If you live in the Baltimore area, you should find plenty to do. You can attend a Ravens or Orioles game, or you might go out to dinner at one of the many excellent seafood restaurants. Crabs with Old Bay seasoning are a great way to end a workweek. If you`re using a motorcycle or bike to get around Baltimore, you need to follow traffic laws to make sure the police don`t pull you over. You also risk a possible accident if you do anything illegal while you`re out riding. Lane splitting and lane filtering are activities you might see Baltimore motorcycle or bike riders attempt while cruising around. We`ll talk about both of those in the following article.
What are Lane Splitting and Lane Filtering?
Lane splitting and filtering are always dangerous and illegal, but some people might not know exactly what we mean when using those terms. Lane splitting means you`re on a motorcycle or bicycle, and you ride between two lanes of stopped or slow-moving traffic. Even if you don`t normally ride a bike or motorcycle, you`ve probably seen riders try to do this at some point.
Lane filtering is another possible motorcycle or bike rider activity. You take your bike or motorcycle and creep up between cars while you`re all sitting there waiting for a red light to change. It`s like lane splitting, except you`re moving slower.
With either activity, you`re using the smaller vehicle`s size to get you out of danger when the cars start moving again.
Why is Doing This Illegal?
If you think about lane splitting and filtering, it`s pretty obvious why they`re illegal, not just in Baltimore but anywhere else around the country. As a bike or motorcycle rider, the police still consider you to be inside a vehicle, even if what you`re riding isn`t exactly like a car. You must follow the same rules a car does, even if you`re smaller, and you can split or filter through a lane with stopped traffic.
Doing so disrupts traffic`s flow. Like a car, you need to let the other drivers predict your actions when you operate a bike or motorcycle. When you split or filter through a lane, you`re operating a vehicle erratically. You`re making it hard for the cars around you to know what you`re doing, and they might hit you.
What Happens When You Engage in Lane Splitting or Filtering?
When you operate a motorcycle or bike erratically, you make it much more likely that a car or some other larger vehicle will strike you. You`re not obeying traffic laws when you do this, and you might infuriate someone. Road rage incidents sometimes happen when car or larger vehicle operators see bike or motorcycle riders split lanes or filter through them at red lights.
During a road rage incident, someone might strike you with a fist, kick you, or even shoot or stab you if they have a weapon in the car. Such incidents happen with alarming frequency in Baltimore. You don`t want that to happen, and obeying traffic laws while on your bike or motorcycle can keep you safe.
Also, you should remember that when you`re on a bike or motorcycle, and you`re among cars and trucks, they`re much larger than you. The drivers probably aren`t in much danger if they strike your bike or motorcycle with their vehicles. You`re going to get the worst end of that. The accident might severely injure or even kill you.
If You Regularly Split or Filter Through Lanes, Stop Doing That
Nothing good happens when you engage in lane filtering or splitting. If the police see you, they can give you a ticket.
They might impound your bike or motorcycle. You`ll have to appear in court, and you`ll probably need to pay a fine. The judge might even suspend your license or sentence you to jail time if you`re a repeat offender and the court system wants to send a message.
Even if you get away with these activities without the police seeing and stopping you, you can only do it so many times before you cause an accident. If you don`t behave predictably while riding a bike or motorcycle, you can`t expect the drivers around you to behave predictably, either.
One of them might hit you by accident, or someone may get out of their car and take a swing at you. Avoiding lane splitting and filtering lets you get to your destination safely.
