The legality of riding a motorcycle between lanes of traffic, commonly known as lane splitting or lane filtering, depends entirely on the state you are in. As of now, California is the only state that explicitly allows lane splitting, though it provides guidelines rather than hard rules. A few other states, like Utah and Montana, have legalized a related practice called lane filtering, which permits motorcycles to pass stopped cars at low speeds, typically at red lights. Everywhere else in the U.S., the practice is either illegal or exists in a legal gray area.
The primary argument for lane splitting is safety. A motorcycle stuck in stop-and-go traffic is vulnerable to being rear-ended. Allowing the rider to move to the front of the queue can mitigate this risk. Studies, including one funded by the California Highway Patrol, have shown that lane splitting can be done safely when riders do not exceed the speed of surrounding traffic by more than 10-15 mph and when traffic is moving at 40 mph or less.
However, the risks are significant. The biggest danger is that car drivers simply do not expect a vehicle to be moving between lanes. A sudden lane change by a car, an opened door, or a distracted driver can lead to a severe accident. The responsibility falls heavily on the motorcyclist to be hyper-aware of their surroundings. If you are in a state where it is legal, the key is to proceed with extreme caution. If it's illegal where you ride, the potential legal penalties and insurance complications are not worth the risk.
