Master The Art Of Lane Splitting On Your Motorcycle 

Thanks for watching and make smart choices out there! MotoJitsu.com :)

Lane splitting require alot of concentration there is no room for mistake.

Excellent explanation! I believe it’s safer when done judiciously and I’ve just now got off the freeway after negotiating heavy traffic. It will stop you getting boxed in , which is a truly dangerous situation. You have to assess every manoeuvre and be polite to motorists, even if they’re wilfully denying you room. Generally most drivers in Perth will move to give you room. Excellent advice regarding curves : just don’t do it. And as stated, they won’t hear your pipes until you’re well past.

Best explanation ever, like all your vids. Here is a little add-on to headlights, as I was told by a truck driver, example: evening traffic everyone is tired going home, looking into the mirror all driver sees is sea of headlights behind him, there is no way to quickly notice which one of those headlights is paired or not, no way to quickly determine distance between headlights. So 10mph difference as mentioned in this video actually makes even more sense now. If driver decides to cross to another lane he wont be able to notice that bike unless its immidiately behind him. This situation is even worse in cities, evening traffic, rain, lot of headlights lot of street lights, wet mirrors etc. Imagine now a bad/new car driver reversing on to the street, bike going too fast, surface is slippery... Exhausts are very ineffective, they point backward, even with open window car driver wont hear it till it blasts by at which point its already too late.

You’re very natural at teaching! Super easy to understand as an aspiring rider

Everything he said is true.. please listen and dont be another casualty. Thank you for the great video

Thanks for doing this video MotoJitsu. It is by far one of the best videos I've seen thus far about giving riders, new and experienced, advise on lane splitting. The number one thing that you pointed out that struck me was the fact that other cars don't have to move out of your way. I've been a professional driver for many years and only just recently started riding about a month ago. The first time anyone experiences a rider who rev bombs them the most common reaction is to assume that the rider is angry at the driver. Basically you'll get the same reaction as would be given to a driver who's laying on their horn. Another thing to consider is the fact that once you've made some noise by either a rev bomb or via your horn you have to give the person a chance to find you visually. Depending on what windows are open or closed the sound could reach them in a way that makes it sound like it's from a direction thats not where you're positioned. For instance if I'm in the number one lane and you are approaching on my passenger side. If the only window I've got open at all is the drivers side front, the first place I'm going to look is on the drivers side. Or worse I may assume that's where you are, panic a little and swerve to the right to avoid you. This of course would be the worst thing that I could do. However as riders we have to conduct ourselves in such a way that helps us to remain safe. We can't expect others to protect us from our own mistakes. Also, even though it's tempting, try to avoid displays of anger at drivers who maybe didn't do what you'd have prefered that they do. It's only inviting a incident of road rage. The second most relevant thing you pointed out is our speed while lane splitting. 10 MPH above the traffic you're passing via lane splitting isn't just a suggestion for new riders. It really is the upper limit of how much faster you can travel than the vehicles you're passing. And the reason for this is that at 10 MPH most bikes will take about a quarter to a half a car length to stop, or in this case slow to a matching speed. If we are already past their rear bumper with our front tire, that's not a lot of time to react if something happens that would require that we back out of the split. All it would take is for one of the two cars we are trying to pass to swerve to avoid a road hazard and the next thing you know we're eating pavement. I've seen far too many times when riders get into a zone where they think they can do no wrong and fly past cars at 20, 30, 40+mph above the flow of traffic.

Here in the Philippines its normal for us to do lane splitting due to our horrendous traffic! We breathe lane splitting, left and right :) Nice tip!

Good information. Lane splitting with hazard lights flashing. A motorcycle officer came along side me giving me thumbs up. Ride smart. Ride safe. Thanks again leather neck. GS Jim

EXCELLENT video on Land Splitting. The diagrams made it crystal clear! Thank you! :)

Hi mate - another great video, liked the point about not lane splitting if your in a mood - I’ll only do it on smaller bikes so when I’m on the r1200rt with panniers forget about it. Keep up the great work of spreading the safety message - there’s so many people who need to hear it

Awesome video FE! Definitely something I'll be referencing when the topic of lane splitting comes up. Great introduction to the concept of splitting, why it's beneficial, and how to do it safely! Keep up the good work, appreciate it as always!

