Lane splitting / Filtering / Sharing for Texas...

[flipstyledsm22]

I know it died many times already for Texas, but within the last year Montana has passed it and now Oregon is adopting it! Could this mean we might have another chance at getting it adopted here?

[MechE_13]

I hope so! Even though most Texas drivers wouldn't understand and would get jealous that they were getting passed and tighten the center/drive you off the road. But those are problems for after we make it law!

[flipstyledsm22]

I think it'll definitely bring more awareness to motorcyclist and promote commuting on bikes more. Everything is better on 2-wheels!

[TaiMc]

I truly hope so! I must admit, I lane split. I'll do it on the freeway if traffic is stopped or if it's a lot of stop and go (veryyy slow go) and i'll do it on surface roads at backed-up lights. I do wave and thank people when I pass them though, especially when I filter to the front of the line at the light...that seems to help.

I've only encountered a few angry people that try to block so I can't pass, but I eventually pass them anyway, because other drivers (in front of me) see the situation and will move up and over so that I can filter lol.

[Oskar_Z28]

Even if it passes, there are alot aholes that will still try to block you. When I was in Brazil, the filtering was insane, but drivers respected bikes (most of the time).

[False]

Originally Posted by Oskar_Z28

Even if it passes, there are alot aholes that will still try to block you. When I was in Brazil, the filtering was insane, but drivers respected bikes (most of the time).

sure, but on a bike they can never be successful. If I can split without fear of a ticket, I would ride in way more.

[flipstyledsm22]

Originally Posted by False

sure, but on a bike they can never be successful. If I can split without fear of a ticket, I would ride in way more.

Welcome back! Been a second since I've seen your screen name

[flipstyledsm22]

Well ... Oregon killed the bill :/

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by flipstyledsm22

Well ... Oregon killed the bill :/

Not exactly, their govenor just vetoed it. Now it needs a 2/3 vote to overide the veto. Since the bill oringinally passed with a 42-14 bipartisan vote it seems very much alive still.

[eduardo]

I often rent a bike traveling and have ridden in multiple states and countries. Houston is the only place where I was blocked trying to go around traffic or split lanes, multiple times. We don't seem to have the culture here. People are offended as if it was a car cutting them off vs. a motorcycle that will be long gone and not slow them down. I rarely do it here, not for fear of a ticket, but for fear of a vengeful driver.

[SpeedTrip955i]

This^I've been swerved at on country roads

[MechE_13]

Well, why should you go faster on a motorcycle than a full size truck in dense traffic?

[flipstyledsm22]

I'm glad it still has a fighting chance.

As for people blocking bikes, I get it... it's still not legal here. People are not created equally and someone is going to get and go vigilante. But if it were to become a legal thing, then there could be some negative responses at first, but inevitably it will become a normal thing and awareness will spread. I for one, think it is an awesome tool for our type of traffic jams.

[flipstyledsm22]

Originally Posted by MechE_13

Well, why should you go faster on a motorcycle than a full size truck in dense traffic?

There are safe ways to filter through traffic. Filtering 5-10 miles faster than the current moving traffic is very maintainable. 1 motorcycle can free up 1-2 car lengths of traffic, or you could encourage 15-20% of current motorist to start commuting on motorcycles, which will reduce vehicle traffic and overall emissions. I've also found that on a motorcycle my commutes are a few minutes faster than in a car, which sometimes those few minutes are welcomed, so I can mentally level out for whatever event I'm trying to go to.

[Cyclops]

Originally Posted by eduardo

I often rent a bike traveling and have ridden in multiple states and countries. Houston is the only place where I was blocked trying to go around traffic or split lanes, multiple times. We don't seem to have the culture here. People are offended as if it was a car cutting them off vs. a motorcycle that will be long gone and not slow them down. I rarely do it here, not for fear of a ticket, but for fear of a vengeful driver.

Texans are pretty unpredictable on the road, I agree lol. Back in NC it was simple:

Rural twisties = They pull over in the culverts for you and there's no cops, but no lane splitting/filtering. They don't mind double yellow passes though.

Urban twisties(everything's twisty in western NC) = Nobody pulls over and lots of cops, but people leave space for you to split no problem. Cops except troopers don't care at all about splitting but run your plates non-stop.

My only fears on the road were ever state troopers and 18-wheelers, those aholes would pull into the left lane just to stop a motorcycle from passing, one even merged me off of the road on the highway once.

If I'm being honest splitting Houston is the scariest and most straightforward splitting I've done so far. I doubt anyone uses a mirror here but the no-chase law down here makes it a heck of a lot easier to split. Cops back home will call out the station to get you if they feel like it.

[wheelbender6]

CA passed lane splitting because their traffic was so bad. I think Houston’s traffic is just as bad as California’s now. I haven’t lived in SoCal since the 1080s, but I have visited several times since.