Ok, who was this on HWY 880

[No2DinosaurFuel]

He was lane splitting at a very fast speed, didn't stop, ran a red light, failed to yield to traffic, then tried to race the Tesla.

Splitting lane at fast speeds?
-Nope. He was going slow up until the start of the "race." After that he was on his lane NOT, splitting lanes.

Didn't Stop?
-Why? He had the green just like the tesla did. He was in both lanes. Would you stop if you had green?

Ran a red light?
-Nope. It was green in the video.

Failed to yield to traffic
-Umm we all know who failed to yield to traffic here and it's NOT the biker.

Then tried to race the Tesla
-Nope, I think the tesla was trying to race this guy, then realized that the car in front of him was slowing down and instead of slowing down, sped up, FAIL to yield to traffic (the biker), and cut off the biker on his lane.

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

I don't see a double standard, the Tesla driver shouldn't be acting like a jerk, but he's not risking his life every time he travels to the point a biker is.

Your point makes no sense. What does it matter if someone wants to risk their life or not? What I was referring to is for people who thinks the biker is at fault for NOT yielding to the tesla who is clearly on the opposite lane. The point is if you replace the bike with another tesla, everyone's perspective would change. This is where the double standard is.

 

[DrManhattan]

Your point makes no sense. What does it matter if someone wants to risk their life or not? What I was referring to is for people who thinks the biker is at fault for NOT yielding to the tesla who is clearly on the opposite lane. The point is if you replace the bike with another tesla, everyone's perspective would change. This is where the double standard is.

I didn't understand what you were saying. Anyway, a car and a motorcycle are different things entirely, and there are standards for both. Double standards are not inherently a bad thing. But no, I don't think the biker should have been racing the Tesla either. Anyway, everyone survived, so no harm no foul. There are lots of instances where people don't make it out alive, or intact, and that's what I'm concerned about.

-Nope, I think the tesla was trying to race this guy, then realized that the car in front of him was slowing down and instead of slowing down, sped up, FAIL to yield to traffic (the biker), and cut off the biker on his lane.

He wasn't trying to race him, he was mad he took his light. The biker obviously sped up to race the Tesla too. It's all fun and games until someone gets ran over, which is almost what happened. You obviously ride and are clearly biased. There are so many stupid drivers on the road, you can't take it personally every time someone does something dumb. Especially if you ride, you have to have a certain temperament since your life is on the line.

 

[rEVhappy]

Funny how people can see so many different perspectives even when the evidence is clearly presented to them.

The Tesla is clearly at fault here. The motorcycle wasn't 'racing' initially, you can tell by his gear shifts that he was just on a smooth roll. Lane splitting is legal here, and I rarely ever feel I am in danger because of the practice. Bikers, for the most part are generally cautious while lane splitting. This was the case here.

The MC took off mildly, stayed in his own lane, until douchehat in the Tesla wanted to prove I don't know what.. by cutting off the biker at such a close distance and slamming on his brakes. He clearly had plenty of room to brake in his lane and should've noticed early on that a car is merging into his lane. What the biker did after that was based on adrenaline and anger, clearly not a wise choice but it was nowhere near the recklessness of the Tesla driver. MAC84, you win douche of the month award, congrats.

 

[Archduke]

Are you serious? The MS driver didn't have enough time to say that many words. Can you provide some sort of evidence for your assertion?

I was going to say that my evidence is what I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears in that clip and that it would take, maximum, 3 seconds to say what I thought he said. But then I went back and watched it again, this time with the sound turned up a bit more. And I've totally revised my opinion.

I now think it was the *cyclist* who said "What the f^ck is wrong with ya'?!" That wasn't a possibility I considered initially, but I feel fairly confident that's how it unfolded having watched it a number of times now. Even after the driver of the Model S rolls his window back up, you can faintly hear the same voice saying other things. So it must be the cyclist's voice.

I also noticed the Model S driver, after cutting off the cyclist, braked even though there were no vehicles in front of him. If I cut someone off in an aggressive, angry move on the freeway, I wouldn't be likely to brake. I'd want to get away from them. So now I think it's possible the Model S driver simply took an evasive move to avoid the car that stopped in his lane and, in the process, just happened to cut off the person riding the bike, slowed down so he could roll his window down to communicate with the cyclist--perhaps to say "I'm sorry!"--got an earful from the cyclist, and decided the best course of action was to just roll the window back up and keep driving.

I wonder if the OP would be willing to comment in the thread to tell us who is actually saying the words "What the f^ck is wrong with ya'?!"

 

[rEVhappy]

It's the biker saying 'what the fck is wrong with ya'. It's pretty obvious since he's the one with the camera and he shot the footage, thus being closer to the mic, not to mention I'd be uttering the exact same words if I were in his place.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Tesla had more than enough time and space to notice a slow moving car merging into his lane. He could've also turned into the next lane over on his left side, but the asshat decided he wanted to show the biker who's boss by cutting him off.

It's truly disgusting behavior and reflects bad on the community. BMW drivers are known for being sleazy behind the wheel, let's not rationalize this guy's behavior and make excuses for him. This kinda person needs public shaming so he doesn't think it's okay to pull stunts like this in the future.

 

[whitex]

So does anyone know how does this legality of lane splitting in CA deal with "one vehicle per green light"? If a motorcycle pulls up all the way to the front of the line and is next to a car, light goes green, whose green light is it? I'm not asking for an opinion, just whether the law specifically addresses this or leaves it completely undefined. Or, is there a traffic law stating that red lights at the ramps don't apply to motorcycles at all?

 

[rEVhappy]

I personally don't know, and it wouldn't make much of a difference either way. You don't go around playing citizen cop vigilante almost causing major bodily damage or death because you think someone broke some obscure law by not coming to a complete stop or didn't go on their turn at a f'n onramp light.

