During my stint in Los Angeles, when I had just moved to the sprawling metropolis, I was stuck mostly driving cars to and from my original place in Santa Clarita. It was, on a good day, a three-hour drive one way to the Automobile Magazine office in El Segundo. Basically, it was horseshit, and while my job necessitated driving new cars, I quickly swapped four wheels for two, and it cut that commute down to 45 minutes one way.
That's all thanks to Los Angeles' lane-splitting laws, which allowed me to scythe my way through traffic and get anywhere in the massive city in 1/4 of the time it would using a car or public transportation. It did, however, come with its dangers, as I was hit twice by drivers who weren't paying attention or, in one incident, didn't like that I was able to "Cut in line" while they were stuck.
I'm not saying they got a mirror punched off, but they might've. Who knows?
That's all to say that lane splitting is helpful in reducing traffic, as well as giving motorcycle riders the ability to filter to the front of the line in a safer and more reasonable way than just having them stuck between car drivers—who frequently don't see them and crash into them. But according to new language in Arizona's traffic codes, lane splitting is now considered "reckless driving" and can lead to a misdemeanor. There are, however, a few caveats.
Spotted by our friends over at ADVRider, Arizona's legislature "revised" a law already on the books that detailed its stance on lane-splitting and lane-filtering, making lane-splitting a Class II Misdemeanor, i.e., "reckless driving."
Arizona Revised Statute 28-693 B, in subsections B and C, states "B. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, the operator of a motorcycle shall not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken. C. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, a person shall not operate a motorcycle between the lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles."
What that means is that lane-splitting has been outlawed, and that the cops have the authority to pull your butt over if they catch you doing it. There is, however, an addendum to the statute, i.e., subsection F, which states that while lane-splitting isn't allowed, lane-filtering is.
Subsection F states, "The operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle may overtake and pass another vehicle that is stopped in the same direction of travel and in the same lane as the operator and may operate the motorcycle between lanes of traffic if the movement may be made safely and if the operator does both (emphasis added) of the following: 1. Operates the motorcycle on a street that both: (a) Is divided into at least two adjacent traffic lanes in the same direction of travel. (b) Has a speed limit that does not exceed forty-five miles per hour. 2. Travels at a speed that does not exceed fifteen miles per hour."
Basically, if you're on a surface street and there's traffic all the way up to a stoplight, you can filter through the stopped cars to the front. However, those streets have to have speed limits under 45 mph, and you can't go above 15 mph while you're filtering to the front.
Personally, I find all of this stupid. Major metro areas that frequently have traffic on the highways that help get people around the city are prime spots for motorcyclists to split through and alleviate some traffic. Why make them worsen traffic and increase the danger to themselves when everyone is bumper to bumper, the most common place for motorcyclists to be rear-ended?
But for all you Arizonans, stay sharp, cause you can't split anymore and you're about to catch a felony if you do.
