Two wheels up the middle: Is Colorado ready?

August 17, 2:21 PMMotorcycle ExaminerKen Bingenheimer

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Lane-splitting in Paris

Definition first: Lane-splitting is when a motorcycle or scooter passes between lanes of cars, thereby advancing while the mass of traffic creeps or stops completely. It's illegal in Colorado and most states, but is legal in California and most of the rest of the world. As more and more Coloradoans commute on two wheels the time has come to ask, "Why not here?"

Take a look at this photograph, which I shot in Paris. The folks on the scooters lane-split their way to the front while everyone waited at the red light, and when the light went green they sprinted ahead. In doing so they a) speeded up their own trips, b) alleviated congestion overall for everyone, and c) burned a lot less gasoline than if they had been driving cars. That's an all-around win. Tell me again why it's not allowed here?

One issue here is the strictness of U.S. traffic laws. In Europe people are concerned with getting where they're going. Scooters and motorcycles don't just lane-split down the stripes between lanes, they zip past the clogged traffic via the median, the shoulder, and wherever else there is room. It gets the job done and no harm is done. But here you would get ticketed for driving down the shoulder. It's not legal.

Maybe we need to lighten up. In fact, an article published in the July/August 2008 issue of Atlantic Monthly ("Distracting Miss Daisy," by John Staddon) argues that the more heavily regulated our streets and highways are, the more unsafe they become. The argument is simple, and it bears some thought: The more speeds and movements are mandated, the less the driver needs to think, and this leads to less attention to driving. A road is posted at 45 miles an hour and drivers proceed to driver 45 miles an hour, even when snow and ice or other inclement weather dictates that they really ought to slow down. The author also argues that we spend too much time reading traffic signs and that distracts our attention from where our it ought to be, on driving.

Conversely, we were surprised to find in Rotterdam that very few intersections in the entire city have traffic lights or even Stop signs. Instead, there is a hierarchy of who has right of way and everyone is expected to observe it. And you know what? They do!

It would be easy to argue that Americans are too self-absorbed to take the personal responsibility that the Europeans do, to share the road rather than push for every seeming advantage they can grab. But then, how do you explain California? Lane-splitting works in California, and isn't that the state where the term "road rage" was coined?

As driving patterns change with record-setting fuel prices it is appropriate to look for changes in traffic laws. I suggest that the Colorado Legislature should start with lane-splitting and do what California did: specifically declare it legal. Write to your legislators. Let's see if we can start a ground swell.