ALEXANDRIA — Lane-splitting and lane-filtering are legal for Minnesota motorcyclists as of the beginning of the month, and that means there are new ways people need to “start seeing motorcycles.”
Minnesota State Patrol Sgt. Jesse Grabow says they’re two different things.
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Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center
“Lane splitting is allowed when two or more lanes of traffic are traveling in the same direction and traffic is moving,” he says. “It allows for motorcycles to pass another vehicle in the same traffic lane and direction of travel, only under these conditions: It can’t be speeds of more than 25 miles an hour. So if traffic is moving at 30 miles an hour, this does not apply.”
Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center
Lane filtering is pretty much the same thing except that’s when traffic is stopped, Grabow says. “You’re dealing with a traffic stoppage; a traffic jam or something like that. You’re allowed to filter in the same manner, but again, of speeds not more than 15 mph.
“And when we talk about the splitting and filtering, that’s in between the two lanes. It does not apply to the shoulders — either right shoulder or left shoulder — that is not allowed.”
The Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center says, “Lane splitting and filtering cannot be performed under the following circumstances:
- At the approach, drive-through, or exit of a roundabout.
- In a school zone.
- In a work zone where only a single travel lane is available for use.
- On an on-ramp to a freeway or expressway. “
Perhaps motorcyclists in the metro will have occasion to use these new skills regularly, but except for the occasional traffic backup due to construction in the Lakes area, will local riders be able to practice these skills often enough to employ them safely?
Echo Press file photo
“It is the motorcyclist’s responsibility to determine if these maneuvers can be done safely, and do not perform them if you cannot do it safely and within the legal speed restrictions,” says Grabow. “When it comes down to it, I think most people are very safe and smart drivers but we do need to remember we are sharing the roadways with other people making a number of poor choices, whether it’s impaired driving, distracted driving, whatever. We talk time and time again about being a defensive driver so [sharing] the roadway is important, and always be aware of your surroundings.”
Minnesota State Patrol Sgt. Jesse Grabow offers the weekly Ask a Trooper column to newspapers around Minnesota, including the Echo Press.
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