Owning a motorcycle provides you with more than just the pleasure of riding in the open air; it also offers additional advantages such as affordability, improved fuel efficiency, and easier maintenance. Despite the benefits, research shows that the motorcycle makes up 3% of all registered vehicles but accounts for 80% of injury or mortality rate, while the motor vehicle is about 20%. Many factors contribute to motorbike accidents, such as lane splitting, your bike, age, and road use. Since motorbikes are more vulnerable to accidents, learn more here about lane-splitting for motorcycles.
What is Lane Splitting?
Lane splitting, also referred to as lane sharing, white-lining, or filtering, is the process of a motorcyclist riding between lanes of moving traffic or riding between lanes to the front of traffic stopped at a traffic light.
Frequent Causes of Lane Splitting on Motorcycles.
There are several reasons why motorcyclists may undertake the risky movement of splitting lanes, such as:
- Inexperience:Lack of experience for the motorcyclist will cause them to believe that they have the skill to maneuver between vehicles. However, the cyclist may still lose control of the bike between the lanes, resulting in an accident with other cars.
- Impatient:A motorcyclist frustrated by the slow-moving traffic may split the lane to avoid waiting for vehicles to clear, thus increasing the chances of a traffic crash.
- Drug impairment:A motorcyclist under the influence of drugs or alcohol will have a poor judgment on the road, which will result in the motorcyclist moving dangerously in between lanes of traffic.
- Being late:when late, a motorcyclist may move between vehicles, especially in slow-moving traffic, to move faster.
Dangers of Lane Splitting
Motorcyclists are more prone to incur severe or fatal injuries when engaged in an accident because their vehicles lack any surrounding protective structure.
The following are the dangers of motorcycle lane splitting:
- You can get into an accident because of vehicles changing lanes unsafely. A driver may fail to check their signal or blind spot, posing a danger to a biker.
- Cars making sudden stops will cause accidents on motorbikes, resulting in severe injury or death to a motorcyclist.
- Multilane roads have minimal roads for motorcycles to move between, making car drivers and cyclists risky. If a cyclist tries to squeeze their way between, they could clip the side mirror, losing control, which could eventually cause multiple vehicle accidents.
- A motorcyclist who runs a red light and is driving at speed while lane-splitting in the wrong lane will confuse other motorists on the road, especially cars making a left turn.
- Lane splitting for motorcyclists can deny you compensation during an accident, especially in states that do not allow lane splitting. You run a chance of not getting compensation for an accident, especially if you cannot prove that you were not at fault during the accident.
- In states that do not allow lane splitting, you will be fined for it, and in severe cases, you could have your license suspended.
There are various reasons why riding a motorbike puts you at risk of accidents that can be severe or even fatal. Obstacles, such as wet pavement or cracks in the road, can result in accidents. Additionally, motorcycles are not often visible on the road compared to cars, and drivers often are not keen to look for them, increasing the risk of vehicles hitting them.
You can avoid the risk of accidents as a biker by adhering to the traffic rules, such as wearing your protective gear, checking your bike for any faults daily, and avoiding driving in ways that could put you in danger.