I have seen this happen before, but it happened to me heading to Norman on sunday. I was in the left lane passing an SUV who was in the middle lane when out of nowhere a motorcycle blew between us at a high rate of speed. Scared the crap out of me (and probably the driver of the SUV in the lane next to me). If i were traveling at 70mph, this guy had to be going 100+. He was gone before i could even react.

Don't know if this is against the law in Oklahoma or not, but it certainly should be. It is not only dangerous to the motorcycle driver, it is also dangerous to the other drivers on the road. There is literally only a few feet separating myself and the driver i was passing. :noldus:

California is the only state where lane-splitting is legal.

Lived there for 25 years and never got used to it. I realize the freeways often back up there and motorcycles have the luxury of fitting through, but I wouldn't do that for a million dollars, legal or not.

According to Wiki it is currently illegal in Oklahoma however the status shows "Illegal (legalizing bills filed)"

If accurate, who in their right mind would advance a bill to legalize this knowing there will be idiots who abuse the law as mentioned at a high rate of speed on the highway?

I have seen this happen before, but it happened to me heading to Norman on sunday. I was in the left lane passing an SUV who was in the middle lane when out of nowhere a motorcycle blew between us at a high rate of speed. Scared the crap out of me (and probably the driver of the SUV in the lane next to me). If i were traveling at 70mph, this guy had to be going 100+. He was gone before i could even react.

Don't know if this is against the law in Oklahoma or not, but it certainly should be. It is not only dangerous to the motorcycle driver, it is also dangerous to the other drivers on the road. There is literally only a few feet separating myself and the driver i was passing. :noldus:

Even if lane splitting were legal, it is not like bikes have a higher speed limit than cars.

Granted being in the left lane and failing to yield to overtaking vehicles is illegal too, even if the person trying to pass is speeding. Which we have way more people doing than the behavior you are describing.

Even if lane splitting were legal, it is not like bikes have a higher speed limit than cars.

Granted it also may imply an issue with whoever is in the left lane failing to yield, which is illegal too, even if the person trying to pass is speeding. Which we have way more people doing than the behavior you are describing.

I was the driver in the left lane passing an SUV. Once i got around the SUV i safely moved over. I never even saw the motorcycle until he blew between us. Not sure that i did anything illegal other than possibly speeding to pass.

I lane split all the time. I do it in Cali and I do it in Oklahoma. I don’t care if it’s legal or not. When done responsibly it’s actually safer than not doing it. There are many studies that back this up. The United States also is about the only major country that doesn’t allow it. It’s common in almost everywhere else in the world. Way too many drivers especially in states like Oklahoma and Texas have a very passive aggressive driving mentality where they think they own the road and have this strong stance against things like lane splitting and zipper merging.

https://americanmotorcyclist.com/lane-splitting/#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20California%20at,f atal%20injuries%20in%20a%20crash.

California has the best model. It’s not technically legal speaking IIRC but it isn’t explicitly illegal. I’ve also done it in front of cops on many occasions in Oklahoma and they didn’t care. Even had OHP catch up to me later on and he cruised right past me. Lane filtering or splitting especially at traffic lights just make much more sense. But everyone has this “me first” mentality where they own the lane they’re in and no one better think otherwise.

Lane splitting aside, if you're going 100+ in OKC during rush hour or in the middle of nowhere in the panhandle, you're likely getting a pretty gnarly ticket.

To be clear, the incident i am referring to happened on an Interstate at a range of speed from around legal to way past legal. I realize the definition of lane splitting often refers to slow moving or stopped traffic - that is a different situation than what i encountered. In my opinion it seems rather dangerous if someone on a sport bike zips between two drivers who are doing highway speeds and are separated by only 4-6 feet of distance. All it takes is one of those drivers to swerve just a bit to miss something in the road or even more likely if they are distracted and "float" over a bit. I have had the latter happen to me quite a bit recently where someone floats over towards me because they are distracted by something.

