Blog Archives
Why whitelining won’t work in Minnesota or Texas
Whitelining is legal in California
I’ve been doing some traveling lately, and I’ve noticed some interesting differences between drivers in Minnesota, Texas and California. As much as I love my home state, I have to admit California has better drivers.
We were sitting in traffic on “The 5” about 40 miles north of San Diego. The morning fog was beginning to dissipate. I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw a motorcyclist coming up from behind us, riding quite confidently between the lanes.
The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) advocates lane-splitting as a way to promote motorcycle safety. A 2014 California study showed that riding the white line prevented motorcyclists from being rear-ended in heavy traffic. If you’ve ever been in southern California, you know that freeways are clogged morning, noon and night. The ribbons of headlights and taillights stretch for miles.
Lane-splitting is legal in California. It’s verboten in Texas and Minnesota. It’s easy to see why.
In California, car and truck drivers tend to stay in their lanes whether they’re moving at freeway speed or at a stand-still. Texans and Minnesotans, on the other hand, are enthusiastic lane-changers. They change lanes often and don’t bother to signal their intentions. In freeway backups, it’s not uncommon to see a Minnesotan wrench his steering wheel left or right and stick his nose into the next lane . . . right into the would-be path of a whitelining motorcyclist.
Texans and Minnesotans also like to “park” in the far left lane, which should be reserved for faster-moving traffic. This causes other drivers to pass them on the right. On our way south through San Antonio, we observed several “bats out of hell” come up behind us, cut across three lanes of traffic from the right and zig-zag back the other way at speeds far above the posted limit (which, I will admit, we were not observing, either, but these guys were smoking!). The crazy driving, in fact, began shortly after we crossed the Oklahoma-Texas border. There’s no hope for a lane-splitter there!
The AMA’s rationale for lane-splitting makes sense. But it can’t be done safely in the Lone Star or North Star states.
Keep the shiny side up!
Road Trip Comparisons
I just got back from a cross-country drive to California — via RV. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law had driven to Minnesota and needed a relief driver for the trip back to the San Diego area. Ralph had to work, so I got to go. It was a fun time, but I couldn’t help comparing the modes of travel.
On a motorcycle trip, you get up early, drive for an hour and find a little restaurant that offers home-style breakfasts.
On an RV trip, you get up early, start driving, and your sister-in-law hands you a fresh, hot egg burrito that she just made on the little stove in the back.
On a motorcycle trip, you stop frequently for gas. The motorcyle gets 40-plus miles per gallon, but it has a small tank.
On an RV trip, you stop frequently for gas. The RV gets maybe 8 miles per gallon, and it holds a lot of gas.
On a motorcycle trip, you make stops for nature calls.
On an RV trip, you just get up and walk to the back of the bus to the bathroom.
On a motorcycle trip, you become part of the landscape.
On an RV trip, you get to see a lot of landscape.
On a motorcycle trip, you stop every one-and-a-half hours to stretch your legs and look at stuff.
On an RV trip, you walk to the back to stretch your legs.
On a motorcycle trip, you stop and put on your rain suit when raindrops begin to fall and hope it doesn’t get too windy.
On an RV trip, you turn on the windshield wipers when it starts to rain and hope it doesn’t get too windy.
On a motorcycle trip, you try to get off the highway and into a hotel room by 5 p.m. so you can beat the families with kids to the hot tub.
On an RV trip, you try to get off the highway and into an RV park so you can connect your water, sewer and electric lines and maybe take the kids to the pool, if there is one, before dark.
Both are fun ways to travel, but I still prefer the bike, where the wind provides the air conditioning and Mother Nature has charge of climate control.
There are still a lot of great riding days ahead in Minnesota. If you’re looking for a great ride, check out Ride Minnesota, available at most Minnesota Harley dealers, and at Amazon.com.
Splitting the lanes
Ralph and I just spent a week in southern California, which has to be — weather-wise — motorcycle heaven, especially when you get away from stinky, exhaust fume-ridden I-5 (“The 5”, as it’s called locally). Getting off the freeway allows you to follow the coast, drive along citrus orchards and make you feel like you own the world.
Fresh ocean breezes notwithstanding, California has a law that scares the hell out of me. The Golden State allows motorcyclists to “split” the traffic lanes. Maybe it’s because I’m still relatively new to motorcyclng, but I find it unnerving to have a biker come up from behind me, swerve to the white line between the lanes of stopped or slow-moving vehciles and zip to the head of the line. I worry about their safety, especially when traffic moves a little faster. It would be so easy to get a little too close, bounce off a car and end up on the pavement. Whitelining is allowed in Texas, too, and in England, where motorcyclists sneak up on you from the left. In Minnesota, the freeways have designated motorcycle lanes, for which I am grateful.
I’ll be doing some “splitting” of a different kind this weekend. I’ll be at the Fury Motorcycle open house tomorrow morning from 10:00-1:00, promoting Ride Minnesota. Then I’ll move up to East Bethel for the open house at Northway Sports from 2:00-4:00. Yesterday afternoon, I heard back-to-back commercials for both on KQRS. Let’s hope the weather is better than predicted!
Ride Minnesota 