Is Lane Splitting Legal in Texas?

Motorcycle Accidents

The practice of motorcyclists who zoom on past other drivers by riding between lanes and gaps are breaking the law in most states. In Texas, the practice of lane splitting, or lane sharing is explicitly illegal.

One of the only states where “white lining” is legal is California, while most states may have no laws expressly forbidding this practice, it doesn’t mean you cannot be stopped, ticketed, or in other legal jeopardy for doing it.

You need to know exactly what “lane splitting” is defined as and why it is a controversial practice. It is mostly defined as motorcyclists traveling between two lanes of vehicles that are moving in the same direction. When lane splitting, or “white lining” you may drive your bike between the vehicles while riding on the center dotted line. In most cases, you may do this when traffic is moving very slowly or stopped at a stoplight.

There have been advocates for lane splitting, and a current study from U.C. Berkley indicates that lane splitting may increase motorcyclist safety. It may reduce motorcycle accidents, by decreasing the chance that the cyclist will be rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic. The current data indicates that lane splitting is usually safe when it’s done in traffic moving slower than 50 mph, so long as you don’t drive your bike 15 mph faster than surrounding traffic. We know, however, that this is not always the case.

Remember, no matter what the data may show in other places, the practice of lane splitting is breaking the Texas traffic laws, and the penalties incurred can be severe.

Texas law does allow, however, for you to share a lane when you and your companion biker are moving in the same direction. This may be referred to as motorcyclists riding “two abreast.” In larger group rides, it is not uncommon to see many motorcyclists riding side by side in the same lane.

If you have been stopped and ticketed for this infraction, make sure you know all your rights, and contact a Hidalgo County lawyer who is familiar with current motorcycle laws. Most bikers love to ride, and you don’t want to put yourself in the position of losing that right.

What Are Some of the Penalties and Risks of Lane Splitting?

First, you can be pulled over and ticketed specifically for lane splitting in Texas. If you’re stopped by law enforcement officials, you could face a citation and a fine of up to $175.

It is important to understand that you may face other risks aside from possible citations and fines. Especially if you are weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds. Some of the potential hazards that you may face if you participate in lane splitting include:

• Car doors opening unexpectedly and causing serious injury.
• Hands or other objects coming out of car windows as you pass by.
• Vehicles turning, and not aware that you are coming.
• Vehicles changing lanes without blinkers, etc., can cause a serious accident.

As you know too well, you are the one that is protected the least, and any accident at high (or even moderate) speed may injure you permanently.

If a lane-splitting accident occurs, multiple parties could be liable depending on the situation. The driver of the car that pulled into the path of your motorcycle should have prevented the accident by checking to see if a lane change would be safe. Even if lane splitting is not legal, motorists have a responsibility to make sure their lane changes are safe.

In What Other Ways can Lane Splitting Affect Me?

As a biker, you already know that you may face significant risks on the roadways in and around Texas. You do not have the same level of protection that those inside vehicles do, and even a minor crash can result in you being seriously injured.

It is not uncommon for a motorcycle crash in Texas, due to lane splitting, to result in the following injuries to you as the rider:

• Broken and dislocated bones
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Concussions
• Open head wounds
• Spinal cord trauma with paralysis
• Other severe back and neck injury
• Internal organ damage
• Internal bleeding
• Lacerations and road rash
• Significant scarring and disfigurement
• Emotional and psychological trauma

Bikers might be responsible for an accident if they failed to operate their vehicle safely. While a motorcyclist could receive a fine for causing an accident by lane splitting, the option of extreme injury also is likely.

There are many variables in these types of motorcycle accidents, and if you’ve been ticketed, charged with causing the accident, injured, etc., contact an Edinburg motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as you can. Know your rights and options, as you and your family, can be permanently affected.

Are the Texas Lane Splitting Laws Going to Change?

Lane splitting is currently illegal in Texas, but only because there is no law making it legal for motorcyclists to move between vehicles in the same lane. The only laws dictating lane splitting are concerned within a single marked lane and to leave them only when it is safe to do so.

Since motorcycles slip by large moving vehicles while lane splitting, traffic officials consider this maneuver unsafe under the current driving laws.

Texas is in the process of legalizing lane splitting under certain conditions. If the bill is passed, then lane splitting will be legal for motorcyclists across the state. The bill will allow you, as the biker, to pass traffic at speeds no greater than five miles per hour faster than surrounding traffic. Additionally, the bill limits the speed of lane-splitting motorcycles to 20 mph. This has not been enacted yet though.

If I Have Been Ticketed, or Worse, Injured During Lane Splitting, What Should I Do?

Due to the myriad of things that can occur involving lane splitting, consulting with a Hidalgo County motorcycle lawyer as soon as possible is going to help you the most. You need to know your rights, don’t want to lose your motorcycle license or worse. Get the professional help you need and deserve.