I started riding my motorcycle super safe / much confident after watching your toutorials , huge thanks for that . I like your drawing , every time i throw my legs over my bike this images light up in my mind.

watching Dirtbike Lunatic videos after watching your videos just makes me realise how many of the clips sent in are the riders fault and not the car drivers.

Thank you for taking the time to teach us things that can help us prevent an accident. God bless you!!👍🏼

Thanks for the tutorial! Living in the bay area you see a lot of motorcyclists split lanes and also a lot of motorcycle accidents in lane 1. It's easy to want to do it too because it gets you to your destination faster but it really means a lot to see riders not split lanes or filter simply because they don't want to or can see it's not worth it in that moment. I will only split lanes if I've assessed the situation to be safe for it. Ride your own ride and live another day to enjoy your throttle therapy. I only hope new CA and UT riders will do the same!

I listen to your videos and I have nothing but GOOD things to say about them, and learn and learn some more...once again, your drawings are amazing and make your audience not only learn listening to your voice, but getting a visual learning effect too. Good job as always.

Thank you so much for making this video. Even tho i am from a foreign country and the laws are different. You made excellent points to help me drive safer

He said it, he said Utah! Utah never gets enough love

You’re videos are awesome. Very educational and fun to watch. One shot, no edits no bs yet not boring at all haha

Az just passed a lane splitting law. Here to grab all the knowledge. Thank you.

Excellent as always. Appreciate your ability to own your mistakes and give others the opportunity to learn from them!

Thank you for this. I am a new rider and not looking to lane split until I’m very confident and have taken a few more intermediate courses and more practice ( I practiced over a sea world parking lot did get tossed by a nice person in a golf cart after a little while) . As an aside, I know you like feed back on your vids. This is such a nit picky thing but I know you like perfection. Judgment does not have an “E” (but it does have to be developed as you allude to). Thanks again.

Good video man. Can never be too experienced to regurgitate important info that a lot of times even the so called experienced riders like to dismiss. Love your art books too. Really nails it in the coffin for visual guys like me lol

Thank you a lot to share your knowledge!! From Brasil! Here the traffic is crazy

8:07 is gold! Actually few sec before is so so true & funny but I listen to that over and over cuz it's so easy to build up egos when riding around.

In Utah it’s referred to as Lane Filtering and is only allowed at stop lights where the posted speed is 45 mph or less and all cars must be stopped before you filter between them to move up to the front. It’s still relatively new here and not all cagers are aware of the new law, but I haven’t had any issues when there was enough room to ride my big bagger between cars.

Never gonna be out of date. Love your channel and your road and life attitude toward other people

Excellent video on lane splitting. Great advice to practice quick maneuvers, like hard braking. It is important to know what your bikes limits are, how to handle the bike to do what you want it to. Riding on mountain roads will help a lot. For this you will need to learn countersteering. Be safe and always ride within your and your bikes limits.

Great video, this answered all my questions. 👍

Thanks for another great educational video. I wonder if the people that gave thumbs-down are the ones that do exactly what you said not to do. I live in PA where lane splitting is not legal but I see it all the time - and it's not done 10 miles an hour over the flow of traffic. It's done more like 30 miles an hour over the flow of traffic when cars don't expect you to come past them and never see you coming!! That kind of riding scares the crap out of other drivers. You need to be smart people.

Once again thank you for your advice I have been thinking like this since 1963 and nothing really changes This is when I started my first courses It's your Attitude that matters Regards Tony Knowler 🏍️

It's called "filtering" in the UK. We've always done it, we can do it anywhere and is part of the bike training/test. It makes sense in cities like London where there's a lot of traffic at standstill and bikes can still make progress via filtering. It's one of the big advantages in having a bike and helps overall traffic flow so I'm pleased at least some of the US is finally allowing it, the last time I was there I wasn't allowed to filter anywhere. On saying 'thanks' when someone moves out the way we generally nod in their direction rather than taking your hands off the bars to wave.

Very informative! Thank you!!

Very helpful, greetings from 🇮🇹!

My favorite thing about lane splitting in Los Angeles beyond the sheer freedom of slicing through the city during rush hour is throwing people waves!

I like your philosophy and the way of thinking. We can fix only the problem inside us, and not behave like idiots and being mad of others drivers. It seams you reed buddhist books (I also do). Congratulations for the video. It is very well explained. BIG LIKE from Bulgaria.

