Motorcycle Lane-Splitting Legislation Gets California State Assembly Approval

The California State Assembly has approved a bill that will allow motorcyclists to drive below 50 mph in the middle of lanes when car traffic is stalled, a practice known as lane-splitting.

The Associated Press reported that AB51 passed 53 to 11 without debate on Thursday, and will next go before the Senate. If passed, California would be the first state to allow lane-splitting.

The bill was co-authored by Assemblymen Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) and Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale).

A study of 6,000 California motorcycle accidents to be released soon by UC Berkeley professor Tom Rice suggested that it would be safer to make lane-splitting legal, according to the Los Angeles Times.

β€œThe study found that lane-splitting was safer, compared to being stopped in the traffic,” Quirk told the publication. β€œOftentimes motorcyclists would get rear-ended. Motorists just don't see them.”

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