California is the only state in America that Lane Splitting remains legal. Amazing.
Lane splitting has been analyzed and found that it is not the accident prone method of a two wheeled vehicle driving between lanes in moving, although mostly slow traffic, as I thought. Even though there is usually at least one motorcycle death a week in San Diego County.
Even at regular speeds, I drive anywhere between 65 and 70 MPH, from 50 to 100 miles each day, each week…and lane splitters are passing me. If I’m doing 65 MPH and they pass me at a pretty high rate of speed, then I figure the CHP doesn’t care.
Now there is electronic signage on most of the freeways in San Diego. These signs display everything from wet pavement, freeway conditions and kidnapping. Now they have one that says watch out for motorcycles. Huh?! When I’m doing between 65 and 70 MPH, watching the cars in front of me, both sides and the back, now I’m supposed to watch out for motorcycles? I don’t have that many eyeballs. Motorcycles have passed me going at least 80.
And those little dimples that divide lanes? My four wheeled vehicle is not prone to slip on a series of these and tip over.
I witnessed a lane splitter getting whacked. Not pretty. I’m doing anywhere from 5 to 10 MPH on the busiest east/west freeway in San Diego. Luckily I saw the guy coming up behind me as I was thinking about getting out of the lane I was in. I was in the next to slow lane nearing my exit. I decided to wait until the motorcycle went past me. Four cars in front of me was a woman who had her turn signal on in order to switch lanes to the slow lane. She didn’t see the motorcycle. As she made it through about half of the lane change the motorcycle hit the middle of her car. Unfortunately, this particular stretch of freeway has a merge with one of the busiest north/south freeways. And the north/south freeway merge is at least 30 feet up an embankment with a gradual downward slope to get on the east/west freeway, and it’s two lanes that merge on the east/west freeway. The motorcycle went up the embankment, with the rider, came down the embankment rolling over the motorcyclist twice.
I pulled over and called 911. Then got out of my car to see if there was anything I could do. There wasn’t. The EMT guys couldn’t get to the accident on the east/west freeway because of the traffic jam. However, another EMT was able to get to the location, only on the north/south freeway on ramp. They had everything they needed but had to slide down the dirt embankment to get to the scene of the accident.
Lane Splitters…are angels on two wheels. I don’t care what the statistics say. And none of these guys are wearing leathers.
efault
Comments