French filtering study:

[Mercer]

French filtering study:

French Study Concludes Moto Filtering Is More Dangerous - Adventure Rider

And now, a five-year-long French study concludes that lane filtering motorcycles are 12 percent more likely to crash.

advrider.com

 

[nickrides]

They studied this for FIVE YEARS and concluded lane splitting is more dangerous?
No Sh*t
Really? Are they sure they got good data?
A Reasonable person could have studied it for ONE AFTERNOON and could have / should have come to the same conclusion.
Gotta love the French!
Nick
2014 C-14

 

[Motomaniac]

I for one do not think lane splitting is more dangerous if done at reasonable speed. I live here in California and split all the time when necessary. No problems yet...been very close to being rear ended when flowing with traffic though.

 

[santacruzrider]

I for one do not think lane splitting is more dangerous if done at reasonable speed. I live here in California and split all the time when necessary. No problems yet...been very close to being rear ended when flowing with traffic though.

I 100% agree, and I too lane-split for miles at a time on both mountain roads (Hwy 17 in Santa Cruz) and freeways in Silicon Valley when commute traffic is slowed or stopped. I've seen people do it wrong and watched them launched over a car hood (OK, I only saw that once, but it made an impression), but I appreciate both the ability to get out of tangled traffic and of not being at risk of getting rear ended. In a manner I view it a bit like speeding. If you launch a study I bet you'll "conclude" that speeding increases accidents. But I find judicious use of speed also provides separation and in many cases makes me feel safer.
Also note that the study didn't conclude what you may think. It doesn't show that lane-filtering caused more accidents or those accidents happen while the cyclist was filtering. It showed that when they changed the rule to allow filtering, reported accidents went up. Was it because there were more motorcyclists on those roads trying out the filtering, could it be because that area was being studied there was more attention to making a record of the accidents, were motorists oblivious that filtering was allowed in that section and not looking for a motorcycle beside them? No idea, because the study didn't go to that depth.

 

[Strawboss]

Interesting, fortunately, Ohio traffic isn't that bad to consider this, but, I would do it if it was as crowded as CA.

 

[gsun]

I don't know why riding on the shoulder is not allowed and lane splitting is. When I hit slow to stopped traffic, I head for the shoulder.

 

[2andblue]

I don't know why riding on the shoulder is not allowed and lane splitting is. When I hit slow to stopped traffic, I head for the shoulder.

A topic that always stirs emotion / people always take it personally.

Traffic - I am just like anyone else and wait my turn. No filtering, no curb / breakdown lane passing stopped vehicles.

Sat many of times just like everyone else.

In our space there is zero sense in creating bad relationships; not everyone around the country takes someone ‘cutting in line’ as an ok thing and I’d rather not have that hothead trying to catch up later down the road to ‘show me’

Just my .02

 

[gsun]

Never had that problem. Once a guy steered onto the shoulder so I couldn't get by but I got by anyway. The point is sitting on a bike is not the same as sitting in a car. I had my wife on back once and the traffic stopped. It was about 90 degrees out and the connie is hot. Crawling with all that mass is not fun. An hour of that was enough. Never again. Hopefully people in cars can grasp that.

 

[connie_rider]

A topic that always stirs emotion / people always take it personally.

Traffic - I am just like anyone else and wait my turn. No filtering, no curb / breakdown lane passing stopped vehicles.

Sat many of times just like everyone else.

In our space there is zero sense in creating bad relationships; not everyone around the country takes someone ‘cutting in line’ as an ok thing and I’d rather not have that hothead trying to catch up later down the road to ‘show me’

Just my .02

I'm the same as 2andblue. No lane splitting, no filtering.
But, I {occasionally} do some err enthusiastic passing...

Ride safe, Ted

 

[2andblue]

But, I {occasionally} do some err enthusiastic passing...

Ride safe, Ted

Agreed! I do believe that type of passing (for most) is filed in the, “look at that idiot” and doesn’t promote the same negative response as earlier mentioned.

 

[Cra-z1000]

I did it alot when I lived in Ca. Folks out there expected and for the most part accepted lane splitting . Here in Texas ...I doubt I would live long .

 

[Strawboss]

It is ingrained in many Americans brains that "nobody gets ahead of me". Ever creep up or catch up to someone then go to pass and they speed up until you get past them by having to go faster then they slow way down? They do it unconciously. It's a guy thing too. And a frustration thing for the car drivers.

 

[tlr-boise]

In southern California stop and go freeway traffic, with car drivers stoned, distracted, texting, etc., I would think it would be a toss up as to whether filtering was more dangerous than just sitting in traffic behind a car, hoping and praying you won't get rear ended.

 

[ursharkfuel]

Nothing like arguing in spite of evidence. Let's say it was the increase in Martian Death Ray emissions that caused the increase in accidents...... yeah that sounds reasonable, let's use that. LMAO

It is what it is - when speed limits were lowered to 55 back in the 70's, due to the lie told at the time that we were running out of energy, the accident death rate went down, and when the energy lie was proven false and speed limits when back to 65 and 70, death rates increased. It is really hard to avoid the obvious cause and effect, but some will make the arguments none the less.

