green. Filtering and then getting in front of cars slows the cars down. It is quicker for bikes however.
Instead, in Italy, instead of two lanes of traffic in one direction, there is now three. The third is the "lane" between the normal two, now continually occupied by scooters. The cars are not slowed down by the practice as the scooters are never in the car's lane, nor vice versa. It is delicious, semi-organized chaos.
This is very different than filtering as we are discussing here.
To add to the fun, the scooters and bikes also run on sidewalks to get around stopped traffic, will enter a lane going in the opposite direction to get around a stopped car or bus, etc. It is quite a spectacle. But it seems to work in their culture.
How does it cause the trip to be prolonged if you are passed?
Simple. Each vehicle occupies X feet of space. If ten vehicles are allowed to pass me, I am 10X feet further from my destination. It is exactly the same if these same vehicles were able to merge ahead from another lane as I wait. I am not as far forward as I would be had the vehicles not passed me.
It is also the reason the bikes like it. They are now ahead of vehicles which previously occupied X feet of space in front of them. The bikes will now get to their destination more quickly. That saved space had to come from somewhere. It is a zero sum game.
It is not a question of acceleration. Cars catch up very quickly, especially on city streets. The car is now behind where it would be if the vehicles had not passed. If the vehicle(s) was not there, he would be that much further ahead.
Many drivers will resent one group getting special treatment. People would be angry if fast accelerating sports cars were allowed to pass on the shoulder to get in front of more pedestrian cars at intersections. Consider the uproar when the DOT began to sell HOV access to single drivers.
. . . and no they cannot lane split simply to move to the front of the line at an intersection
This is hard to justify as anything other than a gift and special treatment for M/Cs, especially as it slows down the trip for those passed. This would cause a lot of resentment.
I personally don't want to wait for an inattentive driver to rear end me while I sit behind another car (right in the impact zone).
Any time there is an emergency you are well within your legal rights to take whatever evasive action you deem appropriate: lane split, pass on the shoulder, exceed the speed limit, whatever.
(As an aside, people often mention this as a huge risk to motorcycles but at least in Minnesota this is a rare accident. Motorcycle accidents typically are caused by the rider (failure to negotiate a curve, loss of control, etc.) or a car makes a left turn in front of the bike.)
As you noted, lane splitting is not necessarily any safer. It is merely different - with its own set of risks.
Interestingly, the CA DMV recommends against splitting as unsafe.
Shoulder driven buses is not a valid analogy; they are big, have explicit right away, and driving on the shoulder is illegal for a car. A lane splitting bike does not have right of way, it is legal for a car to drive on the lane divider lines while switching lanes or to hug the line, and bikes always lose in an accident - regardless of who is at fault.
Legally, a rider can only lane split when prudent to do so. A jury will treat an accident as prima facie evidence it was imprudent unless one can explicitly demonstrate the driver was at fault, a significant hurdle.
As I acknowledged, it may ultimately be safer. We do not know.
I do not trust drivers and ride as if they are all out to kill me. Driving between them appears to provide them with yet another opportunity. I know what it is like trying to maneuver around cars on a racing bicycle. Many drivers resent when you are between them at turn lanes, etc. even when it is perfect legal and is keeping them from being stuck behind a bicycle.
Again, I like the concept. I'm just not convinced it is a wise option here. In heavily congested urban areas with small vehicles (Thailand, etc.) it makes great sense for scooters and small bikes to filter through traffic.
I would not oppose a change in law here and would happily let others break in Minnesota drivers to the concept.
It's not even remotely terrifying. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but not terrifying. There is even a study out of UC Berkley that reveals it is actually SAFER to lane split.
Terrifying is a bit of hyperbole on my part.
It may indeed be safer. I learned from a CHiPs patrolman that they purposefully travel a bit faster than surrounding traffic, regardless of the speed of traffic, as moving through blindspots and continuously passing is safer. I can see this transferring to lane-splitting.
OTOH, there are many videos on YouTube with drivers deliberately blocking bikes and opening doors on bikes, road rage at bikes for splitting, bikers engaging in stupid human tricks while splitting, etc.
I like the concept. But in a more bike friendly world.
Having not done it, it sounds terrifying moving from one blind-spot to the next. But I understand it works well in areas where the practice is well-established.
Making it legal - and safe - as a new practice in an area totally unaccustomed to it would be a challenge. I'll let others break-in drivers to the concept.
Show Posts
