UPDATE V (May 21) — While the cowardly Texas Democrats were busy “chubbing”, hundreds of important and worthwhile bills died from neglect. To include SB 506, which was still left “Pending in Committee” in the House when the legislative session ended.
UPDATE IV (March 31) — the Lane Splitting bill was read for the first time by the House and has been referred to the Public Safety Committee.
UPDATE III (March 25) — The Senate has passed the Lane Splitting bill by a vote of 27-4. Great news. The engrossed bill will now be prepared and sent to the House for consideration.
UPDATE II (March 20)
Reported favorably with out amendments from committee.
UPDATE (March 18)
Good news out of the Transportation and Homeland Security committee:
I just contacted my Senator, Kirk Watson, and found out that he voted in favor of the bill and that the bill has been reported favorably by the Transportation committee. SB 506 is now available for placement on the Senate calendar. A calendar is a list of bills and resolutions that are scheduled to be considered by the full house or senate.
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ACTION ALERT: If you have a vested interest in lane splitting for motorcycles in Texas, SB 506 is scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow by the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security at the state capitol building.
If you cannot go to the public hearing tomorrow, call your state senator and tell them you want them to support this bill — a bill, by the way, which costs the state and tax payers nothing to implement.
Contact information can be found here: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members.htm.
My senator, Kirk Watson (R) is the Vice Chair of this committee and I’ll be calling his office first thing in the morning.
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SB 506 would allow Texas riders to lane split
As an avid motorcycle rider — my bike is my primary mode of transportation — I’m excited that the Texas 81st Legislature is considering a bill to allow lane splitting in Texas.
SB 506 would allow motorcycles to ride “between” lanes of traffic — but no more than five miles per hour greater than the speed of other traffic moving at a speed of 20 miles per hour or less.
When traffic on I-10 in Houston, MoPac through Austin, or I-34 through Dallas is at a parking lot stand still…or barely creeping along at 5-10 mph — this bill would allow motorcycle commuters to use the 5-6 feet of space between the cars in two lanes to ride at up to 25mph down this lane.
Currently, California is the only state that allows lane splitting, and it has been a fantastic success.
Why should motorcycles be “allowed” to ride between lanes during nearly-stopped traffic:
- Many motorcycles are air-cooled, thus needing movement to prevent damage to the engine (my bike is a classic big v-twin air cooled cruiser that is much happier when rolling than when sitting still in traffic).
- A motorcycle is much more visible and therefore safer riding in the center lane at low speeds than they are sitting still between parked cars.
- More motorcyclists are encouraged to commute due to fewer problems with traffic congestion and potential overheating.
- Less gas (my bike gets nearly 44 mpg), less smog/pollution.
For all the green initiatives out there…everybody bending over backwards to give tax credits to hybrid drivers, trying to find ways to reduce gas consumption and their carbon footprint — there just isn’t a single car on the market with a smaller carbon footprint than any motorcycle.
Anything we can do to encourage more people to ride more often should be done. Which is why I hope Texas passes the lane splitting bill.
Our Prius gets better mileage than your motorcycle, and seats 4 (sometimes 5). How is that not a smaller carbon footprint?
Oh, I know! It’s because people you think are liberals drive them, right?
No, M1Ek, it’s because your naive enough to think that “carbon footprint” equals gas mileage only. It doesn’t.
You want to talk the environmental impact of manufacturing, running, maintaining, and disposing of your Prius vs. my motorcycle? How many batteries will your Prius will go through in a lifetime? My bike? One very small battery. Oil? I use 4 liters every 8-10K miles. Radiator fluid? None. My bike is air cooled. And tires…when you replace tires, it’s four of ‘em, right?
Besides, I happen to have the 3rd largest cruiser (1900cc) on the market. Most smaller bikes average well above 50 mpg (my wife’s motorcycle gets 54 city and highway). Sorry, but your Prius does not do as well. The law would also apply to large cc scooters, many of which get 60-80 mpg.
And good for you that you carpool and always have 4-5 people in your Prius. Nearly every single Prius or hybrid I see every single morning on my way to work has exactly 1 person commuting in it.
M1Ek, I get between 55-68mph on my motorcycle, regardless of whether I ride through the city or on the highways.
Please let me know when you manage to accomplish this in your Prius.
I can sense you are simply a smug Hybrid owner who is angered that motorcyclists would be allowed to go through traffic while you can do nothing but spite them as you wait in traffic.
Visit Paris and see the congestion of cars and then see the movement of two wheeled cycles smoothly moving throughout the city. I am totally for this bill!
I just hope cars on the road will finally learn to use signals and maintain their lanes! Now to get rid of the cell phones, women doing their make-up and erratic fools in work trucks and I might feel comfortable splitting lanes.
I split lanes anyway and people honk! Why? Are you jealous that someone else can get around better?
Maybe you honk because you physically want more lane than your car occupies? I like to think its because your happy to see someone get where their going
M1KE, mileage is not the same as carbon footprint (as if that term should even exist). Have you researched the real environmental impact of your Prius, in particular the battery? You’re not as green as you think.
