Don’t know if you guys agree with it or not, but I signed:
http://www.change.org/petitions/ny-state-senate-legalize-lane-splitting-in-new-york-state
I’m not a bike guy, but I’ve heard stories from @newman & others about how this works in California. And I guess as a biker it’s pants-shitingly terrifying, lol.
Not sure if this is a good idea in NY though. Each spring WNY has lots of deaths it seems… we even lost a very active user here in '13. It might save traffic congestion, but what’s the impact (pun intended) on deaths & injuries?
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I’ll get @XwalkerX in on this too because he probably has more experience with it.
It would be awesome, but I would be SHOCKED if this ever became legal.
Agreed. I’ve lane split a few times (obviously illegally) here in Albany (on the north way when traffic is at an almost stand still) and didn’t have much issue. I wouldn’t do it when everyone is rolling at 20-30mph because there is a much higher chance of a car moving into your lane without seeing you. But when they are rolling at 5mph or not moving at all? Go for it IMO.
Also, at red lights, I definitely see the benefit of it preventing me getting rear-ended and ending up as a hood ornament…or a rear view mirror ornament.
NY sucks though, so I doubt they’ll approve it. That’s why I said worth a shot lol.
I like the idea of doing it at red lights. It would scare the shit out of me any other time
I lived in LA, this shit makes sense. why it isn’t legal any where else is beyond me. And we have a lot of death here for two reasons.
- most of the guys who ride around here are poor riders!
- Most drivers seem to forget to check their fucking blind spot before changing lanes!
BTW this will never pass, I heard a year ago it might pass in jersey. But New York? no way in hell.
Definitely should be legal.
Yeah I doubt it’ll pass but I’ll take 2 minutes of my time to sign up on any petition trying to get it to at least be discussed. NY sucks…if it wasn’t for my family and great job, I’d be gone. Was lookin at houses in Charlotte, NC (where a lot of my friends live) for S&G’s and you can get a NY $250k house there for like $180-190k. Might end up there instead of FL (my ‘dream’ living spot) eventually…
so i moved to LA/OC last year and have been splitting lanes daily since.
i agree with the video that you certainly take more of a risk in doing so but the main thing is staying alert and anticpating what these idiots in cars out here are going to do…
ive been cut off/squeezed out of lanes/had cars pull out in front of me/ etc. etc.
i think as long as people are conscious of the fact that it is LEGAL and they should look out for bikes then there is no problem but lets be real nobody ever looks out for bikes. i feel like you have to be an agressive rider (especially out here) to get around on a bike daily.
what im more confused about is the fact that this is only legal in California but look at how many states have no helmet laws. absurd.
regardless it will never pass in NYS.
bump cause i am more concerned about approaching an intersection where someone from opposing traffic is trying to turn left than i am about lane splitting
I take it this just happened to ya?
no matter where i am riding its always something that i see more often than not.
and its not even left turns sometimes. sometimes people making right turns into traffic dont even look.
just thought about this thread on my way to work and thinking about how i ride.
i split the HOV and fast lane all the way down the 405 in heavy traffic today but i get more concerned about approaching intersections than that lol.
and you know the moment a law like that changed here in NYS every squid and ghetto fabulous rider from the capital region riders page will spend every waking moment reacting that video around here.
And ilya, you have been on a bike for half a year, tipped over once and lowsided it once… No offense but stand still or not, if one pinched you off a little your taking a mirror off or worse guaranteed. Go into a parking lot, go across the spots perpendicular at 20 mph (not that fast right)… go right to the end and at the second to last parking spot line STOP like the end of the lot was a car pinching you off…. Youre locking up the tires, tucking the front probably or just simply would have hit the imaginary car.
Personally saving 20 minutes time passing a parking lot of cars on the highway is NOT worth the 100K medical bill, law suit, wrecked bike, and my body. EVEN if you’re doing it slow, 30mph hitting something doing 5 or zero fucking hurts a lot. And pulling that shit at highway speed and going down, a 4K car hitting me at 65mph while im rolling down the road must hurt and awful lot more.
