While it’s legal to lane split in California, this is why there is a recommended speed differential of no more than 10 MPH.
SoCal resident and Redditor /u/Hikokimari shared headshaking dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit from earlier this week (Sept 17, 2024) showing a motorcyclist on the 105 in Lynwood, CA in Los Angeles lane splitting through slow-moving traffic at what looks like 60 MPH before rear-ending a car merging (illegally) out of an express lane.
Check out the dashcam footage below.
[OC] Motorcyclist hit by a car merging out of double solid lines. A red car is rear ended at some point.
byu/Hikokimari inIdiotsInCars
The incident happened on the 105 in Lynwood, CA near Exit 12 (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As his dashcam footage shows, traffic is slowly moving at no more than 15 MPH.
Suddenly, a motorcyclist on a high-powered bike zips between the Express Lane in Lane 1 and Lane 2 at what many other Redditors think is around 60 MPH.
While lane splitting is legal in California, CHP guidelines recommend lane splitting, “at a speed that is no more than 10 MPH faster than other traffic.”
60-15 = a 45 MPH speed differential, here. Going way too fast for what’s recommended.
Presumably, a car driving in the Express Lane illegally merges out of said lane over two sets of double solid white lines and doesn’t see the lane-splitting motorcyclist.
We only see the aftermath, the motorcyclist rear-ending the back of the merging car.
“Two idiots, both are equally at fault,” /u/CybserSolidF commented.
“Car had zero ***ing business crossing those solid lines, so is 100% at fault here.
“Biker both had zero fucking business lane splitting at that speed and also crossing those solid lines and using it for lane splitting, so also 100% at fault here.“
“Poor red car was just minding his own business…“
“Based on the length of the semi the motorcycle was going 72mph,” /u/m945050 pointed out.
It’s not clear if the motorcyclist was severely or critically injured, but we can see the rider moving around.
A witness at the scene can be seen suggesting that the rider stayed put to not exacerbate any underlying injuries.
Both the driver in the car that he hit and the rider learned valuable lessons that day.