Thank you for this. As a noob rider (in NYC) there’s a lot of pressure to do this, esp bc most of my friends ride air cooled and I don’t. For many reasons, I opt not to most of the time unless I’m behind another rider. Hopefully I’ll feel more comfortable with it eventually, but it won’t be legal here anytime soon so 😒

Thank you! Awesome stuff

Always learning new things from your video thanks for the information.

This is a very useful and educational video. However, I live and ride in the Philippines where traffic laws are seldom followed. Lanes in fact appear to be no more than suggestions. Lane splitting is a way of life here as well as counter flow (go wrong way into incoming traffic ) as well as riding on sidewalks. Using the horn as a courtesy honk as you are passing someone while lane splitting or even passing another bike is smart move to avoid a crash. And yes, as one would imagine, crashes are common. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Good advice. As a newbie I'm only lane splitting if cars are stationary (queuing) or almost stationary and I keep checking where would be the best place to pull back in if I had to. I treat lane splitting almost like overtaking, but driving much closer to the vehicles. I only do it if I'm in a hurry or following an instructor or experienced rider (who knows my limitations) because splitting lanes means taking an extra risk. I never had a bike with hazard lights and I'm not sure if driving with them on is legal in UK: certainly there are very limited situations when you are allowed to use hazard lights in a car. I don't know how I would react to lights but I would appreciate a little loud bikes because of being taken by surprise when a bike suddenly appears "from nowhere", even if it means having seen it before it disappeared into blind spot.

I will not do lane split because It is rare that I am cool like a cucumber. Thanks for such a great video. It is not legal in Georgia but yet I have seen many riders do that at pretty high speed making so much noise that it does scare a few cars who hit their brakes.

YES ! "The Golden Rule" ! So many people don't practice this and thus, all of them miss out on how much this mentality alone, can teach you @ sooo many aspects of life ! It's literally, a "cornerstone" ! Shut up and practice "the golden rule" !

Thank you very much.. You provide Great information.

Thanks captin for continuous givings, u r great.

Got it! Watching all your videos and learning a lot!

Instructional videos that deal with behavioral psychology for motorcyclists are too rare. Your emphasis in this video is appropriately focused on personal behavior and the (often) unspoken yet necessary social contracts that exist when we live and ride in a densely populated area. Please continue to emphasize this critical aspect of situational awareness... it’s not just about discerning the direction a cars wheels are pointed. Psychological self awareness combined with empathy for your fellow travelers, is critical for hassle free riding, which is always more pleasurable for us and everyone on the road around us. Thank you for the comprehensive and wholistic approach to motorcycling that you present in these videos.

One of the best mods I did for lane splitting was a set of Headlamp Modulators - these turn your high beams into strobes during daylight hours. They are legal in all 50 states if installed properly. They must have a daylight sensor to disable the strobe feature at night or in dark conditions, and dual headlamps must have a slave function so that they blink together ('wig-wag' strobe patterns are only used by first responder or law enforcement, and not legal for any other vehicle.)

Good video, appreciate your thoughts. Not sure if you have these in the US, but a finer point in the UK is not to filter past the final car stopped at a pedestrian crossing. This rule is to reduce possible danger to pedestrians. Also I think the guidance over here is no more than 20mph faster than the traffic, and not to filter past traffic doing more than 20 (ie bike doing 40). Seems a good rule of thumb. Thanks man!

Bro, you’re cool! I learned so much from you.

Great videos Awesome Thank you very much for all information. I do learn a lot about ride with you 😃👍

This video and tips are golden. I've done some of the things as suggested on this video ''not to do'' parts when I was a totally new rider and learnt by my mistakes. I was lucky enough and got no harm. I'm being a lot more careful since then and I live in a part of the world that most of the motorcycle traffic is about lane splitting. I agree that cars give space to the ''motorcycle'' but not correct for ''scooter'', Idk why. Also If you have 'hand-guard' on you gotta be extra careful about it, I bashed many car mirrors with them, none broken tho, lol.

That lane splitting is crazy. It looks like fun though very dangerous. I suppose y'all have such a huge population their in SoCal that it helps to prevent grid lock there.

Here in South Australia it is legal for those on full licence, only when traffic is stopped and a maximum and at a max speed of 30kph (18mph). People generally move over for me but I am not allowed to lane filter because I am only a "learner". I have done it a few times when it was the safer option but I would rather break the law and not be involved in an accident.

