Modern Vespa

Natives, or transplants? No subtext on the latter, as we get a lotta snowbirds and a non-trivial number of Canadians in the winter.

I personally came here for family and made some good friends to boot. Still not a fan of summer, though.

P.S. Had been mildly against filtering/splitting until I tried it in Cali. From experience, I gotta say that it works well there and I enjoyed it. Still a bit hesitant to filter here but I move over for 2-wheelers when I'm in the truck.

I've had vehicles change lanes into me when I am riding in the middle of a lane. Luckily I haven't actually been hit. At least half the time if I signal a lane change on my scooter and move towards the other lane drivers make a space for me. If I'm driving my Hyundai Santa Fe, on the other hand, like as not they will move to block me.

And the even more un-acknowledged octothorpe.
A lot of people use it multiple times everyday and don't even call it by it's real name.
So sad.

Just to jump in on the initial subject...

Texas is where I grew up and started riding. Far as I can recall, I was always told lane splitting wasn't legal there (once I learned what it was in the first place). That was a few decades ago. Did something significant change in that time, or is it just that it's an official law now and not like, an understood rule?

Jess really made a hash of it.

This seems to fit with where the thread is heading. I moved from The Bay Area to Dallas and can empathize with the author.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/i-moved-my-family-from-california-to-austin-texas-and-regretted-it-here-are-10-things-to-consider-before-making-an-expensive-mistake/ar-AA1ghK58?ocid=socialshare&cvid=6dc5b16c056348f6bcdbd568a6444d03&ei=8

Fact of the matter is that the actual research shows that when motorcyclists (I'm including us scooterists here) are allowed to filter and lane split, the accidents are fewer, and when they occur, they are less lethal and the injuries are less severe. But since when did facts and science matter to any politician anywhere, especially in Texas?! (Sorry, had to get that little barb in there!)

Careful with the barbs, but, well, yeah.

This article from a law office, while ignoring actual traffic data and saying splitting is dangerous because "cars bigger than motorcycles", really does point to the legal/liable aspect of this and probably why TX lawmakers were "pressured" into specifying the law explicitly. The tone of this article is very negative toward splitting which is not surprising considering the source but it does point out the Indiana law.

While Indiana law does not address it directly, code 9-21-10-6 makes it clear you cannot deprive another vehicle of the full use of their lane. So if you do it whether in a car or a bike and there is an accident because of it you are liable in a civil court and probably criminal as well if charges are filed.

But regardless, in many states where splitting and filtering has never been legal like Indiana, whether directly addressed or not, I would be reluctant to do it here even if by some miracle it was made legal because people. While IN is one of the most friendly places I have lived and has some of the most courteous drivers, road rage is definitely a thing and if someone thinks you are doing something to give you and advantage over them on a roadway all bets are off.

So I will just look forward to riding visits to California where drivers are chill for the most part when it comes to filtering and splitting and less likely to be a danger.

https://www.truittlawoffices.com/blog/indiana-lane-splitting/

PS if you chose to go to that link a paralegal may pop up in a chat to see if you need legal help. Could be a plus if you are lonely and just need to talk to someone.

Boo! Definitely the wrong way to go. I wish all the states would do like California does, legalize both splitting and filtering. I was watching a YouTube video and people in California were just getting out of the way for bikes.

Yep.

As I've reported before here, on my commute most drivers in the HOV lane allow enough space on the right for me to pass by pretty easily. A few pull w-a-a-a-a-y over to the left for motorcycles (unnecessary, but nice). Some don't allow much room for splitting just because they aren't paying attention to their rear-view. And a very few purposely make it hard to get around them.

In ten years of making this commute, there was only one guy who actually straddled the line between the lanes to make it impossible to split. I hope he does that to a motorcycle cop one day.

BTW, the thing I dislike most are the reflectors on the line separating the HOV lane from the other lanes. I appreciate that they serve a purpose, but the bumpety-bumpety-bump of riding over them is really annoying.

Texas bikers need to do a mass protest ride, sticking to the new law to the letter...

Ride one bike to a lane (staggered so the cagers can't pass between.)
Ride within the speed limit and occupy all lanes across the road.
Weave gently and slowly from side to side in the lane you are riding in order to fully occupy the lane.

With all the open space available on the road, the implications will be obvious.

In South Africa, there in a minimum speed on a freeway of 40km/h.
Riding within the 40km/h minimum and the speed limit will make for a lot of open discussion.

True, but here at least the left lane(s) are for passing. So for this to be effective and legal, the left lane motorcyclists would have to be going a little faster than their buddies to the right. And when they're up front, they change lanes to the right and slow down.

This may allow a car to get by every once in a while, but the point would still be made.

I have seen it myself as well.

PS Welcome to the forum. Where are you from? What do you ride? Enjoy!

Thanks!

The US [for now], a Primavera.

Fud and Sully,

You wild and crazy guys are brave. Out in the public, I kind of like to blend into the background and avoid the nut cases. I could just imagine you pulling off that lane controlling maneuver and "Wild Clyde" pulls up behind you after skipping his morning medications.

To much excitement for this old fart. I say "Lay low, Brer Rabbit and don't touch the tar baby".

Bob Copeland
Safe and sound hiding in the Briar Patch with my scooter.

I have lane split in many States where it is not allowed, and you do get the a holes who want to block you. But in States where it is legal, or common despite the illegality, like the Miami part of Florida, drivers do accept it over time and stop trying to take you out. Another thing that seems to make people in cars, or even on some motorcycles, go nuts is passing them over a double yellow line, no matter that they aren't capable of driving near the posted speed limit, it's a long straight road, and you are by them in less than a second. There are a lot of passive aggressive Karens out there, and they seem to have it in for motorcyclists.

