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  1. #1
    Member gator4life108's Avatar
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    HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    In my last ABATE ARC class the question got brought up about riding the shoulder in traffic jams on the highway. Nobody had a solid answer and some were saying they read it is officer discretion. I checked the Colorado statutes and couldn't find anything. I have a buddy that I ride with who is always wanting to ride the shoulder in traffic jams on the highway, but I'm always hesitant.

    Anyone have anything or know anything concerning this?
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    Senior Member UglyDogRacing's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Definition of Roadway:
    ""Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the sidewalk, berm, or shoulder even though such sidewalk,
    berm, or shoulder is used by persons riding bicycles or other human-powered vehicles and
    exclusive of that portion of a highway designated for exclusive use as a bicycle path or reserved
    for the exclusive use of bicycles, human-powered vehicles, or pedestrians. In the event that a
    highway includes two or more separate roadways, "roadway" refers to any such roadway
    separately but not to all such roadways collectively."

    "Under no condition shall an attempt be made to pass upon the shoulder or any portion
    of the roadway remaining to the right of the indicated right-hand traffic lane."

    1503. Operating motorcycles on roadways laned for traffic.
    (1) All motorcycles are entitled to full use of a traffic lane, and no motor vehicle shall be
    driven in such a manner as to deprive any motorcycle of the full use of a traffic lane. This
    subsection (1) shall not apply to motorcycles operated two abreast in a single lane.
    (2) The operator of a motorcycle shall not overtake or pass in the same lane occupied by
    the vehicle being overtaken.
    (3) No person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent
    lines or rows of vehicles.
    (4) Motorcycles shall not be operated more than two abreast in a single lane.
    (5) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall not apply to police officers in the
    performance of their official duties.
    (6) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class A traffic
    infraction.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Ezzzzy1's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by UglyDogRacing View Post
    "Under no condition shall an attempt be made to pass upon the shoulder or any portion
    of the roadway remaining to the right of the indicated right-hand traffic lane."
    Whoever wrote this has obviously never sat in a traffic jam, on a motorcycle, for 30 minutes, in 95 degree heat!
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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Ezzzzy1 View Post
    Whoever wrote this has obviously never sat in a traffic jam, on a motorcycle, for 30 minutes, in 95 degree heat!
    I believe the issue is more the carbon dioxide you breathe in during those traffic jams and not so much the heat....swore that is what I read why CA allows lane splitting.
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    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2 Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=125 1800113662&ssbinary=true

    WHITE LINES:

    Separate lanes of traffic moving in the same direction.

    • Broken White Line:
    You may change lanes if it is safe to do so.

    • Solid White Line: Requires you to stay within the lane and also marks the shoulder of the roadway.
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    Senior Member Ezzzzy1's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    I was in a bad jam on 470, past Morrison going north (where there isnt an off ramp for like 7 miles) and I rode the shoulder out of it. Passed the accident and waved at State Patrol... He waved back

    Another time at I25 and 225 and some dick pulled into the shoulder when he saw me coming. It got pretty shitty and there happened to be a cop a handful of cars back that saw it all. Dude got a reckless endangerment ticket for it. Cop said that he was a motorcyclist . He also said that riding the shoulder is illegal but that hes never seen a cop write a motorcyclist up when stuck in traffic.

    I think the moral of the story is to use your head. I usually will kick it in traffic until the bike is really hot and I cant stand the heat anymore. Then I will go 5mph down the shoulder.
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Ezzzzy1 View Post
    I will go 5mph down the shoulder.


    This, I did it a few times because of overheating, as long as you aren't hauling ass "usually" nobody cares.