Super helpful. Getting my first bike and live in L.A. - you mentioned newer riders shouldn't lane split, but it's also safer. When do you think is a good time to start lane splitting for newer riders?

I drive a 2 door sports car and a ninja 400 (new rider) I move the hell over for lane splitters, I don't want them touching my expensive newly bought sports car lol, and secondary; for respect to riders.

I also stop filtering if there is a significant speed delta between two lanes. more likely that someone is going to try and cut over into the faster traffic. I just get into the faster moving lane and stay there until the speeds equalize again.

Thank you, i'm 63 years old and i learn mor vith your videos

Great video 👍🏼

The Golden Rule! Yep, from a state that don't allow splitting. Thanks!

I find it amazing that a lot of these points could be considered common sense. I didn't start lane splitting after a few months of riding and around 1000 miles and most of these just seemed like basic instinct if that makes any sense. The thing I hate though is when cars (usually a truck) decides to get closer to the middle essentially blocking my path. Which I don't mind cause in the next 30 seconds ill still end up way ahead but still annoying.

Hi Eddie, enjoyed the video some helpful tips.... would you lane split and stop behind if there is already one (or even two bikes) waiting at the front or is it best just not to do so?

I was wondering on how to split lane safely these last days :D

I started riding for commuting purposes about 4 months ago and about 4K miles in. I started on the streets to get experience and build confidence, about 2 weeks after started lane splitting on the highways. Great points you share, experience is huge and it varies rider to rider. If you’re not comfortable, don’t do it. I stay within all the tips you shared, great video! Stay safe, stay alert!

Thank you 😊

I live in NSW Australia; lane splitting is only permitted below 30km/h or 18mph for freedom units.

Sometimes when I line up at a stoplight after lane splitting, the person next to me will launch and not allow me around them. I get stuck in between two cars if they both sides launch. What do you do in that situation?

I don't think cars really expect you to be between lane 1 and 2. A LOT of drivers don't even know that motorcycles can legally lane split. Some have told me that the DMV doesn't even teach this, but IDK. I do see some giving you more room, but it's really the exception.

Best job explaining lane splitting that I've seen. I live in Georgia so lane splitting doesn't affect me but I'm making the trip to California this summer so I'm brushing up on the laws so I don't get into trouble out there. As a cyclist I don't see any reason not to use all the highway to keep traffic moving but as an auto/truck driver I just can't agree with lane splitting. An auto/truck driver has a laten responsibility for other motorist ( including cyclists) safety within the scope of HIS training & abilities. We talk so much about the motorcyclist training and abilities and how he feels, his emotions and demeanor but we don't talk about the auto drivers emotions or how good a mood he's in. Having a degree of responsibility for a cyclist lane splitting loads up everybody else on the road. I'm around a lot of riders and I've noticed that a majority of them think me, me, me. As the number of riders grow I wouldn't be against dedicating a lane just for riders because trying to mix say, 30 cycles doing 30 miles per hour with maybe a hundred cars going 10 mph is asking for problems. I don't care how you powder puff it, the highways are not engineered for lane splitting. Thanks see y'all soon

Nice advice, make a video similar for turning on red a light

Good video. Mentoring... Gives me an idea. How about for each motorcycle dealership, have a mentoring program for new riders.

Some drivers don’t like lane splitters and they make block u or something worse so that’s something to take in consideration.

Bought your book. Will be practicing after I get those tiny cones.

In my country, Belgium, motorcyclists are protected by law when doing lane splitting. The rules are pretty simple for two or more lanes, where traffic flows in the same direction: 1) the space between the leftmost lane and the lane to its right must used 2) maximum speed in that space is 50 km/h 3) the maximum difference in speed with the other vehicles is 20 km/h 4) hazard lights must be turned on Other vehicles do not have to move for the motorbikes doing lane splitting, but some motorists do this anyway. By law an emergency lane has to be formed between the leftmost lane and the lane to its right during a traffic jam, and motorcyclists are then allowed to use this lane, but they obviously have to get out of the way for emergency vehicles. Unfortunately this law does not apply to the whole of Europe, as some countries tolerate lane splitting by motorcyclists, but strictly speaking it is still illegal in those European countries.

What does Calif law say about lane splitting between the HOV and #1 lane? There is a solid double yellow line separating these lanes.

