SFGate Lane-Splitting Poll

Edit:  As of 07/27 the poll has been taken down.  Thanks to those who voted!

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As of last night SFGate had posted a public-opinion lane-splitting poll.  Vote to show your support for lane-splitting!

While you're at it check out last Friday's KQUED radio forum podcast, featuring Nick Harris from the AMA and CHP officer Peter Apodaca responding to call-in comments about lane-splitting.

Lane-splitting Poll

Petition to Bring Back the CHP Lane-Splitting Guidelines

An e-petition has been created to petition the California Office of Administrative Law to lift the ban on the CHP's online lane-splitting guidelines.  Please encourage as many motorcyclists as possible to sign the petition.  Keep lane-splitting legal!

CA CHP Forced to Remove Lane-Splitting Guidelines from Website

The AMA announced today that a lone complaint forced the California CHP to remove lane-splitting guidelines from their web site.

The CHP lane-splitting guidelines were posted in 2013 to help raise awareness about the legality of lane-splitting and encourage traffic safety.  They were also seen as an implicit endorsement of the practice by the CHP.

To daily lane-splitters such as myself the removal of the guidelines is a reminder to split sensibly.  If it takes only one angry guy to pull the guidelines, we don't want an organized group of angry drivers pursuing legislation.  The practice of lane-splitting not only saves time but decreases traffic congestion and increases motorcycle safety when practiced responsibly.  Banning lane-splitting hurts everyone, let's not let it happen.

Follow the latest lane-splitting news on the lane splitting is legal site, or on Facebook.

The deleted guidelines can be downloaded from the AMA web site or my personal site.

Edit:  I also started a thread on BARF.

Lane Sharing in the News

In the wake of CHP Lane Splitting Guidelines published online earlier this year amid cautiously optimistic comments in motorcycle forums, we now have SB 350 introduced by CA Senator Jim Beall with the intent of restricting, or at least codifying, said privileges.  An excerpt from the bill is as follows:

SECTION 1.  Section 21658.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
   21658.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law, and except as
provided in subdivision (b), when a highway has been divided into
three or more clearly marked lanes for traffic traveling in the same
direction, a person operating a motorcycle shall not pass another
vehicle in a portion of a lane occupied by that vehicle unless the
following conditions are met:
   (1) The passing occurs during traffic congestion.
   (2) The passing occurs at a safe speed.
   (b) This section does not apply to a peace officer in the
performance of official duties.

According to brief articles in this month's City Bike and the AMA News site, no action will be taken in 2013 until the results of a U.C. Berkeley lane sharing safety study are completed.  For more information search for sb-350 on the LaneSplittingIsLegal.com web site.  There is also a BARF thread and information on the ABATE web site.