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Saw someone in an SUV plow into the back of another car

JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
On the freeway this morning. I was on my motorcycle, in the right portion of the leftmost lane (3 lane freeway). It was clear, sunny, and the road is in good condition. Anyway, I'm cruising along with the flow of traffic and I see brake lights up ahead. I'm behind a Ford Expedition and there is a midsize Chrysler of some sort in front of him/her. Everyone is stopping except the Expedition, then he sees traffic is stopped and slams on the brakes. Front wheels skid a bit and wham. He plows right into the car in front of him. Probably texting or yacking on the cell phone. I just cruised on by them both on the right.

No way I'm stopping on that road on a motorcycle. Fuck that. Good luck with your insurance companies!

That's why I lane split. Could have been me that idiot plowed into the back of.
 
Good to know you're not hurt - rear-enders are fairly easy to figure out, hopefully neither of the drivers involved are hurt either (but at least they're cagers and not riders).
 
I was driving in rush hour stop-and-go traffic once behind this guy that would violently slam on his brakes repeatedly. It was really annoying, so I switched to the right lane to avoid him. As soon as I did that, the guy that was behind me accelerated to take up the spot I left.

Well, as you can imagine, Mr. Acceleration met Mr. Brakesalot in violent fashion. I win.
 
I was in Cali the first week of August in the SF area. I've never seen lane splitting until then, at least not true lane splitting.

Man, that looks like a hell of a good way to end up a stain on the road to me.
 
Saw a close call yesterday.

Also caught a guy texting in heavy freeway traffic. Shook my head and gave him a thumbs down. You see a lot sitting up in an ambulance.

I'm sure a motorcycle is yet another perspective. Scary stuff.
 
Specop 007 said:
I was in Cali the first week of August in the SF area. I've never seen lane splitting until then, at least not true lane splitting.

Man, that looks like a hell of a good way to end up a stain on the road to me.
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I would assume that's one reason it's illegal in all states but Cali.
 
Specop 007 said:
I was in Cali the first week of August in the SF area. I've never seen lane splitting until then, at least not true lane splitting.

Man, that looks like a hell of a good way to end up a stain on the road to me.
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They say it's actually safer for riders if done prudently than sitting in stop and go traffic. Many countries allow motorcyclists to lane share.
 
Specop 007 said:
I was in Cali the first week of August in the SF area. I've never seen lane splitting until then, at least not true lane splitting.

Man, that looks like a hell of a good way to end up a stain on the road to me.
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I've lived in CA all my life but never really seen it until I moved down to the SoCal area. For the safety of the rider I think this should only be allowed between the carpool lane and the #1 lane because the gap is wider. But people do it between the regular lanes too and that's where I think most accidents happen.
 
JulesMaximus said:
They say it's actually safer for riders if done prudently than sitting in stop and go traffic. Many countries allow motorcyclists to lane share.
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This was on 101 headed to Petaluma. The first one that went by me really caught me off guard. I'd say traffic speeds were slow but still, it just takes one car doing a quick lane change to make a real freaking mess of someones day.
 
JulesMaximus said:
On the freeway this morning. I was on my motorcycle, in the right portion of the leftmost lane (3 lane freeway). It was clear, sunny, and the road is in good condition. Anyway, I'm cruising along with the flow of traffic and I see brake lights up ahead. I'm behind a Ford Expedition and there is a midsize Chrysler of some sort in front of him/her. Everyone is stopping except the Expedition, then he sees traffic is stopped and slams on the brakes. Front wheels skid a bit and wham. He plows right into the car in front of him. Probably texting or yacking on the cell phone. I just cruised on by them both on the right.

No way I'm stopping on that road on a motorcycle. Fuck that. Good luck with your insurance companies!

That's why I lane split. Could have been me that idiot plowed into the back of.
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You sure the car ahead of him didn't have a kid in it whose parent put on the app that requires you to be completely stopped before texting?

Kids literally stop on our highways to send a text quick.

Lets us know about all the other rear end accidents as well...great reporting for us!
 
lane splitting is different than lane sharing although many confuse them.

Splitting is usually that guy that flies down the center line at 80mph while everyone else is in bumper to bumper.

Sharing is where two bikes are side by side.
 
Specop 007 said:
This was on 101 headed to Petaluma. The first one that went by me really caught me off guard. I'd say traffic speeds were slow but still, it just takes one car doing a quick lane change to make a real freaking mess of someones day.
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Wouldn't work around here. You need the whole lane and sometimes part of the oncoming one otherwise you'll be hitting potholes 100% of the time. 😛

It didn't seem as crazy as I thought it would when I was in CA...they mostly only did it when traffic was at a dead stop.
 
