Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!pyramid!nsc!curry From: curry@nsc.UUCP (Ray Curry) Newsgroups: net.cycle Subject: Re: lane splitting Message-ID: <3601@nsc.UUCP> Date: Sat, 24-May-86 02:04:23 EDT Article-I.D.: nsc.3601 Posted: Sat May 24 02:04:23 1986 Date-Received: Sun, 25-May-86 15:43:06 EDT References: <5808@sri-spam.ARPA> Reply-To: curry@nsc.UUCP (Ray Curry) Organization: National Semiconductor, Sunnyvale Lines: 49 Keywords: legal ramifications In article <5808@sri-spam.ARPA> ehrhart@sri-spam.ARPA (Tim Ehrhart) writes: > >In California, lane splitting is as I understand it, is not illegal. >But what are the legal ramifications if you have an accident while >splitting lanes ? This is an area of great confusion and the law is not super clear. As in the case of many things in the golden state, the law is mostly based upon the CHP's interpretation of the law and how they inforce it. The clear cut laws are as follows. 1. A motor vehicle must be in a lane. That is to say no sholder or beyond white line driving. This does not mean to say that the vehicle must have sole occupancy. 2. A vehicle passing another by sharing a lane where there is legal room can not interfere with other traffic. This has caused citations where cars felt pushed and swerved or hit the breaks. 3. A vehicle turning or changing lanes must signal for 100 feet before. Okay, that's about it for the law. There are defacto assumptions and prece- dence that extend the considerations. First there's the old standby that in a uni-directional collision, the driver from behind is general assumed at fault. Lack of turn signal if provable by independent witness or ad- mission by the offender becomes the major fault. In addition, the CHP uses some guidelines in when lane breaking is legal. If the traffic is stopped or moving slowly in a bumper to bumper condition, (10 to 15 mph but I have heard some traffic schools say 25) and the motorcycle passes slowly (5 to 10 mph), they generally won't interfere. The motorcycles should not be causing problems with the cars however. I have seen people not fully understand and pass high speed traffic to get around slower traffic. That will someday cause anti lane splitting laws to be passed. I have my own theories about when its proper. Bumper to bumper traffic is very necessary because you don't want spaces that cars want to change into. Stop and go traffic, because you are more likely to get rear ended that swerved into (no. one accident is still the rear ender). I don't split in city traffic unless I know I'll miss several lights. City cops give more tickets for it as well although they generally get thrown out in court. Why bother cutting to the head of the line to pass a few cars. Boy this is getting long. Anyway about the accident. Here practicallity overrules the law. The insurance company will decide. If both are insured, both will be faulted so both rates go up. If one is uninsured, the blame will go totally on the uninsured. If both are uninsured, no one will be found at fault unless the cop wants to write a ticket on the spot, which probably won't happen. A word of advice from one who rides 101 in San Jose and breaks lanes alot. The motocycle should take the care to make sure the accident doesn't happen. Lane changes are predictable even without a signal. There is one case that the bike can't avoid. That's if the car immediately to the side squeezes over to get in. Then the same thing would happen even if there weren't a car to the other side.