I've only ridden in Arizona for about 35 years now so I may not know as much as others about riding in the heat. At times, I find it quite uncomfortable when stuck in traffic and the temperature is well in excess of 100 degrees. Maybe it's just me....
I also spend a lot of time on the Left Coast. Been there several hundred times over the years, both riding and driving. Usually riding. I'm sure I have thousands of miles splitting lanes and for the vast majority of those miles, have usually been given more than enough room to split lanes safely. I can say without reservation that in all but a few instances, the a$$holes that crowded me had OTHER THAN CALIFORNIA PLATES. Usually AZ or NV tags.
Please don't go on about special privileges. Unless, of course, you bring up the 1 ton extended cab, 8 foot bed dually with just the driver in it that takes up as much room as at least 4 motorcycles. Or the motorhome that takes up as much as 8. (Unless it's towing a huge trailer then it's up to about 12 motorcycles worth of road.) Or special parking for "Low Emitting, Fuel Efficient Vehicles" that motorcycles are prohibited from using. Or all of the Handicapped spots being used by people, and I use that term loosely, too daggum fat to walk to the store. Or bicycle lanes. Or pedestrians crossing the street with the "Don't Walk" sign flashing while they mess up traffic. I could go on and on, but I digress.
If you don't want to split lanes, don't. No one is forcing you to do so. Don't do anything that you don't feel safe doing. I know good and well that every time I ride my motorcycle may be my last. I accept that. If you're going to ride, you're gonna go down. Believe it. Motorcycling it self is not inherently dangerous. It is, however, extremely unforgiving of inattention, ignorance, and/or incompetence. Of the motorcyclist AND those around him. Riding at a snail's pace in traffic readily lends itself to inattention. I have never been anything but ON TOP OF MY GAME when splitting lanes. Or riding fast. That's just me.
All of that aside, I would much rather split lanes than ride on the shoulder.
In VA there is a lobbying effort afoot to allow MC to use the shoulder in a traffic stopped condition to get to the nearest exit.
We'll be lucky if that gets through. Using the shoulder now during stopped traffic for any vehicle is a reckless driving ticket.
In VA there is a lobbying effort afoot to allow MC to use the shoulder in a traffic stopped condition to get to the nearest exit. We'll be lucky if that gets through. Using the shoulder now during stopped traffic for any vehicle is a reckless driving ticket.
when I left Va. in '11, they still had a law prohibiting 2 bikes in one lane, side by side at any time
or EVEN pulling up side by side at an intersection...
Which to me, seems very sensible/logical/reasonable. And even if not the law, I would always stagger because it is much safer.
But this tidbit is interesting:
"two motorcyclists riding side by side in the same lane [...] was legalized by the General Assembly of Virginia in 2012." THAT I didn't know. I still won't do it, however.
THAT I have *never* heard of before. I have never, ever seen bike pairs not coming to an eventual stop together, side-by-side. First person stops, next person then pulls next to and stops. If there are more than 2, then the 3rd person stops behind the 1st, and 4th behind the 2nd, etc. However, I would NEVER do that to an unrelated motorcyclist I didn't know and wasn't originally riding with (like one I just happen to encounter when riding alone); I would stop behind him.
I searched for information, and the laws seem unclear. I then read the entire VA motorcycle handbook
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/pdf/dmv2.pdf and it says NOTHING about how to stop in a group!
But, by extension, if two motorcycles can ride abreast legally (called "lane splitting"), then of course they can stop next to each other. Filtering (riding between cars) is absolutely illegal in almost all states, including VA.
That diagram is actually "filtering" (yes, the definitions are all over the map and vary greatly), but it shows that it is only actually, positively legal in 1 state- CA. In 12 other states it is "ambiguous", so you very well could be ticketed. In theory, you have the right to do most anything not specifically prohibited by law, so you shouldn't need a law stating filtering is legal for it to be legal. Of course, in theory, the Federal government is supposed to have only the powers listed in the Constitution, but we see how that has worked out. In any case, there are lots of traffic laws that contain wording like "safe and proper" or "reasonable" and such, which leave interpretation completely open.
I imagine "splitting" (riding abreast), on the other hand, is legal in most states, but not sure (and unable to find any information)...
If this quote in the article below is accurate, it is now legal everywhere except VT.
If this quote in the article below is accurate, it is now legal everywhere except VT.
"Virginia will become the 49th state to accommodate two-abreast riding. Vermont remains the only state to prohibit the practice."
Here is a link to the article I pulled it from.
https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/new-law-lets-motorcyclists-ride-side-by-side
I do know for a fact tho, that prior to my move, it WAS a moving violation to be paired up at a stop light/sign/intersection; I was sitting in the right half of my lane (left lane, for left turn on arrow signal) at a light, waiting for a clear shot to turn left, correctly positioned, and had some Pirate roll up next to me on the left, so he could take advantage of the turn when I turned, simultaneously... and when we both turned, about 200 feet down the road we were stopped by a local LEO, who was sitting at the intersection..watching it all happen..while talking on his cell phone....(who by the way, turned on his lights, and siren, just so he could run the red light he was sitting at, to catch us, and ticket us..)..
I talked my way out of it, as I explained "I did nothing wrong... ticket the other guy....I don't know him from Shirley Temple, and as you clearly watched him roll up in place, and complete the turn, and pursued to accommodate, it's a no brainer", which he promptly did... and I lucked out... I guess being fully geared up, and older, and on a quiet proper motorcycle may have played in also...
I've never been a proponent of side by side riding, even here in Ohio, and I can count the number of times where after stopping behind someone I was riding with, slowly rolled up adjacent to let them know something, but never pulled away from a light simultaneously. I still stop behind a stopped rider, set off to the side so I can see their face and eyes in their mirror (so I know they can see me), every time I come upon this scenario.