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Lane splitting in Tennessee

scooterguy

Well-known member
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Nov 22, 2022
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1525
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117
Location
Bon Aqua, Tn.
For all you guys in Tennessee, there's a bill coming up in the state legislature where they can approve lane splitting. Please email your congressman and urge him to vote yes on this bill. Thank you
 
scooterguy said:
For all you guys in Tennessee, there's a bill coming up in the state legislature where they can approve lane splitting. Please email your congressman and urge him to vote yes on this bill. Thank you
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Info on the bill number? Comments from California riders probably help, too, if it’s a full decriminalization of lane-splitting.
 
There's been some talk about this in Virginia as well.

I wouldn't filter even if it was legal. The other 99.9% of road users will be oblivious to the concept and it will just be chaos.

I'd be "right", of course. But being right wouldn't fix all the road rage and revenge bullshit that would ensue.
 
I sure hope TN can free motorcyclists from the stupidity of having to stay stuck between cages. Splitting lanes is liberating.
 
I've lane split in places where it's normal like Europe and Central America but I'm wondering if there are examples of places where it was not legal or normal but was then legalized. I suspect a lot of vigilante cagers who either don't know or don't care that it's now legal are going to make it dangerous for quite awhile. Do we know of a place where it was legalized and, if so, how long did it take before being accepted and safe?
 
Punkinhead said:
I've lane split in places where it's normal like Europe and Central America but I'm wondering if there are examples of places where it was not legal or normal but was then legalized. I suspect a lot of vigilante cagers who either don't know or don't care that it's now legal are going to make it dangerous for quite awhile. Do we know of a place where it was legalized and, if so, how long did it take before being accepted and safe?
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California?
 
AwDang said:
California?
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According to Google it was legalized in 2016 but I remember people on the internet talking about it for many years before that. That tells me it was at least somewhat normal for a long time before it was legalized. It's not normal in Tennessee so if it gets legalized tomorrow I wonder how the driving public will react? I predict some hostility of the "he's getting ahead of me - fuck that guy" variety. That's no reason not to do it, but it will be interesting to see how long before cagers accept it.
 
CA is the only place where is is legal in the US, and surprisingly, most motorist don't seem to mind it. I think its been around long enough for people to become accustomed to it.

Watching some riders weave through traffic, it's truly an art for some. Others are a bit more boneheaded about it, but it seems to work overall.

Here in the Northeast, where allowing your foe a quarter inch of space in the merge wars is considered a mortal sin, I doubt it would ever work. I've seen people open their car door to stuff riders trying to get by in by Boston traffic, for no reason other than, "if I'm stuck, no one else is getting ahead" They don't call them all Massholes for no reason....
 
Punkinhead said:
According to Google it was legalized in 2016 but I remember people on the internet talking about it for many years before that. That tells me it was at least somewhat normal for a long time before it was legalized. It's not normal in Tennessee so if it gets legalized tomorrow I wonder how the driving public will react? I predict some hostility of the "he's getting ahead of me - fuck that guy" variety. That's no reason not to do it, but it will be interesting to see how long before cagers accept it.
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Depends on the PSA campaign launched after legalization. A good awareness psa would deescalate a lot of people.
 
Riding a bicycle I was curbed and crashed deliberately twice in Syracuse NY. Once in central PA I simply legally passed a guy, downhill twisties, who then attempted to overlap and push me off pavement.

The culture war psychopaths are gonna have a great time.
 
If only drivers were forced to retake a drivers test when renewing their licenses… Wishful thinking i know…
 
Over here lane splitting and filtering is de rigueur and drivers (usually) know we're there and that we're coming through. The drivers in the states aren't conditioned to look for you and expect you to be there and THAT is going to be a problem for a long time if/when any state changes their laws to allow such. On the other hand, there is a "science" to lane splitting and it's super awareness. My rule is relative speed and traffic conditions and that skill is going to take time to develop.

All that said a driver pulled out of traffic, side-swiped me, and knocked me off my bike. It turned out he was not local and acted on impulse rather than having made a thoughtful decision. My shoulder took out his side mirror but all the other damage was confined to the bike and car. Luckily I was geared up so, after 40+ years of riding I still got nailed.

There are videos all over the net of riders tearing through traffic and I cringe at some of the risks they take. If/when the laws in your state changes I'd advise some serious caution and, maybe, even some screen time with those videos.
 
Lane splitting was legalized in Califirnia in 2016. Before that it was NOT illegal and riders had been doing it a long time. They where splitting when I lived there in the 80s.

If lane splliting were ever legalized in my state I doubt I would do it very much except for filtering through stopped traffic. I already do that occasionally if I am making a right turn and some cars are stopped ahead of me.
 
I already filter through stopped stopped traffic some.

Imagine a shared "straight or right turn" lane. Rather than sit through several cycles, I'll ease up and turn right on red. I'm doing like 2 mph and nobody has ever cared. Simple filtering is pretty harmless.

I was bad about it with a dual sport. Hop a curb and run across the grass real quick when nobody was looking. Had to quit that. Thought I'm guilty of doing it in a truck also 😁
 
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