Lane-splitting and filtering, it seems, are incredibly divisive topics.
Every time we bring either one up here, folks like to argue about whether it's safe, whether it's beneficial, whether you should even listen to anyone who thinks differently than you do, and whether folks who engage in lane-splitting aren't just asking to get hurt.
And quite frankly, it's exhausting.
If you've ridden anywhere that lane-splitting is the norm, it's also incredibly disheartening. Because while it's true that different cultures evolve in different ways (that goes for road cultures, too), it's also true that things don't have to stay the same forever. They can change. Once upon a time, people used horses and buggies to get from point A to point B, but eventually, motorcars (and motorcycles) slapped those reins away.
And you know what? For the most part, it seems to have worked out pretty well for humans, on the whole. And horses, too.
In this video from the excellent YouTube channel Small Bike Stuff, we're on board for a ride in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. As you'd probably guess, it's quite busy. It's also a place where motorbikes are very popular, although this video features fewer of them in traffic than you might expect.
More importantly, though, you get a really good sense of how traffic is flowing along. Every vehicle here is doing their part equally. The scooters are judiciously lanesplitting, and the cars and trucks are giving them ample space to do so. No one is being overly aggressive, and everyone is still moving and just getting on with their business.
No drama; just flow. And that's what I've experienced riding in Bangkok, too. At first, it might seem like sensory overload if you're not used to it. But once you're in it, you absolutely get the sense that people on the road are generally attentive, and that everyone around you just wants to get to where they're going safely.
And they also want the same for you, a fellow road user that they've probably never met.
This is what lane-splitting could, and should be. This is what many riders want. I know there are some who fear lanesplitting, or filtering, and don't want to do it themselves.
If you don't want to do it yourself, that's fine. But like a great many things, what you choose to do is on you. If you try to make that choice for other people, though? That's where we might have a problem.
I know that Chicago isn't Bangkok. Or Kuala Lumpur. Or even the entire state of California, where lane-splitting has been legalized. But I'm sharing this video and the commentary included herein to show that another way is possible, and that it can improve both traffic flow and safety in congested, busy cities.
Of course, we'd also all need to pay more attention to the road, and to what other traffic around us is doing. And distracted driving is a whole other issue.
But this isn't an old video, and it's not like drivers and riders in Kuala Lumpur are lacking the exact same kinds of technological and other distractions that riders and drivers in every big city around the world face.
Can we change? I believe we can. But do we want to?
That's another question.