I know thats not the topic but do you have some tips on how to ride when is strong wind , today i had very bad experince with the side wind it was so scary , literally moved me to the side it was so hard to keep the straight line, and to take the corners was even scarier experience.

My concern is someone opening their door because they're bitter about being stuck in traffic.

I'd only ever do this, with traffic at a dead stop. Remember too, people sometimes get out of the car, throwing the door open.

I got a question for you if you had to chose one riding course wich one would you choose. Im a bit limited in my area and maybe one of these days il pack up the truck and go for a trip.

What do you do when lane splitting at a red light, light turns green, and I don't make it all the way to the front and now I'm caught right between two cars. (not staggered)

It's crazy how it can change from place to place, here you are expected to lane split. Most bikes are bought to lane split, if you don't do it you risk being run over by a car because they expect you to go between the cars, also most drivers get very annoyed/angry about motorcyclists that stay behind cars.

Flashing headlights here in the UK will probably have somebody think you flashed them out whether or not they indicated to move. You'd probably create your own accident.

My only gripe is your max speed for lane splitting. 50 mph is 75/80 kph. We have highways where that's the max speed. The only time i wanna try that, is up to 30 km out of Assen, after a race. Then, everybody gives way. After that; not so much. In the Netherlands, lane splitting is merely tolerated, Between the most left lane and the lane to the right of it (like you mentioned), With a speed difference of 10 kph (i'll give you the mph ;)), With traffic going less than 30 kph (20 mph). Above that; blend with traffic. Be patient, Give way to gain way. Be prepared for anything, Adjust your speed, so you have time to react. Don't take anything for granted, You have no rights to that spot, Act accordingly. Nice vid overall.

When 1st lane is car pool lane then lane divider is double yellow line. What is allowed in crossing that line lane splitting on m/c in CA?

Another great video that not only should you be legally required to watch in the process of earning your m.e., but generally how to live life. I'm 99% sure every mc rider has driven a automobile prior atleast in CO it's a endorsement add-on to your dl. But probably 95% of drivers never rode a mc. How do you jump on a bike and suddenly forget the cars perspective?? Also drivers love a wave from a biker it's respect goes back to being a kid.. gotta acknowledge>:)

FYI: Lane splitting is not illegal in Missouri

I just clipped a mirror going around 40mph on the freeway and I’m so disappointed , I’ve been riding a few months and the driver veered into my travel, still my fault I could have flashed my lights braked and honked my horn. I won’t be splitting any faster than 35 mph from now on until I have more experience, has anyone had this happen? Did you stop or keep going?

"Man in the Mirror" Oh Yeh! I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you want to make the world a better place Take a look at yourself, and then make a change .....

Loud pipes save pedestrians lives they hear it think you are speeding and look and be cautious

I always keep my hands at the farthest edges of my handlebars to make sure I can fit between mirrors. If my hands look like they are going to get banged into then it is too tight. I ride 12,000 mi a year commuting in the Silicon Valley. Rain or shine.

Good video, but I disagree on 8:22 that you should wave or do a peace sign. When driving in this situation you should always have your two hands on the handlebar and fully focus on the traffic in front of you. When waving to a car behind you, you are probably distracted and only have one hand to perform emergency manoeuvres. I have seen a motorcyclist got slammed in front of mee between to lanes by a car switching lanes. It was in a split second.

Mississippi has lane splitting laws but the roads are not made for it in most places. Like my town, only one road that’s a four lane, 2 going each way.

2:50 what if the car on the right lane is red? Do the same principles apply? 🙃

Not yet 😅

Crying in non-California or Utah residency. Can't use any of these techniques or this knowledge!

AZ has lane filtering. Hopefully lane splitting soon

I should have watched this before actually starting lane splitting🤦🏻‍♀️

Can you dive a little more into running high-beams during the day? Personally I really, really don't like it when others do this. Yes, you are more noticeable, but after initially seeing a bike with high beams on I have a very hard time judging its positioning, speed and direction because I can't look right at it! For me this is true no matter if I'm in a car, pickup, bike or wearing sunglasses/tinted-visor or not. I try to get noticed by having _more_ points of light (fog/driving lights, Photo Blasters, etc), not brighter lights. I would rather other road users know where I am and what I'm doing.

If you do come to Malaysia you would be "What the fuck?" cause bikers here lanesplit at very fast pace