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?
Mike
USAF
'10 Kawasaki Z1000
I could care less about the type of motorcycle or brand, as long as it gets me to my destination with a smile on my face.
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.
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.
2005 Kawasaki Z750S
Whoever wrote this has obviously never sat in a traffic jam, on a motorcycle, for 30 minutes, in 95 degree heat!Originally Posted by UglyDogRacing
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.
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.Whoever wrote this has obviously never sat in a traffic jam, on a motorcycle, for 30 minutes, in 95 degree heat!
Bulldog's Motto: F*ck around and I'm going to bite you!!!
This, I did it a few times because of overheating, as long as you aren't hauling ass "usually" nobody cares.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I'll split your lane............
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.
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?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.
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.
Grim in love when you split my lane!
Correction it dates back to when most bikes were air cooled and would over heat. I see absolutely nothing in reference to co2.
I dont think lane splitting is necessary in Colorado.... until 10 million more Californians move here that is
Just let me cruise the shoulder when I need to.
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.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 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.
It's just not an issue though if you're splitting in very slow\stopped traffic, which is really the only time you should be splitting. There's nowhere for cars to move to or reason for them to move over. Yes, youtube videos of bikes doing 120 through stopped traffic make it seem really dangerous and stupid, and yes, doing it that way is really dangerous and stupid. If practiced within reason though, it's just not an issue and it works so well for getting around in congestion. At a societal level, it improves congestion and reduces motorcycle fatalities. What's not to like about that?
I would definitely agree with this in regards to the United States. Splitting can work, but it is culturally dependent. For example, lane splitting is legal in most, if not all, of Europe. It is something about here that is the problem, and it ranges from the same mentality of individuals who feel they can block the passing lane to prevent speeders from breaking the law, to road-ragers, you name it! During the 3 years I lived in the UK I noticed a drastic difference in how the people there drive versus here. It was efficient, methodical and, for the most part, no-drama driving at its finest. The passing lane was generally open, except in gridlock, and people could drive at the speed they please if they were willing to risk the ticket. Here, it's just trouble.
Last edited by Drano; Tue Jul 22nd, 2014 at 06:35 PM.
While I lived and rode in Spain where lane splitting is legal I noticed a couple of things. Cars were more courteous to motorcycles and allowed room for them to pass. I was shocked the first time a car moved over in his lane on a two lane road to allow me to pass him using part of his lane, this was a normal occurrence. Lane splitting in heavy traffic seemed just as dangerous as it did in Cali. Something I never tried nor wanted to try. I think people abuse lane splitting. Should not be used to speed through traffic like a maniac. Going at 5 or 10 mph I can understand, still not something I want to try.
Onto the main subject of using the shoudler I have done it twice in deadlock traffic going about 5-10 mph, but I was a little nervous doing it. Once we did it because some cager kept coming up on us really fast and close. Wanted to see what people felt about using the shoulder in traffic jams on highways since I have seen cops like others have stated not care about riders using the shoulder.
Mike
USAF
'10 Kawasaki Z1000
I could care less about the type of motorcycle or brand, as long as it gets me to my destination with a smile on my face.
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