 

[whitex]

I wasn't in any way suggesting any vigilantism. I was really just curious whether the laws are well thought through in CA.

 

[Jbailey]

I see lane splitting as smoking with a filter. The studies do appear to show it's safer:

Among the U.C. Berkeley findings:

- Lane-splitting is safe if done in traffic moving at 50 mph or less, and if motorcyclists do not exceed the speed of other vehicles by more than 15 mph



AMA: Study Finds Lane-Splitting Increases Rider Safety

Just like smoking with a filter is better than no filter, the odds are still against you, and it's the underlining activity that is dangerous.
---------------------------

AMA ....Impressive ...The American Medical Association's journal JAMA is peer reviewed, science based. ...

LOL I clicked on it and its not the American Medical Association...it was the american motorcycle association

It looks like 1/50 states condones lane splitting. It may be safe but it sure seems rude.... one open car door and wham. This happened to me years ago on a bicycle.

Everyone should be treated equally and wait their turn. I cant always be looking in my rear view mirror in stopped traffic to make sure I am pulled over enough so a motorcyclist can just move to the front of the line. If cycles tend to overheat when stationary they need better engineering or an electric motor.

 

[bxr140]

Um, no. The root issue is that a dangerous driving pattern was legalized and it only gets worse from there.

Wrong. Lane splitting is not dangerous. Reckless motor vehicle operation is dangerous.

 

[bxr140]

So does anyone know how does this legality of lane splitting in CA deal with "one vehicle per green light"? If a motorcycle pulls up all the way to the front of the line and is next to a car, light goes green, whose green light is it? I'm not asking for an opinion, just whether the law specifically addresses this or leaves it completely undefined. Or, is there a traffic law stating that red lights at the ramps don't apply to motorcycles at all?

The law is totally empty. Nothing about it.

It's common courtesy when splitting up to a light to squirt out of the way so as to not impede anyone in a car. It's also common courtesy to not stop at an metering/onramp light so as to not 'steal' someone else's green light.

That's how California works. Everyone gets it. It works fine until someone acts recklessly (whether on two wheels or four).

 

[deonb]

Like I mentioned earlier, the Tesla had more than enough time and space to notice a slow moving car merging into his lane. He could've also turned into the next lane over on his left side, but the asshat decided he wanted to show the biker who's boss by cutting him off.

Take a look again. Initially this was just a vehicle that was moving over into his lane, sure. However, thereafter the vehicle decided to stop dead - it wasn't until that point that the Tesla had to take evasive action.

People don't expect that after someone merges into their lane that they would subsequently go and hit the breaks.

 

[rEVhappy]

Take a look again. Initially this was just a vehicle that was moving over into his lane, sure. However, thereafter the vehicle decided to stop dead - it wasn't until that point that the Tesla had to take evasive action.

People don't expect that after someone merges into their lane that they would subsequently go and hit the breaks.

I've watched it several times. I don't know about you, but I coast or decelerate when I see someone merging into my lane, not accelerate like the asshat did. This is because you're supposed to consider all possibilities, like.. I don't know, the car will abruptly brake in front of you. It's not about what you 'expect', you're supposed to assume the worst case scenario and leave enough space just in case the worst happens.

Secondly, you don't swerve into an adjacent lane to avoid an obstacle in front of you if you don't know the conditions in those adjacent lanes. It was by mere luck that MAC douche didn't strike the bike. Imagine if, let's say the bike started accelerating quickly just a second prior to the lane change. There would've certainly been an impact that would've affected not only the bike, but anyone else following from behind. You can make all sorts of excuses for him, but it in no way justifies his actions.

 

[brianman]

Wrong. Lane splitting is not dangerous.

You're welcome to that opinion. I happen to have a different one. That doesn't make me "wrong" any more than preferring a different shirt style.

 

[brianman]

That's how California works. Everyone gets it. It works fine until...

The report that quoted 17% of motorcycle collisions involve lane-splitting would disagree.

"It works fine until" isn't the same as "it works".

 

[rEVhappy]

To all those saying 'lane splitting is dangerous'.. please help me understand what would've changed about the main incident (Tesla not leaving enough space, swerving and braking recklessly) if let's say hypothetically, there was no lane splitting done by the bike in the video?

 

[Pando]

To all those saying 'lane splitting is dangerous'.. please help me understand what would've changed about the main incident (Tesla not leaving enough space, swerving and braking recklessly) if let's say hypothetically, there was no lane splitting done by the bike in the video?

The biker would be at the end of the line of cars, in one of the lanes waiting for his turn just like all other cars. Note that the light turns green one lane at a time, which would not set up a racing condition. Much safer.

 

[Pando]

The freeway was slowing down. There was no reason for the T driver to accelerate the way he did, except that he just had to get ahead of the MC, because he was pissed that he had to wait his turn while the MC driver just coasted down the middle, used *his* green light, and didn't even stop. If the other car didn't cut in front of him, he would have accelerated enough to try to prevent the MC driver to merge, on purpose.

It was a perfect setup for a horrible accident, avoided by mere milliseconds to spare.

The proper thing for the MC to do would have been to stop like other cars and see which lane allows him to go.

The proper thing for the T to do would have been to not race and let the MC go on its way.

 

[rEVhappy]

The biker would be at the end of the line of cars, in one of the lanes waiting for his turn just like all other cars. Note that the light turns green one lane at a time, which would not set up a racing condition. Much safer.

Sure, you have a point. But consider if this happened to a non-lane splitting bike that had a green light right before the Tesla (and moving much slower). Would the Tesla's recklessness be justified or rationalized? If not, then it clearly shows there's a heavy bias based on the fact that you think lane splitting is dangerous (your opinion is weighed too heavily to have an objective view)