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TheGardener

Golden Member
Jul 19, 2014
1,945
33
56
Won't sign it. Bikers can obey the same laws as cars. They should wait in line like the rest of us.

Just so people know, the purpose of traffic lights is not to make the roads safer. They are meant to slow down traffic and increase congestion. Rather than speed through business sectors, bored drivers are encouraged to get off the roads and shop. Near by here are two major shopping areas, plus a slew of strip malls. Five traffic lights every 200 feet. Revenue enhancement through ticketing is a goal as well. So motorcyclists, wait in line, get bored and get off the roads to shop. Help out the economy.

By my observation more than 50% of the bikers weave in and out of traffic to get ahead. They should get more tickets, not an open road. They can help repair our roads and bridges, as well as support the pensions of the public sector.
 
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Nograts

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2014
2,534
3
0
Hell nah bro. You ever been to Thailand? Phillipines? Asian-ey countries? That shit is whack. It's like running with the bulls. I don't trust nobody to drive a bike that close to my sweet sweet ride.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
Nah, that just encourages more obnoxious motorcycles. "Oh I HAVE to be loud or the cars can't hear me... it's for safety, yeah that's it"
 

mgttr

Member
Sep 5, 2010
117
0
71
Nope. Won't sign it. I understand why bikers want to be able to do it...but it's dangerous...for bikers and drivers alike. (for the drivers, the "danger" is to their vehicle)

Far too many motorcyclists ignore "common sense" when splitting lanes and drive between the lines of cars MUCH faster than would be prudent.

Yup, Boomer nailed it. Not signing.
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
126
Bikes benefit from this, and cars lose nothing .. but, people bitch because soemebody else gets something good how come they cant get something good too.

Humanity is disappoint.

It pisses me off that bikes do this.

They scream to be treated and given the same rights as cars and that they have as much right to the road as cars then lane split, and do illegal turns and ignore traffic signals/signs and hop up onto sidewalks etc etc.
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,353
1,862
126
It pisses me off that bikes do this.

They scream to be treated and given the same rights as cars and that they have as much right to the road as cars then lane split, and do illegal turns and ignore traffic signals/signs and hop up onto sidewalks etc etc.

Most bikes dont do all those crazy/dangerous things.

I have seen asshole idiot bikers sure, but most just drive normal. This sounds like the mentality of "punish the innocent so that the guilty can suffer as well."
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,066
883
126
Screw motorcyclists. I love watching youtube videos of motorcyclists wiping out!
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
Voting yes for lane splitting will needlessly put people like this in danger:

Motorcycle-Carrying-Cargo-51.jpg
 

Drako

Lifer
Jun 9, 2007
10,697
161
106
No, let the states do there own thing. No federal law needed, thanks.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,122
778
126
By that logic I would like to revoke the drivers license of anyone that owns a cellphone because too many motorists ignore "common sense" when driving and drive with their head between their legs.
I think we should ban anything but driving. No radios, no food, no cell phones, etc. Just drive.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,122
778
126
congestion is a problem that will be vaporized by driverless cars, and future generations will learn about this little frustration that past generations endured with amusement and curiosity.

No need to incur some extra deaths and insurance costs on the population while waiting for the actual solution to the problem to be viable.

Also, OP: you are in CA where lane-splitting is legal. Would you say that you are or are not exposed to a model where lane-splitting reduces congestion?
I am in California. It stands to reason that less vehicles leads to lees congestion. And it 20 years we'll be like Asia where everyone rides scooters.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,122
778
126
Isn't congestion caused mostly by the amount of people attempting to use the road? I'm not sure how driverless cars will help that..
Most congestion I see (since I split I see a lot more traffic than those sitting in it) is caused by inattentive car drivers not observing a proper following distance. To busy on the phone or putting on make up.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,122
778
126
...
Just so people know, the purpose of traffic lights is not to make the roads safer. They are meant to slow down traffic and increase congestion.
That's not true. They were designed to keep traffic flowing. Where they try to cause congestion is where they don't time the lights so you have to stop at each one.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
I would never split lanes. I don't trust cagers when I'm in the same traffic flow as them, I'm certainly not going to trust them when I'm in a separate traffic flow on the same pavement.
 

Skel

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
6,222
680
136
yeah, I think there certainly is a density part to the math--think of the intertubes and the amount of data, the roads being the max bandwidth. But that is also a good analogy for how much data (cars) can be crammed down such little space, with very little to no issues, if that data is crammed through efficiently.

