The California Office of Traffic Safety today released results of the first-ever survey of California motorists and motorcycle riders on the subject of lane splitting, where motorcycles travel between two lanes with other vehicles travel ling the same direction.
Lane splitting has been a subject for controversy and confusion for years. The OTS survey showed that only 53% of vehicle drivers knew that lane splitting is legal in California. Eighty-seven percent of motorcycle riders say they lane split, while 7% of vehicle drivers or road bullies admit to having attempted to prevent it.
“As the weather improves, more and more motorcyclists are enjoying California’s roads,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of OTS. “And with that in mind, pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers of all vehicles, including SUVs, passenger cars and trucks, need to be extra attentive and make sure they ‘share the road.’ A motorcycle is one of the smallest vehicles on our roads, often hidden in a car or truck’s blind spot. Every driver needs to aggressively look for them before changing lanes or merging with traffic.”
Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists are about 39 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in traffic crashes.
