The controversial act of lane splitting – when a motorcycle rides between cars in freeway traffic – is safer than many think, a new study finds.
The seemingly risky move of weaving between lanes is against the law in every single state except California, to the ire of some drivers and the delight of motorcyclists.
"Those guys out there and girls out there occasionally splitting lanes are just looking for a disaster as far as I'm concerned,” one driver frankly said.
A state-commissioned UC Berkeley study looked at thousands of accident reports and found lane splitting is no more dangerous than riding a motorcycle in a marked lane.
But if a rider is traveling 10 miles per hour faster than traffic, the risk of a crash goes up.
New York Myke, owner of San Diego Harley-Davidson, hopes the study will ease public frustration over lane splitters.
He told NBC 7 he doesn’t like to see people rushing between cars going 60 or 70 mph because that gives all motorcyclists a bad name.
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"We don't like to do it, but I’d rather do that than sit in traffic and take the chance some car five cars back hits the car in front of him or her and we eventually get tagged and knocked off or hurt,” said Myke.
The UC Berkeley study actually found lane splitters are less likely rear-ended but are more likely to rear-end others. The data also showed early morning and late afternoon rush hours are the times when lane splitters have a higher chance of getting into an accident.
Still, some think the maneuver is a bad idea because other drivers cannot be trusted.
“People are distracted, people are doing ten things when in the cars aside from focusing on the traffic around them,” said one woman who spoke with NBC 7.
Myke agreed, arguing UC Berkeley should do a study on texting and driving because “that’s the real killer.”
The study’s data will be shared with the California Highway Patrol, which this year began working on guidelines for lane-splitting. A more in-depth study of the practice is also in the works.
