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From: bw@lanl.ARPA (Barbara Weintraub)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Re: lane splitting
Message-ID: <3416@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 23-May-86 12:21:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: lanl.3416
Posted: Fri May 23 12:21:24 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 25-May-86 17:49:31 EDT
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 37
Summary: lane splitting falls through the cracks, but mc rider is at fault in

case of an accident 
References: <5808@sri-spam.ARPA>
Reply-To: bw@a.UUCP (Barbara Weintraub)
Distribution: usa 
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
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 ? 
>
>There you are cruising down a three lane highway at Friday afternoon
>at 5:00 PM. You are going about 20-25 MPH splitting lanes
>between traffic moving about 15 MPH. All of a sudden a guy in an out
>of state $300 beater car changes lanes right in front of you. You
>crash into his driver's side door, carroming off and going down. You
>land on your butt, the bike's got a couple of broke turn signals and
>handlebars bent a bit from landing on one side. Damage to the car is
>almost negligible.
>
> Who is at fault ?

I no longer live in California, but this could very well have been me 
a couple of years ago.  Lane splitting is legal in CA, and the scenario
you outlined above is fairly common in terms of predominant conditions.
Almost regardless of what the car driver was doing, the mc rider is at
fault in any accident while splitting.

If anyone has any info contradicting this conclusion, I would certainly
like to hear of it.

Barb Weintraub
Los Alamos Nat'l Lab
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