  8. #8
    Senior Member UHATEIT's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Ezzzzy1 View Post
    I was in a bad jam on 470, past Morrison going north (where there isnt an off ramp for like 7 miles) and I rode the shoulder out of it. Passed the accident and waved at State Patrol... He waved back

    Another time at I25 and 225 and some dick pulled into the shoulder when he saw me coming. It got pretty shitty and there happened to be a cop a handful of cars back that saw it all. Dude got a reckless endangerment ticket for it. Cop said that he was a motorcyclist . He also said that riding the shoulder is illegal but that hes never seen a cop write a motorcyclist up when stuck in traffic.

    I think the moral of the story is to use your head. I usually will kick it in traffic until the bike is really hot and I cant stand the heat anymore. Then I will go 5mph down the shoulder.

    Thats a good story right there. Did you actually pull over and talk with the cop and the driver? I assume so sinc eyou mentioned what the guy got the ticket for. I drive the 225 home everyday up to Parker Rd and I always see Harleys hauling as son the shoulder. I would not be hauling ass but maybe riding at 15-20 or so but I too have been worried about a cop giving me a ticket. I guess it's up to their discression, but technically it IS illegal per that cop.
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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Found it:

    The California Highway Patrol authorized lane sharing to protect motorcyclists from carbon monoxide exposure and being rear-ended by other vehicles, and Camp Pendleton authorized the practice in 2009.

    So basically we are probably under similar situations here in a traffic jam and the issue is we are sitting breathing in toxic fumes that could kill us. So yeah I think most cops understand as long as you go like 5mph down the side.
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    Member big_sur's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    It'd be sweet if we could get lane splitting legalized here. Doubt carbon monoxide is any different from sitting in a car breathing it though.

  11. #11
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    It'd be sweet if we could get lane splitting legalized here. Doubt carbon monoxide is any different from sitting in a car breathing it though.
    Maybe on older cars, but most newer cars have cabin filters that need to be replaced...my car has one.
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    It'd be sweet if we could get lane splitting legalized here. Doubt carbon monoxide is any different from sitting in a car breathing it though.
    coming from CA, its is incredibly annoying to have to sit and wait when you could easily and safely move thru traffic, it doesn't slow anyone down in a car- there is really no reason to disallow it........its standard practice in CA and the rest of the world

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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Lane splitting is seriously over rated and massively dangerous. You think the squids are dumb now just think about them if they are now allowed to lane split. Give an inch and take mile.

    There is no difference sitting in traffic on a bike or in a car with the windows down.

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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by #1Townie View Post
    Lane splitting is seriously over rated and massively dangerous. You think the squids are dumb now just think about them if they are now allowed to lane split. Give an inch and take mile.
    I don't really care what squids do. Lane splitting reduces traffic congestion overall and gets me as a motorcyclist where I want to go more quickly while reducing the chance that I get rear ended sitting in traffic. It works wonderfully everywhere else in the world but Americans are just too retarded to get over the "he's cutting the line" fallacy.

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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    I don't really care what squids do. Lane splitting reduces traffic congestion overall and gets me as a motorcyclist where I want to go more quickly while reducing the chance that I get rear ended sitting in traffic. It works wonderfully everywhere else in the world but Americans are just too retarded to get over the "he's cutting the line" fallacy.
    Well you should because its going to be the however many morons in front of you that piss someone off to the point where they swerve at you or open a door at you. Sure they will get in trouble but you're going to get jacked.

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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by #1Townie View Post
    Well you should because its going to be the however many morons in front of you that piss someone off to the point where they swerve at you or open a door at you. Sure they will get in trouble but you're going to get jacked.
    I'll split your lane............

  17. #17
    Member big_sur's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    That's just removing dust, pollen, etc. There's no filter that can remove carbon monoxide as it's a gas, not a particle, and it will pass through any filter. Carbon monoxide can be removed by reacting it with oxygen and converting it to harmless carbon dioxide, but that's not really filtering it. This is what some NASCAR teams do.

  18. #18
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Yeah I suppose the law was just made for no reason then.... CSC scientists at work here...they should have just consulted you guys and saved tons of money!