Would love to be lane splitting in Texas, would just have to be extra watchful for the bozos on their cell phones leaving big gaps for the adjacent bozos to change lanes without looking.
Uh-Oh!
Smug attack.
/cover
As for lane splitting, I have never given it any thought. I guess because it has always been illegal, and because I don’t trust people enough to attempt it.
Oblivions are ubiquitous.
As a former CBR F4 owner, and current Scarabeo 50cc owner, I support this 100%.
Guys, recycling five-year-old FUD about batteries just proves my point. You’re liking or disliking based on perceived political identification, not reality. In case you actually believed that garbage, rest assured that old Priuses aren’t going through their 2nd or 3rd batteries; the 1st-gen in the US (2nd-gen overall) now has many that are pushing 9 years old; the 1st-gen in Japan older than that. The story about supposed environmental damage at the nickel mine was a load of crap too – based on conditions 20-30 years before the Prius even began (before more modern regulations were in place).
Robbie, I was responding directly to your original implication that your bike does better than hybrids. My Prius, with just me in it, gets better mileage than does your bike. It can also carry additional people and a lot of stuff, and often does, but even when it doesn’t, it’s still better.
Also, see other emissions (motorcycles do very poorly compared to a hybrid).
Finally:
I don’t know why you thought it necessary to emphasize city; but the Prius usually does better in city driving than on the highway. The original EPA ratings were 60 city/51 highway; I’ve had tanks averaging 52 on a regular basis but have not been able to reach the level of a friend of mine in Round Rock who was pulling off 55s regularly. My most recent tank, with a lot of heat involved from last week, was 50.4.
Ok, M1Ek…I’ll concede that your Prius is more environmentally sound and friendly than my motorcycle (it’s not).
But what, if any, objection do you have to the issue at hand — allowing motorcycles and scooters to slit lanes during stand still traffic?
According to Wired magazine, you’d be better off and more environmentally friendly buying a 10-year old Tercell than you are buying a new Prius:
Also, does my motorcycle produce more hydrocarbons than most cars? Yep, it sure does. But not nearly as much as older bikes used to, as my bike uses an oxygen sensor and three-way catalyst to reduce emissions.
Most motorcycles today are much cleaner than the old 2-stroke, non-catalyst tailpipes of old.
I have a mild preference against lane-splitting because it makes the traffic code messier, and might encourage motorists to do stupid things (like when bicyclists argue they should be able to run red lights if nobody else is around). In the lane-splitting case, you can already see motorists trying to make 2 lanes out of 1 (wide one) in many instances; I think this would make that even more likely. There’s a lot of inertia involved in traffic law – we do some things that are suboptimal for us (waiting at a red light when nobody’s around) as individuals because everybody does them, and we get some safety or efficiency as a byproduct (not having to slow down at every green light to make sure nobody’s running the red).
In a perfect world, I’d be in favor of it on efficiency grounds alone.
My Ninja 250 gets better mileage than a Prius, is faster, and by any rational definition of ‘footprint’ has a smaller footprint than a Prius.
I have a 22 mile commute from North to South Austin. I don’t ride my Ninja as often as I should, because my clutch hand gets very tired in all the stop and go traffic on Mopac in the morning. So I take my earth destroying SUV more than I’d like.
If I could lane split I’d ride my Ninja almost every day, it would save me a ton of time and spare mother earth tons of pollution.
This is great news. Those of you on Facebook that wish to support Lane Sharing efforts in Texas and other states, please join our cause at:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/113221
We’re hoping to attract the attention of the AMA and state legislatures everywhere.
Confession: I have split lanes in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, so I speak from experience. Vast experience, I moved here from California 12 years ago where I had lane-shared since 1980 sometimes with a full-dress Gold Wing for 20 or 30 miles of a 100 mile daily commute on the 101. That is Ph.D. level lane splitting.
There is no traffic in this state as bad as 101 south of SFO or the 405 in LA. When I first came here I saw no one doing it, but you had big wide lanes and slow-moving cars, so I just did it- now it is common to see it in Austin across Town Lake on 35. I know it is far less safe to sit in 100 degree heat in traffic and get rear ended or die from diesel fumes.
No one will be required to do it, you can still sit there in your sweat and get rear-ended. The “threat” of road rage is nearly non-existent, that is a false issue of concern. On a quite bike you are gone before the car driver even knows you are there. In 12 years of splitting lanes in Texas I have had only ONE car ever try anything and that was a diesel pick-up that tried to chase me on a Honda ST1300 after traffic cleared. In 29 years, thousands of miles of lanes split I have touched one car bumper [a 1-ton dually with a edge of a saddle bag], never gone down. It is more common in LA to see the cars part slightly to let you go through.
This will make Texas the Great Motorcycle State it should be.
This will dramatically increase motorcycle commuting as it cuts the time in half and you won’t get so hot and tired from the ride. When 100s of bikes do it everyday, car drivers will soon learn it is legal and safe. It will also encourage helmet use, which is good thing. One warning; Don’t try this with forward controls and high bars, you won’t have the control at low speeds to do it.