I don’t know what the point of your middle paragraph was dude, but I’m not even going to waste my breath on it other than to state that <—.
Anyway… @XwalkerX, same crap almost happened to me last season. Dude pulled out (left turn - going in the same direction as me) of a plaza into the median/turn lane and then merged right into me just about, I had to gun it and squeeze in front of the car that was in the far right lane. Old guy, like 70. Totally oblivious and his face suggested he had NO IDEA I was there, “WTF biker!? Where did you come from!?” If you aren’t paying attention while riding, you’re going to get in trouble. That was a factor in my accident in September, although I don’t know how many bikers would have been able to go through that corner without going off the road (maybe not low-siding, but certainly going into the grass upright). Gravel (the kind you use for a driveway - $0.05 or $0.25 sized) all over the road with ZERO signs warning you of the impending hazard. It took them almost 3 months to pave that spot after they had tore it up to run a pipe to some new warehouse construction.
Casually taking a corner at night + no hazard ahead warning signs + only 4kmi of riding experience = accident and lessons learned.
@KrazyKid that’s fine that YOU wouldn’t do it.
It’s not about making lane splitting mandatory.
It’s about just making it legal so that the people who choose to take the risk, can.
If you go to any state where there are no helmet laws do you think that means everyone just rides in a tank top, shorts and sandals?
Most people ride within their comfort zone.
It’s no secret that riding a motorcycle is dangerous so it’s about what each rider deems an acceptable risk to take.
Bikers are literally the most susceptible groups I know to peer pressure, to ride above their ability or in risky situations they wouldn’t on their own. Last year was the proof if you followed what happened around the 518. Was probably the most police filled season I ever saw. All because of “group rides” where new riders rode with OK riders and rode above their head a lot. You make it legal and I put money on there will be PACKS of riders splitting lanes like retards and there will be wrecks. Not to mention now its their “out” to take off on the cops when they are dicking off anyways. The maturity level from what I saw last year is NOT there for a law like this and ALLOWING those people to make a proper decision to “risk” themselves.
I understand your helmet analogy, and I give you the 75mph speed limit one. We all know a 75mph posted highway is a 90mph zone for 98% of the cars on the road there. I know plenty of drivers personally that have no business driving 90mph, but they are damn close to it on those roads because its the flow of traffic and “everyone’s doing it”.
I’m not worried about the one or three riders in rush hour doing it, it’s the packs of retards that love to “take over the streets and kill it son” we have in the 518.
That was the most important part I wanted to convey to you. It wasn’t meant to put you down or put me on a high horse dude… maybe you never thought about it how I mentioned it, or tried that exercise in a parking lot yet. My point was bikes slow down fast, they don’t stop fast… especially in a 4kmi under the belt rider. I have over 15 times the odometer you do under my belt and even I would not think it’s a walk in the park with that practice maneuver.
I could give a single fuck if some no name squid from downtown troy splatters the back of a minivan splitting lanes one day, I don’t want to hear about a fellow rider/forum member/acquaintance doing the same. Sorry you took it the wrong way I guess.
As an addendum to #2 .
Every single accident or near-accident I had on a bike over the years (and the reason I’m not riding this year and probably a while)
was the same reason - a moron taking a left without looking. At traffic light, oncoming, or same direction - it makes no difference.
I suspect most bike-car crashes have similar stats.
Would love it if the lane-departure systems and collision alerts became mandatory in cars, It would make riding 100X safer.
The Cap region page kids are giving most of us a bad name, yes shennagins ensue most of the time but the clowns who post all the time on that page are the guys who can’t ride wortha shit. As for lane splitting, good luck !
sadly people driving cars are to stupid not to hit you. Its legal in some warmer climates mostly because some older bikes would over heat sitting in long stop and go traffic.