    I just posted the law segments, so you guys go argue with the person that signed it in

    The California Highway Patrol authorized lane sharing to protect motorcyclists from carbon monoxide exposure and being rear-ended by other vehicles, and Camp Pendleton authorized the practice in 2009.
    Last edited by bulldog; Tue Jul 22nd, 2014 at 03:58 PM.
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by bulldog View Post
    Yeah I suppose the law was just made for no reason then.... CSC scientists at work here...they should have just consulted you guys and saved tons of money!

    I just posted the law segments, so you guys go argue with the person that signed it in

    The California Highway Patrol authorized lane sharing to protect motorcyclists from carbon monoxide exposure and being rear-ended by other vehicles, and Camp Pendleton authorized the practice in 2009.
    Hahahaha because California has proven itself to be so reliable with fact finding research before creating laws right? You do know Frisco tried to kick the military out of the bay right?

    Bro 90% of my job is driving in Cali. How often are you there driving? I'm in Oakland almost every day.

    And from what I remember its not about a rider breathing the carbon its about bikes putting out more carbon or some shit. They want the bikes to get off the road asap.

    Simmer down dude.

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  20. #20
    Member big_sur's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by bulldog View Post
    Yeah I suppose the law was just made for no reason then.... CSC scientists at work here...they should have just consulted you guys and saved tons of money!

    I just posted the law segments, so you guys go argue with the person that signed it in

    The California Highway Patrol authorized lane sharing to protect motorcyclists from carbon monoxide exposure and being rear-ended by other vehicles, and Camp Pendleton authorized the practice in 2009.
    I don't think there is any CA law authorizing lane splitting, it's just not prohibited. High school chemistry says you can't filter carbon monoxide, but the chief benefits of lane splitting are typically the reduced rear end motorcycle fatalities and the increased overall efficiency.

    Quote Originally Posted by #1Townie View Post
    Well you should because its going to be the however many morons in front of you that piss someone off to the point where they swerve at you or open a door at you. Sure they will get in trouble but you're going to get jacked.
    I try to be a generally reasonable person when I ride\drive\live and generally speaking, I feel like that comes back in the form of courteous behavior from others. That whole do unto others thing... I don't ride 100 on the highway, I don't get all up in people's shit, I wear gear, I don't ride a stretched 600 with ghettoboys lighting, and while there is occasionally someone who is just having a shitty day and I somehow aggravated them, I generally just keep on going and that's the end of it. In my experience lane splitting in CA and Italy, it works perfectly fine and people are generally courteous and give you all the room they can. Obviously don't be an ass about it and do 50mph faster than the flow of traffic, but 5-10mph faster in slow traffic and everything is perfectly fine. Yes, there are psychopaths out there, but is respectful riding really going to trigger that? From the Hurt report, "Deliberate hostile action by a motorist against a motorcycle rider is a rare accident cause" and they get charged with attempted manslaughter and sent to jail before they and their insurance company get sued to kingdom come and back.

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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    I don't think there is any CA law authorizing lane splitting, it's just not prohibited. High school chemistry says you can't filter carbon monoxide, but the chief benefits of lane splitting are typically the reduced rear end motorcycle fatalities and the increased overall efficiency.



    I try to be a generally reasonable person when I ride\drive\live and generally speaking, I feel like that comes back in the form of courteous behavior from others. That whole do unto others thing... I don't ride 100 on the highway, I don't get all up in people's shit, I wear gear, I don't ride a stretched 600 with ghettoboys lighting, and while there is occasionally someone who is just having a shitty day and I somehow aggravated them, I generally just keep on going and that's the end of it. In my experience lane splitting in CA and Italy, it works perfectly fine and people are generally courteous and give you all the room they can. Obviously don't be an ass about it and do 50mph faster than the flow of traffic, but 5-10mph faster in slow traffic and everything is perfectly fine. Yes, there are psychopaths out there, but is respectful riding really going to trigger that? From the Hurt report, "Deliberate hostile action by a motorist against a motorcycle rider is a rare accident cause" and they get charged with attempted manslaughter and sent to jail before they and their insurance company get sued to kingdom come and back.
    A few things I just learned today is that as of this year it is now legal to split lanes in Cali and yes its because of rear ending. Another thing I learned is that if there is a accident with lane splitting it is always the riders fault. Part of lane splitting is using the proper speed for the conditions. If there is a accident the rider is blamed for not being able to stop.

