Minnesota To Allow Lane Filtering

I would have agreed with you before experiencing how lane splitting works on the road. I'm in a state that doesn't allow lane splitting, but put about 6k miles in CA years back. Lane splitting was a huge improvement in getting thru traffic, and I don't recall any 'close calls' in those miles. (Obviously not all lane splitting, but I was in locked up traffic many, many times. Sometimes for 15-20 miles)... I'm SURE there were a couple, but I was pretty conservative and defensive, so I think that largely mitigated potential issues. Getting thru the stop & go sooner not only reduced the traffic delay, but also felt significantly safer. If you are in solid traffic, you have less maneuvering room if someone behind you isn't paying attention, and you need to be constantly watching 360 degrees for danger. If you are moving thru stalled traffic, the main watch zone get's narrowed to about the 90 degrees (45 to left, 45 to right) ahead of you. Here's my observations: 1) The key pieces to safe lane splitting is using good judgement as a rider, and riding accordingly. Following the not more than 15 over surrounding traffic or over 25mph is about what I found to be a natural 'comfort zone'. Usually, I'd ride between the left two lanes to reduce being near on and off ramp merging. If the traffic situation is shifting, or there's a tight lane due to oversized vehicles, extended mirrors, or someone crowding a line, the rider can ALWAYS slow down to maneuver, or get back in a lane, or cross thru a lane to a different split. If traffic is stopped bumper to bumper, no one is coming into your lane without some warning, and as a rider, you should be watching the front wheels of cars for an indication that someone might be doing that. For reference, 15 mph is about the pace of a elite marathoner. If things felt tight, I might only be moving 5-10 mph. Once traffic starts moving, it wasn't a problem to blend back into a lane. 2) If lane splitting is default, cars DO start checking their mirrors before crossing over. Frankly, most drivers (and riders, too) should be checking their mirrors more often. In some ways, I think this ALSO made drivers more aware of motorcycles in general. Can't prove it, and it could be that there seemed to be more motorcycles in general. But regardless, if I was in doubt, I just slowed down. Defensive riding and paying sharp attention should be your default mode when you are out there. 3) Some riders are splitting MUCH faster than that, and IMO are an accident waiting to happen. But that's also true w/o lane splitting with the aggressive riders who are weaving back and forth thru traffic. For the most part, I think splitting was a big improvement in safe riding. There are legal battles and too many accidents. Large numbers are at intersections, or being run over by someone who didn't see you. The splitting law clearly regulates rules for the other vehicles.