Oregon Lane Filtering

[pdxfj]

Well.. I am rather shocked.  The Oregon guberment actually listening to the people for once?  Let's hope the House doesn't kill it.. 

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SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Senate on Thursday backed a bill allowing motorcycles to pass between cars or trucks during highway traffic jams.

Senators responded to motorcyclists who say it's safer for them to drive around vehicles than to face the constant risk of being hit from behind in stop-and-go traffic.

"This is for those situations, mostly in urban areas, where the road has become a parking lot," said Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Roseburg Republican who sponsored the bill.

The Senate's 18-10 vote sends the measure to the House.

Motorcycle and moped riders on a highway with a speed limit of at least 50 mph would gain the right to pass between vehicles if traffic moves at no more than 10 mph. They'd have to keep their speed below 20 mph and would be required to drive "in a cautious and prudent manner."

The practice, known as lane filtering, is common in much of Europe and Asia but is illegal in most of the United States. It's practiced in California, though it's not explicitly legal or illegal under state law there, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Proponents say lane filtering improves the flow of traffic in jurisdictions where it's legal and also creates incentives for people to drive motorcycles, which are more fuel-efficient than passenger vehicles.

Critics say bringing lane filtering to Oregon could increase the risk of collisions.

"Motorcycles are inherently very dangerous vehicles," said Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland. "Any time a motorcycle gets into a crash with an automobile, the motorcycle loses...There will be motorcyclists who will die if this becomes law."

The measure is the second highway bill approved this week. The House voted Tuesday to designate the far left lane as a passing lane on high-speed roads.

[aviationfred]

Hopefully this bill will be passed and signed into law. Once done, maybe there will be a cascade effect and more states will pass similar legislation.


Fred

[Mark Olson]

With being a Cali rider I have to say lane sharing is quite nice . Getting around during rush hour is easy but the cars do get pissed off when you buzz them.

[pdxfj]

Some of us "riders" have been discussing this today in the office and we are all for it, but we all see one problem... Cagers will not take kindly to such a law and will likely do all they can to block bikes from passing them.  Other people who don't ride have joined in on the conversations and a fair amount of them had said such a law is not fair to everyone and people on bikes should sit in traffic like everyone else.

If by some miracle it passes the house, I'll wait a while and keep an eye on the news to see how the "public" is reacting to it before doing any "filtering".

I can see some people being annoyed by it, given how fast I saw other bikers riding the line in rush hour L.A. traffic last time I rode through there.  A fair number of those people we later pulled over up the road.  I just kept going, keeping an eye on the rear view so I could get out of the way of other riders who wanted to go faster than me.

[ken65]

Lane filtering has been legal over here in Queensland Aust for a few months now.

I'm really enjoying it and use it mainly to get to the head of the cue at  stop lights.

When the light goes green , give it some stick to the speed limit then your all alone

for awhile between the last pack of traffic and the lot behind you.

Occasionally i get the odd kid wanting a race but that only lasts a couple of seconds.