No motorcycle lane splitting, please

Washington’s crazy highway driving nightmare will get worse if the unwise legislation currently under review as Substitute Senate Bill 5378 allows motorcycles to use the space over the white lines between adjacent cars on our already crowded highways. Imagine driving 60-70 miles per hour on a crowed highway you regularly use; now add a motorcycle trying to slip between you and the car next to you that is a short 5 feet away.

I am opposed to this bill and encourage other readers to do so. Motorcycle lane splitting is a foolish idea. I have experience with this driving danger in California and shudder to think of that hazard being forced on me as a safety-minded, Washington driver.

Encourage your district representatives and senators to not allow importing a bad idea, one that involuntarily imposes a danger on safety-minded drivers and that is easily preventable just as is the many other sensible, safety rules in Washington’s driving regulations. If you wish to comment, the deadline is before March 29. The message to the Legislature is simple, “Driving is already dangerous, do not make it more so via this unwise bill.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "No motorcycle lane splitting, please."