Confession #2 : I have been riding my Erion 929RR since 2002. I am 25 years old and am somewhat rebellious in nature. I have split lanes in Austin for 3 years and Houston for 5 years. I used to have a 20 mile commute to the University of Houston on 59south.
I challenge one prius driver to sit in 100degree heat at 5:15pm at a dead stop for just 10 minutes.(my commute home would take average 40 minutes.) And don’t forget about the enormous amount of heat coming up in between my legs from the engine, or the safety gear I wear, or the Helmet I wear, or the backpack with tons of books, all of which contribute to the profuse sweating that almost prevents me from even seeing the road.
To all the angry folks out there (who deep down just wish that THEY could split lanes in their cars): All I say is, instead of walk in my shoes for a mile, sit on my bike for a mile, and then you might have at least the slightest bit of human emotion come out in the form of a little sympathy. ( you think your car ride in the a/c with a radio is sooo terrible every day…??)
On a side note: with this new law, is there any thought of what legal action to take against aggressive car owners who retaliate once the law is put in to effect?
— You are lucky that you have only had one car chase you! On more than one occasion I have had people shoot the bird, open car doors to obstruct, swerve out to obstruct, and even throw things!
— My question is this: If my agressive roomate sees me coming up from behind him, in dead stop traffic, he WILL throw a door out to try to hit me, I have discussed this with him. (As long as he didn’t know it was me.) What legal action would be taken against him, considering that it would be his word against mine? The risk seems high to me.
Richard — I carry concealed 98% of the time I am on my motorcycle. If someone deliberately and maliciously attempts to use their car to assault me while I’m riding my motorcycle by running my off the rode, opening a car door into my path, or ramming me — I would not hesitate to use my weapon to defend my life.
The Texas Castle Doctrine applies to protecting you and your property in your vehicle as well as your home. Motorcycles count the same as a car.
If I feel that you are trying to hurt or kill me with your car, I will pull my .45 ACP out of my shoulder holster beneath my ride vest, and if necessary, I’ll use it. Motorist should beware of the number of bikers who legally carry concealed handguns while riding.
Richard,
OK, I’ve seen a few single finger salutes, but that’s just an Austinites way of saying Howdy isn’t it?
1. Watch the heads of the drivers – you’ll get to see the “tells & twitches”
2. Quite helps too, smooth does it.
Who made your room mate chief safety patrolman? Why would he impede traffic? When it’s legal, your insurance company will sue him and the LEOs will charge him, manslaughter if he kills you or attempted due to level of threat.
I hit a car door once, on a bicycle, a driver swung a Mercedes door open into a bike lane, it did break my collar bone and a couple of ribs but it cost him tens of thousand, I bent that door back to the fender and nearly torn it off and then sued him. so your friend will have caused big damage to his vehicle and you will be in his front seat. He’ll be liable.
What he really needs to worry about, is if I stop fast and his door is open. I always carry bear repellant spray.
Robbie–
I just wanted to say: hell yeah.
I’m so glad Texas is considering this. I just saw lane splitting happen on a you-tube video the other day so decided to look it up to see if it was legal. I havn’t ridden in over 25 years, but I’m getting back on a bike and taking my wife and child with me. Its good for the economy, environment, and my personal finances. If you havn’t done so yet please also visit http://www.mic.org/stbn_message.cfm to help allow dealers make and sell 50CC motorcycles for kids. Plain good family fun. The ban on lead law currently prevents it. Thanks.
Would love for lane splitting to be legalized in Texas. Any word on the progress of this bill?
Lane Splitting has been passed, effective immediately… http://www.legis.state.tx.us/billlookup/BillStages.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=SB506
Kevin — unfortunately, it did not pass.
The link you provide is to the 80th Legislative session. SB 506 in the 80th Legislature concerned a “provisional certification for certain guardians.”
It did pass and is now law.
Unfortunately, SB 506 in the 81st session (the one that just ended), died because of the cowardly Democrats and their chubbing.
I’m sorry. I wanted this to pass just as much as the next guy, but to blame it on Dems is BAT-SHIT-CRAZY. This is Texas. You can’t blame democrats. The GOP is just as illogical and anti-fun as the democrats.
Don’t kid yourself.
SB506 was derailed by the BIKER crowd because they said Texan didn’t want it with the helmet provision.
So is the bill dead, or is it just delayed until the next legislation session?
If it’s just delayed, how long are we looking to wait?
It’s dead.
When the Legislature reconvenes in 2 years, a new bill will have to be reintroduced. Maybe this time Democrats won’t hold up important legislation while throwing temper tantrums and hissy fits over stuff that the majority of Texans want them to pass (Voter ID).
Looks like I’ll be lane splitting on I35 illegally for the next couple years. I just returned from a Cali trip and can’t kick my habit. Turning 30 minute commutes into 10 is worth a ticket or a night in jail