Though it's banned in most states (and technically not illegal in California), the act of lane-splitting is actually safer than riding in traffic according to a recent study by UC Berkeley. Spearheaded by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC), Dr. Thomas Rice's study examined just under 6,000 motorcycle wrecks between June 2012 and August 2013. Of those spills, 997 involved riders who were splitting lanes.
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The study concludes that lane splitting riders
had fewer incidences of head and torso injuries, and were less likely to
experience fatal injuries.
The study uncovered some surprising facts about lane-splitting, including the following:- If the speed differential between the motorcycle and automotive traffic was 15 mph or less, there was no association with the change in the frequency of injury.
- Nearly 70 percent of lane-splitters involved in accidents were going more than 15 mph faster than traffic.
- Lane-splitters were less likely to suffer injuries. Head injury rates were 9 percent (vs 17 percent), torso injuries were 19 percent (vs 29 percent), and fatalities were 1.2 percent (vs 3 percent).
- Riders were nearly half as likely to be rear-ended when they were lane splitting; the incidence of getting rear-ended was 2.6 percent among lane splitters vs 4.6 percent.
- Lane-splitters were also likelier to be wearing a full-face helmet (81 percent vs 67 percent).
Whether or not you personally support the practice, statistics support the notion that limiting your differential speed between traffic to 15 mph can help reduce your risks while lane splitting.
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