Californicating Colorado:
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So if you’re driving a car and stay close to left side of your lane, a motorcycle can’t pass you.
Interesting politics likely involved .
I really think the pot has taken over Colorado. Minnesota too. Yesterday on the highway, we were all doing 60, and two cycles passed us. One in the opposing lane and one on the right shoulder. Of course I saw the coming in my mirror. Just dumb.
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Sure a motorcycle can pass you, just on the right.
If you are stuck in traffic in your 6’ by 15’, 2 ton car, why do I have to be stuck with you on my 3’ by 6’, 400 pound motorcycle?
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I’ve had two motorcycles pass me at the same time, one on the left, the other on the right, all in (mostly) one lane . Not sure if that’s legal in Calif, but it is done sometimes. I’ve experienced some temporary hearing loss from passing motorcycles & their loud exhaust sounds too.
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According to the law in Colorado, you MUST pass on the left side of the car.
Ah, yes, requiring lane-split passing to only on the left seems a little safer.
My buddy when he came back from Vietnam in the early 70’s stayed in Cali for 10+ years and he said it was legal back then in Cali for a motorcycle to lane-split…
And it sounds like other states will be allowing it in the future…
It definitely was legal at one time. But I’m not sure if it still remains legal. It’s weird that it would be legal in one state but not another.
Just google Motorcycle Lane-Splitting it still is legal…
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It is not weird . Have you not heard that states set their own traffic rules ?
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If you’re lane splitting, one car will be on the left, one on the right, right?
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They are not allowing “Lane Splitting”
They are only allowing what they are calling “Lane Filtering”
There are five important factors to apply to the new lane filtering law.
- The vehicles the rider wants to pass are completely stopped.
- The lane is wide enough to fit both vehicles.
- The motorcycle must be under 15 mph.
- The rider must pass safely and have control of the motorcycle.
- The rider must pass on the left and not enter the oncoming traffic lane.Lane filtering allows motorcyclists with enough room in the lane they are traveling in to pass a vehicle ahead of them, if and only if that vehicle is completely stopped.
In California it is technically known as lane sharing. It is not illegal, and it is not limited to freeways. Filtering up to traffic lights is also legal. And of course there are people who will try to block a motorcycle, but in general that’s quite rare. Mostly people aren’t paying attention, anyway. Everyone’s playing with a phone or their music or smoking something. I’ve passed thousands of cars over the years and only a few drivers have shown deliberate attempts to block. The highway patrol motorcycle officers do it quite a bit.
There seems to be very little resentment of people who drive huge trucks or trucks with trailers but plenty of resentment here for people who ride small, efficient vehicles that only want to share the road. I don’t understand that.
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I don’t mind motorcycles riding the broken line since they are mostly air cooled. Too much sitting in traffic can damage the engine. When traffic is moving it’s a different situation. Drivers changing lanes quickly is a prescription for disaster since many drivers never see motorcycles anyway.
Are you aware of your confirmation bias? Perhaps those riders had pancakes for breakfast. Therefore, pancakes are the problem.
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Yup!
Amendment 10 of the US Constitution established the concept of “reserved powers”. The 10th Amendment states the following:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I’m skeptical of the idea that motorcycles overheat while stopped in traffic. Liquid cooled bikes have fans, radiators, thermostats just like a car. Idling air cooled bike engines are still cooled by convection and radiation. I’ve been riding air cooled bikes for over 50 years and have never had one overheat while stopped in traffic. It’s a good excuse for lane splitting, and I think lane splitting is a good idea in general, but not necessary for engine cooling.
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