Denial is not some river in Africa...... Here is a stopping distance calculator for those that think they can lane split safely at 20 mph. The physics don't lie even with a .5 second reaction time (which you don't honestly have) it's still 33+ feet which is significantly more than one car length!

https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/stopping-distance

Go ahead and lane split if you choose, it's your bike and skin on the line. But lets please just be honest about the risk - speed over over distance when the obstacles you need to avoid are much closer does not work in your favor. Reaction times are dramatically reduced no matter how good a rider you may believe you are. The vehicles are much closer, making the speed differential more significant, not to mention you no longer have visibility ahead when it comes to what may be in lanes in front of the vehicles on either side because you cannot see diagonally through them. If they suddenly swerve to avoid something you don't see, they will not have time to look for YOU. I'm very sure the reason I did not go down on Interstate 15 years ago was because I saw a pallet THROUGH car's windshield that the driver in front of me went over before I came to it. It was ugly going over it on my Ninja 1000 (C-10 sister), but I got over it because I saw it coming. What if I was right beside that car only a hand grip away and he chose to swerve instead. Not a positive outcome I can tell you that. And if you make that personal decision don't make your unaware passenger own what is your choice.

I recall when I was getting my pilot's license and my former instructor, a WWII Corsair pilot, told me you should never get "gotta go itis" You should never be in a hurry to die. It is always fatal, and will kill you and your passengers faster than anything else you can do as a pilot. Flying when you shouldn't is dangerous - you're never in that big a hurry, but hundreds are and pay the ultimate price for doing so. There is no time you should ever risk life and limb because you are in a hurry. The same is true when it comes to lane splitting. And just because you haven't been in that impossible situation does not mean you will not. Eventually you will roll that 7 and when you do I wish you good luck on the result. Scratches are better than scars - or worse.

BTW, I no longer commute with my bike on the highways in Cali. I gave it up about 10 to 12 years ago because I simply have seen too much. Call we a coward and that's fine with me, but I rather be safe than sorry. Thankfully I now have the ability to ride for my daily commute on rural roads, and have not seen anywhere near the levels of stupidity I saw on the highways. Probably because there are fewer cars and you cannot go as fast.

 

[Tour1]

Nothing like arguing in the face of evidence...

1973 oil crisis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, yesterday I was stopped at a red light in my Ford van, it was just starting to rain, and I was in front of a white SUV that had Sherriff's paint on the sides if he was the one I think he was. A guy on a bike went left to right between the Sherriff car and my van, passed me on the shoulder, crossed in front of me back to between lanes (I was on the left side of my lane hoping the sherriff would pass me to make a right-on-red). The bike went 2 or 3 cars between lanes then took a position in front of the 1st car in my lane.
Sherriff car didn't blink or move.
It started raining really hard, the light turned green, and I forgot about the bike, didn't see him again.
I'm gonna say he was net-safer getting to the front, and had better odds of spotting shelter or making good route decisions once he could readiIy change lanes.

 

[ursharkfuel]

Nothing like arguing in the face of evidence...

1973 oil crisis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, yesterday I was stopped at a red light in my Ford van, it was just starting to rain, and I was in front of a white SUV that had Sherriff's paint on the sides if he was the one I think he was. A guy on a bike went left to right between the Sherriff car and my van, passed me on the shoulder, crossed in front of me back to between lanes (I was on the left side of my lane hoping the sherriff would pass me to make a right-on-red). The bike went 2 or 3 cars between lanes then took a position in front of the 1st car in my lane.
Sherriff car didn't blink or move.
It started raining really hard, the light turned green, and I forgot about the bike, didn't see him again.
I'm gonna say he was net-safer getting to the front, and had better odds of spotting shelter or making good route decisions once he could readiIy change lanes.

Wikipedia!?! LMFAO!!! I would refrain from using that as a reference for anything you are serious about. That "source" is basically written in chalk because the "facts" it publishes change DAILY and it is far, Far, FAR from a reliable source to use for anything except for trivia games. I was an eye witness and lived through the Oil Crisis. Most of that Wiki report is total crap - it was known at the time as "The Energy Crisis" and the media was reporting a oil shortage that would only get worse. Yes there was strife in the Middle East, there always is, but there was no "Arab Embargo." I grew up on an island in Virginia and saw the coast line filled with tankers that were just standing off shore. If that was an "embargo" why were they in US territorial waters. Simple answer, there was no embargo, it was a play to drive up prices by creating an artificial crisis and they told the lie that we would run out of oil soon well into the 90's. How soon people forget..... Today no one is running around with their head on fire yelling about us running out of oil and we needed to stop using it. That plan failed, so there is a whole new way to force people to stop using fossil fuels, it was called "Global Warming" in the early 2000's until it wasn't, then it became "Climate Change" around 2010. I'm sure when we are still here in 10 years (when AOC's armageddonist pronouncement of we only have 12 years passes) it will get another new name and theory to back it up. I wonder if all the research grants for climate change research suddenly stopped if the folks making the claims would be "so sure" they are right when they need to revise what they say every few years..... if the science was so accurate, why are they so wrong - and often? It reminds me of the Covid nonsense - no risk and mask required, well maybe we should wear masks, I guess we need to shutdown until we "lower the curve," well now we need to wait for a vaccine, ok we have the vaccine but we need to reach herd immunity with it, no wait we need to get everyone vaccinated and we may need to consider BOOSTERS before we go back to normal and the BS story just keeps on a rollin!!