    So in other words a car can cut you off and bam you're down. All driver has to say is that he didn't see you and not only does he not get in trouble but you get a ticket.

    Lane splitting just isn't worth the issues.

  22. #22
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    I don't think there is any CA law authorizing lane splitting, it's just not prohibited. High school chemistry says you can't filter carbon monoxide, but the chief benefits of lane splitting are typically the reduced rear end motorcycle fatalities and the increased overall efficiency.



    I try to be a generally reasonable person when I ride\drive\live and generally speaking, I feel like that comes back in the form of courteous behavior from others. That whole do unto others thing... I don't ride 100 on the highway, I don't get all up in people's shit, I wear gear, I don't ride a stretched 600 with ghettoboys lighting, and while there is occasionally someone who is just having a shitty day and I somehow aggravated them, I generally just keep on going and that's the end of it. In my experience lane splitting in CA and Italy, it works perfectly fine and people are generally courteous and give you all the room they can. Obviously don't be an ass about it and do 50mph faster than the flow of traffic, but 5-10mph faster in slow traffic and everything is perfectly fine. Yes, there are psychopaths out there, but is respectful riding really going to trigger that? From the Hurt report, "Deliberate hostile action by a motorist against a motorcycle rider is a rare accident cause" and they get charged with attempted manslaughter and sent to jail before they and their insurance company get sued to kingdom come and back.
    I admit i was wrong about the filters and they do not filter carbon monoxide. I guess am juts thinking common sense wise though and what stops carbon monoxide.....steel and panes of glass....exactly what a car is Yeah windows rolled down defeats that purpose, but I would think a cage of glass and steel/aluminum would shied most carbon monoxide. No idea if the actual law was about this, but I just put the exert from what I remember reading about it.

    P.S. Townie, no need for me to simmer down....you can probably tell I kind of enjoy arguing At least this is what my wife tells me....


    This article is stating that CHP did finally put out rules for lane splitting in January (cracking down on speed of lane splitters; which I agree with):
    The new rules, which the CHP introduced in January after consulting with other state agencies and motorcycle-rider groups, apply to city streets, highways and freeways across the state.
    "Basically, what we're most interested in is the speeds," Pope said. "You should lane-split no faster than 10 mph over the speed of traffic around you, and we recommend (motorcyclists) not split at all if the traffic is faster than 30 mph."
    http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...ed-4270272.php

    Tons of info on it here: http://lanesplittingislegal.com/
    Last edited by bulldog; Wed Jul 23rd, 2014 at 07:44 AM.
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    Senior Member Moderator Slo's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by big_sur View Post
    I don't think there is any CA law authorizing lane splitting, it's just not prohibited.
    When I was in CA, DMV motorcycle handbook, right on the inside of the cover mentioned something along the lines of, although not recommended it is legal to split lanes.

  24. #24
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: HWY Shoulder Legal Question

    Quote Originally Posted by Slo View Post
    When I was in CA, DMV motorcycle handbook, right on the inside of the cover mentioned something along the lines of, although not recommended it is legal to split lanes.
    I did see Senate Bill 350 was introduced to try to stop lane splitting. Now sure how it works, but I'd assume if a Senate bill is needed to stop it, then at one point it had to be issued as legal...I don't get into politics though

    http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa...201320140SB350


    Bill 350 died though! http://lanesplittingislegal.com/tag/sb-350
    Last edited by bulldog; Wed Jul 23rd, 2014 at 08:55 AM.
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