Lane splitting is surprisingly legal in some places, including in California, where one rider tells Inside Edition that he won't stop doing it even after an accident. He says it's hard for people who don't ride motorcycles to understand.
It’s something nearly every driver has experienced: that sudden surprise when a motorcyclist rides by in between the lanes on the freeway.
But lane splitting, which can be incredibly dangerous, is legal in some places.
Inside Edition found countless online videos showing one collision after another involving the risky practice.
In California, Trevor Machin was flying down the freeway when a driver collided with his bike, sending him sprawling onto the pavement. His helmet GoPro camera recorded good Samaritans coming to his aid while he lay there stunned. "Please don't call my parents, cause they'll kill me," he said.
Then EMS arrives and asks if he was lane splitting. Machin said he was.
He says lane splitting, which is legal in California, is a safer way for motorcyclists to travel in heavy traffic.
“OK, I’m going to call you out on this a little bit. Isn't the real reason that you lane split — isn’t it to go faster, so you can pass the cars?” Inside Edition chief investigative correspondent Lisa Guerrero asked him.
“Yea, you can get by quicker,” Machin said.
And despite his brush with death, he says he's not stopping anytime soon.
“It’s so dangerous, dude. It's so dangerous. I mean, you've been in a major accident because of this. Would you still lane split?” Guerrero asked.
“Absolutely. It’s hard for people that don't actually ride. They don't understand,” Machin said.
New York state trooper Scottie Delorbe says not only is it dangerous, but illegal in New York. He adds because of their speed and maneuverability, it's difficult to pull motorcyclists over.
“It’s very hard for us to catch them, number one. They're very fast,” Delorbe said.
While we were interviewing him, a lane splitter zipped by.
Only in California is lane splitting explicitly legal. In most states, it's against the law although some allow lane splitting in certain specific traffic conditions.