I wouldn't say "passive aggressive" there. It's plain old "aggressive".

Odd. Your IP location says otherwise.

Truth!
I had a friend who was ticketed (in Texas) for failure to yield the left lane.
He was going the speed limit!

Pardon?

*cups hands over mouth*

I think he said it's ODD that you said that you're in the US when you've been posting from IP addresses that are distinctly not in the US.

Yeah, I get that. I use a VPN when I'm online. I don't see any rules against it.

oh, carry on then.

it was just that your sudden appearance and proliferate postings came on the heels of another user that was banned and had a full blown, unhinged freak out.

there were some similarities that were just a little too coincidental that caught the eye of the moderating team. no harm, no foul.

Elaborate please?

oh, it's nothing to be concerned about. no worries, keep on trucking.

We know who you are and have given you a title to suit.

What is it that you think you know? Have you brought receipts?

Would whatever it is that you think you know be the reason that I cannot use Tor to go to any website? It is not illegal to use VPNs and Tor to browse the internet. Millions of people use it daily to avoid being spied on by their ISP.

I have not been disruptive on this site at all. No one has complained about anything I have posted. And generally, I have had good interactions with people with which I have had exchanges. This isn't very welcoming at all. At this point, I don't know I want to be part of a forum that treats its new members this way.

If you have interfered with my internet connection in any way, I will be contacting state and federal authorities, be assured of this. There are state and federal statutes against this.

I'm willing to discuss this like adults however.

Good. My brother in law was a sheriff in CA, and this was one of his favorite tickets to write.

I've answered most of your query privately via PM, but this public accusation deserves a public response:

You, sir, appear to know as much about the internet as you know about GPS. I couldn't interfere with your internet connection even if I wanted to.

The reason you are having trouble with other sites is because you were using Tor. MV doesn't block Tor, but lots and lots of other sites do.

I think you will find that you'll have better luck using plain VPN without Tor, as most sites will allow connections from VPN IP addresses.

Just an interesting coincidence that I could not connect my Tor browser to the network, right after being accused here. I hadn't been having trouble using it at all before. Perhaps there is a problem elsewhere with the latest version.
You're right, I don't know that much about how the backend of the internet works or ISPs. And no, I'm not GPS engineer either. No one person can be an expert about everything.

Cheers, we're all good here. Gute Nacht!

Ok, so splitting / filtering works to reduce congestion. I'll totally agree with that.

This past weekend, I pulled up to a stoplight. First in line. It's 28th street here in town, so it's busy, but far from congested. Traffic moves from stoplight to stoplight pretty well.

Two sport bikes filtered up in front of me at the intersection. Two guys both with girls in shorty-shorts on the back. They parked their bikes right in front of me ... across the crosswalk. This was in no way an effort to alleviate a traffic problem; it was solely for their convenience. And it's illegal in Michigan. They both had Cali plates.

Like the laws or don't like them. You should still know and obey the laws in the state you are riding. Was I a jerk for honking my horn at them? No. I was even more validated in my honkiness when I had to slow for them to turn right less than 1/8 of a mile past the intersection.

Idiots.

Ever try to make a U-turn at the light in Ohio? It's illegal. And what's up with how you do left turns in Michigan? Go right, then make a U-turn? Get caught with edibles you bought legally two states over in Texas? There are so many laws that are fundamentally different depending on State lines.

And that's why they are called state laws.

if you are traveling state to state and doing something you know the laws vary on state to state, make sure you understand them before you travel. It isn't that hard.

From what I have been reading, lane splitting/filtering is a maneuver intended to alleviate traffic congestion. This was nothing more than for 30 seconds of convenience for the bikers and illegal in Michigan. And they blocked a crosswalk.

Who would think U Turns are illegal in Ohio? In most states, if there is no sign saying you can't do a U-Turn, you can. Ohio decided every day is opposite day on that one. And then there's NYC, with no right on red, even though you can do a California right turn just about everywhere else in the State.
When you travel from State to State, do you research all the traffic laws in each State you will be going through? I don't.

Many years back I drove from Texas to New York and NYPD in Manhattan made sure that I found out that it was illegal to make a right turn on red.

I don't know, maybe it's legal now.

It isn't. You found out the same way I did. that's also how I found out U-Turns are illegal in Ohio.

It actually is hard to know what is legal or illegal in one state or another. Try getting an authoritative answer on anything. Who do you talk to? A policeman? You'll get 10 different answers from 10 different people. Look it up online? Good luck finding the state's legal code online for free. And if you do, you might not understand it, unless you went to law school.

I advocate for a move away from this separate laws for each state, at least as far as traffic regulations go. Make one set of laws for the entire country. One set of regulations for the entire country. One set of simple license plates for the vehicles. Pick the highest contrast colors and stick with it. I also would like to see a national driver's license. It's inefficient as all get out, the way it is now with each state having its own rules.

If you are driving across the country, for example, it's completely daft to expect someone to look at all the laws in every state between points A and B to make sure that they don't break some ordinance or law of some state in between. But with one national traffic code, one set of laws, one driver's license, one vehicle plate, it's easier on everyone from the policemen on the street to the driver, to the administrators.

They're not, though. Well, not under most circumstances. Ohio state law prohibits U-turns on a curve or hill if the vehicle "cannot be seen within 500 feet by the driver of any other vehicle approaching from either direction."

That said, some cities (such as Columbus) have outlawed U-Turns within city limits.

More info: https://www.keatingfirmlaw.com/post/are-u-turns-illegal