Weaving in traffic is safer?!? Some would argue that skydiving is safe because you have a greater field of vision and there are no obstacles. But that lipstick does nothing to make that pig more attractive either......

 

[Tour1]

Yeah I was in high school in '73 and had an after school job that I drove to. My dad had worked for Shell in a department closely related to the the international shipping of oil in tankers. So I had some background and some experience and I basically glanced at the Wikipedia article and said to myself, this tells the story as it happened so people who weren't there can understand something. So for the record your denial of the article is psychotic. And throwing that "energy lie" phrase into a post was a troll, and I've been wondering just how much math the troll community is doing on how often they can toss troll s**t into posts and so forth. My old friend has a business where he studies stuff like how often he can plug his business in otherwise normal web activity, and so it's natural that I would notice the s**t when it shows up here. I won't be here much longer, I expect. The usual debate about member benefits and so forth, for me it leads to the concept of if I'm going to subsidize a bunch of stranger's biased soap box rants it might as well be the AARP instead of an alleged motorcycle club. The recent content here is more like compost.

 

[joliver]

I don't know why riding on the shoulder is not allowed and lane splitting is. When I hit slow to stopped traffic, I head for the shoulder.

I did a bicycle tour across Canada and several other legendary rides - all in Canada. Passing on the right kills bicyclists and pedestrians. Having been a long distance cycle tourist, I have great empathy for them.

 

[ursharkfuel]

Yeah I was in high school in '73 and had an after school job that I drove to. My dad had worked for Shell in a department closely related to the the international shipping of oil in tankers. So I had some background and some experience and I basically glanced at the Wikipedia article and said to myself, this tells the story as it happened so people who weren't there can understand something. So for the record your denial of the article is psychotic. And throwing that "energy lie" phrase into a post was a troll, and I've been wondering just how much math the troll community is doing on how often they can toss troll s**t into posts and so forth. My old friend has a business where he studies stuff like how often he can plug his business in otherwise normal web activity, and so it's natural that I would notice the s**t when it shows up here. I won't be here much longer, I expect. The usual debate about member benefits and so forth, for me it leads to the concept of if I'm going to subsidize a bunch of stranger's biased soap box rants it might as well be the AARP instead of an alleged motorcycle club. The recent content here is more like compost.

Yeah, sure - you're comments speak for themselves and I don't need to add anything to them.

Interesting use of the word, psychotic - you must be accustomed to hearing that diagnosis.

 

[Tour1]

Yeah, sure - you're comments speak for themselves and I don't need to add anything to them.

Interesting use of the word, psychotic - you must be accustomed to hearing that diagnosis.

Yes I've met quite a few psychotics, that's why I'm not getting any shock or awe vibe from your fantasies.
I'm worried about the effect you're having on the younger generation, though, since young people lack the personal experience of history that contradicts people who spout bull crap.
I'm also wondering why you have to troll about energy in a thread about lane filtering. The net effect is likely zero or slightly more energy consumed (in a low speed limit area) as high MPG bikes delay low MPG cars & trucks when they eventually space themselves at roughly a car length for every 10 MPH in the lane when the light turns green.

 

[ursharkfuel]

Why are you still here? Didn't you say you were leaving?

In case you have not noticed, calling someone else a troll does not change the fact that you definitely are one. You'll be ignored going forward.

 

[Tour1]

Apparently there is some lag time between a lapse of membership and the change in one's status on the forum.
When a drunk gets tagged for being a drunk they think it's a child's name calling game and say stuff like ,"No you're a drunk!" where-as right here we have a troll team caught in the act with their childish response of "No you're a troll".
FYI I am still here just to see if I am still here. Furthermore, nobody has ever done me any favors by using my comments as an excuse to turn a serious discussion into a buzz phrase contest.

 

[rogracer]

I watch pretty much all the "MC commute" segments on the Motorcylist Magazine YouTube channel...and it scares the Sh$t out of me all the lane splitting they do. Not for me. On the other hand, I would love to go to the front of the que at stoplights when everyone is stopped...that would be quite awesome....

 

[Bud]

I watch pretty much all the "MC commute" segments on the Motorcylist Magazine YouTube channel...and it scares the Sh$t out of me all the lane splitting they do. Not for me. On the other hand, I would love to go to the front of the que at stoplights when everyone is stopped...that would be quite awesome....

I miss Zach and Ari.