And yes i specifically mentioned sport bike - while i have nothing against them - i have witnessed *some* drivers of such machines doing crazy things like riding wheelies down the NW Expressway and reaching absurd speeds around city streets. You don't see Oklahoma City cops chasing them because *imho* its not worth their time and its not worth putting the general public at risk to chase a bike through town. Police officers likely know that they would never catch the sport bike anyway because they accelerate so quickly and they can weave in and out of traffic and virtually disappear.

I have never seen a HD type of motorcycle zip between two vehicles on the highway like this - doesn't mean of course that it never happens - it only means that i have never seen it happen. it is also worth noting that a lot of HD riders are older and perhaps a bit more mature, whereas a lot of sport bikes tend to be younger people.

Anyway i think it should be against the law on interstates or highways. It's not only dangerous for the person on the bike it is dangerous to anyone else around them in the event of an accident. Neither bikes nor cars / trucks own the road and if people were generally more respectful of others i don't think this would even be a thing.

Lane splitting aside, if you're going 100+ in OKC during rush hour or in the middle of nowhere in the panhandle, you're likely getting a pretty gnarly ticket.
I don’t believe anyone here has advocated for that or suggested you wouldn’t get a ticket. Chances are you aren’t getting caught anyways and most police won’t pursue much for a simple traffic citation. I can also tell you and I won’t disclose how I know but a lot of police won’t bother pursuing much for a traffic violation especially if you’re on a sports bike doing a 100+. It presents more of a danger chasing that person than just letting them go.

To be clear, the incident i am referring to happened on an Interstate at a range of speed from around legal to way past legal. I realize the definition of lane splitting often refers to slow moving or stopped traffic - that is a different situation than what i encountered. In my opinion it seems rather dangerous if someone on a sport bike zips past two drivers who are doing highway speeds and are separated by only 4-6 feet of distance. All it takes is one of those drivers to swerve just a bit to miss something in the road or even more likely if they are distracted and "float" over a bit. I have had the latter happen to me quite a bit recently where someone floats over towards me because they are distracted by something.

And yes i specifically mentioned sport bike - while i have nothing against them - i have witnessed *some* drivers of such machines doing crazy things like riding wheelies down the NW Expressway and reaching absurd speeds around city streets. You don't see Oklahoma City cops chasing them because *imho* its not worth their time and its not worth putting the general public at risk to chase a bike through town. Police officers likely know that they would never catch the sport bike anyway because they accelerate so quickly and they can weave in and out of traffic and virtually disappear.

I have never seen a HD type of motorcycle zip between two vehicles on the highway like this - doesn't mean of course that it never happens - it only means that i have never seen it happen. it is also worth noting that a lot of HD riders are older and perhaps a bit more mature, whereas a lot of sport bikes tend to be younger people.

Anyway i think it should be against the law on interstates or highways. It's not only dangerous for the person on the bike it is dangerous to anyone else around them in the event of an accident. Neither bikes nor cars / trucks own the road and if people were generally more respectful of others i don't think this would even be a thing.
I have a Harley. I won’t lane split unless I’m on the freeway during rush hour or unless I’m filtering to get in front at a traffic signal. I know the types of bikers you’re referring to. One wrong move or bad luck and it’s all over. I generally won’t ride much in cities anyways. I’ve been thinking of getting a Vespa for cruising around LA though.

I have seen this happen before, but it happened to me heading to Norman on sunday. I was in the left lane passing an SUV who was in the middle lane when out of nowhere a motorcycle blew between us at a high rate of speed. Scared the crap out of me (and probably the driver of the SUV in the lane next to me). If i were traveling at 70mph, this guy had to be going 100+. He was gone before i could even react.

Don't know if this is against the law in Oklahoma or not, but it certainly should be. It is not only dangerous to the motorcycle driver, it is also dangerous to the other drivers on the road. There is literally only a few feet separating myself and the driver i was passing. :noldus:

If that person continues doing that he will eventually end up winning the Darwin Award and improve the gene pool for all. Legal or not.