The reason your contractors are claiming x lanes need to be added to accommodate x cars/people, is because that math is corrected for idiot human drivers. There is enough data now where your typical city planner is going to understand that a certain population, in heavy commute zones will need x amount of lanes...but human brains are the most important part of their equation--the brains controlling those death machines. Density is a part of it, but a very small part of it. You could probably chart two lines for density and population, what is required for commuter traffic, and those lines even out quite early on in an automated system. The fact that humans are the primary component of the current paradigm is very well hidden within the math, and it would surprise most people how few lanes are truly needed to sustain major metro commuter corridors in an automated system.

This is a really cool article I read years ago about traffic and the conditions that cause traffic. The primary focus is Moscow (notoriously one of the worst traffic places in the world), but talks about the disasters in other 3rd world and developing countries like Pakistan, India, China (also--what happens when traffic laws don't exist. basically: lol)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/02/stuck-3

There's also a lot of information coming out more recently as the driverless vehicle paradigm approaches. It's going to be a real game-changer and it can't come soon enough, imo.


Thanks for the info. It's interesting.

Most congestion I see (since I split I see a lot more traffic than those sitting in it) is caused by inattentive car drivers not observing a proper following distance. To busy on the phone or putting on make up.

I'm assuming that you're in one of the denser areas of CA where there are a lot of drivers attempting to go down the same roads. Either way, I'm not going to disagree with anyone, as I said before; I haven't a clue on it (unlike some people I can admit that I haven't a clue and can be corrected). I'm just going off of what I've heard from people who dealt with it for a living. There was probably a lot more data that I wasn't aware of in those talks, and the talks I was part of wasn't deep by any means. It's interesting to see some of this stuff I haven't been aware of.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,122
778
126
I choose to commute on a motorcycle because I can split. I hate sitting in traffic caused by inattentive operators.

When I ride, I imagine that I am invisible and no one can see me. That way I don't have to rely on their skills.

When on a motorcycle, it's incumbent on the rider to be hypervigilant. Generally, it seems people in cars forgot this point many years ago. They are in a steel cage and it would take quite an impact to harm them. So they don't think about anyone but themselves.

If the traffic is moving at the speed limit, I don't split. If the traffic is moving at less than the speed limit, I split.

When I do split, I won't go faster than I can maneuver or stop my bike if something gets in my way. Generally about 10 MPH faster than traffic. I stay in a low gear so I have instant acceleration and my bike (Kawasaki Concours), with stock exhaust, is louder.

I try to pass vehicles when they are side by side. They are less likely to try and change lanes when someone is beside them. If there is an open spot in the lane, they are more likely to change lanes without looking for another car, let alone a motorcycle.

I can almost always just "zig zag" through traffic going from the number 1 to the number 2. That's because the inattentive drivers are not observing a proper following distance and there are large gaps between the cars. Stop and go, stop and go...

If I see you look at me in your side mirror and then you drift that direction to cut me off (happens all the time), I will move over and pass you on the other side since you so graciously left me the extra room over there. I love the shocked look on your face or the honk when you finally realize I've moved over and gone around you.

I love it when the CHP is splitting. As long as their lights aren't on, I follow them as people tend to part for them.

To the drivers that do see me coming and move over, thank you. I don't expect you to do that as I won't pass unless there is room. But I do appreciate your attention to the task at hand and your curtesory. I try to wave an acknowledgement but I can't always take my hand off the bars, I need to be in control. Unlike the the Darwin candidate going by us, splitting between the number 3 and 4 lanes, at 60 MPH with one hand on his ape hangers and the other in his lap.
 

Skeeedunt

Platinum Member
Oct 7, 2005
2,777
3
76
Just do it anyway you pansy (not really sure who I'm directing that at since I know you're in CA). If you do it right no one will catch you, and if you fuck it up you'll die. Who cares if it's legal?
 

Paladin3

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2004
4,933
878
126
I grew up riding the Southern California freeways 30 years ago and I've never had the desire to lane split because the penalty for failure is just too great. I don't need to risk my life to go 10mph faster than traffic is flowing.

I've also photographed a lot of traffic collisions where some clueless cager is explaining to the cops how they never even saw the biker they ran down, as they load his body into an ambulance. It's tough enough for a biker on the roads, no need to add trading paint with cars to the mix.

Not signing.