Specop 007 said:
This was on 101 headed to Petaluma. The first one that went by me really caught me off guard. I'd say traffic speeds were slow but still, it just takes one car doing a quick lane change to make a real freaking mess of someones day.
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I live in Petaluma. 😵

There is a lot of splitting along that two lane stretch between Novato and Petaluma, and they are usually going pretty fast when they do it. You can't really blame them though, that stretch is crazy slow and the lanes are pretty wide so it's not too bad. I'm actually going to Fairfax and back this afternoon.
 
People have lane splitting confused with reckless driving. Proper lane splitting is when you split between two lanes to get to the front of a VERY slow moving line of cars, such as at an intersection with a red light. You get to the front and then take off from between the two lanes. It is far more economical for both the bike and cars because he isn't taking up another space.

People who blow between two cars at once on the highway is not lane splitting, it is reckless driving.
 
alkemyst said:
lane splitting is different than lane sharing although many confuse them.

Splitting is usually that guy that flies down the center line at 80mph while everyone else is in bumper to bumper.

Sharing is where two bikes are side by side.
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No, they are pretty much the same thing and you are sharing the lane with cars...not other bikes. I don't ride side by side with other motorcyclists because it leaves you no room to maneuver if you need to. I prefer to ride in a staggered formation.

Very few riders go "flying down the center line at 80mph." Not for very long anyway. You'll get popped by the CHP or killed doing that. What I see a vast majority of riders, myself included, doing is riding 15-20mph through stopped or very slow moving traffic.

Motorcycles are also allowed to use the carpool lanes in California. I must have seen 15 motorcycles lane splitting and/or using the carpool lanes this morning. It was a nice morning for commuting by bike.

http://www.laneshare.org/index.html

What is Lanesharing?

Often called lane-splitting, white-lining, or filtering, lanesharing is the practice by motorcyclists of moving between stopped or slow moving traffic during times of congestion and between lanes of vehicles, traveling in the same direction. There’s a certain protocol to the practice which you’ll discover on this website on our California page. Lanesharing is not legal in the US, but it is allowed or tolerated in parts of the country, notably California. The practice is also utilized in other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia.

Misconceptions are rampant about lanesharing, and we address this on our Misconceptions page. While there are many individuals including motorcyclists who oppose this practice, ironically an overwhelming majority of motorcycle safety professionals are in favor of legalizing lane-sharing. Our Why Laneshare? page will explore what these professionals and other motorcyclists are saying about lanesharing.

There have been attempts to legalize lanesharing in Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas and Washington State. Although we are more familiar with the effort in Washington, we are also looking for related information in other states and countries. We are also looking for ways we can improve this website. Go to our Contact Us page to submit your ideas and suggestions.
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VtPC83 said:
People have lane splitting confused with reckless driving. Proper lane splitting is when you split between two lanes to get to the front of a VERY slow moving line of cars, such as at an intersection with a red light. You get to the front and then take off from between the two lanes. It is far more economical for both the bike and cars because he isn't taking up another space.

People who blow between two cars at once on the highway is not lane splitting, it is reckless driving.
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Wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_splitting

"California has no laws explicitly prohibiting lane splitting, and is the only U.S. state for which official statements state that lane splitting, when done safely, is legal."

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/shr_slow_veh.htm

"Motorcycles may travel faster than traffic during congested road conditions and can legally travel in the unused space between two lines of moving or stationary vehicles, which is commonly called "lane splitting."
 
JulesMaximus said:
Very few riders go "flying down the center line at 80mph." Not for very long anyway. You'll get popped by the CHP or killed doing that.
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I've only seen this in southern California, and it seems that the instigators of this practice were the CHP motorcyclists themselves.
 
JulesMaximus said:
No, they are pretty much the same thing and you are sharing the lane with cars...not other bikes. I don't ride side by side with other motorcyclists because it leaves you no room to maneuver if you need to. I prefer to ride in a staggered formation.

Very few riders go "flying down the center line at 80mph." Not for very long anyway. You'll get popped by the CHP or killed doing that. What I see a vast majority of riders, myself included, doing is riding 15-20mph through stopped or very slow moving traffic.

Motorcycles are also allowed to use the carpool lanes in California. I must have seen 15 motorcycles lane splitting and/or using the carpool lanes this morning. It was a nice morning for commuting by bike.

http://www.laneshare.org/index.html
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking only about California. In many places a bike can pass between cars. It's not safe IMHO, but still legal. Same way helmet laws are different in places.
 
I love Cali for the lane splitting. Generally speaking, the only time it annoys me is when I am not doing it because I am in a standard car, looking at all the motorcyclists passing me up. I don't think it is any more dangerous or less than riding a motorcycle in the first place. All the experienced ones I know all say it is up to the motorcycle rider to see and avoid the dangers around them.

As for the speed, I rarely see a motorcyclist speeding by. I think it might be a misperception based on you are stationary vs them moving 15-25 mph. Kind of like when you are backing up and think you are out of space, but turns out you have another 5 feet. Just a perspective kind of thing.
 
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