Riding the Line Issue #227 | Have, Traffic, It’s, Moving, Legal

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Riding the Line Issue #227

Written by Nancy Irwin
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Last year I wrote that the city of Toronto amended a traffic bylaw and now allows motorcycles to park free of charge. It was a change that seems to have sparked envy in bikers across the country who wish their own cities would follow suit. It took very little effort to enact the bylaw amendment and strangely the result has gone largely unnoticed by most GTA residents. In fact, I’d say if you don’t ride a motorcycle you probably aren’t even aware that bikers no longer pay for the privilege of parking motorcycles on the streets of Toronto. I can’t speak for everyone, but I have heard from many of my friends who have other options such as cars or trucks, and their refrain is always the same: “We don’t have to pay for parking if we go by bike.” That means unless there’s a real reason otherwise, people feel encouraged to ride, which is better for the environment as bikes guzzle less fuel than cars. FEELING ENCOURAGED TO RIDE IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING. BEING ENCOURAGED TO DO SO BY A MUNICIPAL government is unusual by anyone’s standards. This summer bikes could be seen scattered all over the place, but they were happily parked on metered streets without riders having to worry about getting tickets. It’s been delightful to just park and walk to a destination and not first have to stuff meters with coins or credit cards. It really does encourage one to ride, and I think the city would do well to promote the fact as a tourism selling-point. Can you imagine tourism brochures proclaiming that motorcycles can now park for free? When was the last time you saw anything truly welcoming for bikers? Though I see it in Port Dover on Friday the 13th, it sure isn’t common around these parts. Toronto could spread its warm feelings toward bikers and encourage people who don’t live here to visit just by declaring itself “bike friendly.” But, free parking notwithstanding, have things really changed all that much? I may save two bucks an hour on parking, but honestly, there’s not much difference—except there are perhaps fewer cars and trucks heading into the downtown core. However, looking to the future, there’s a road rule that I would change that affects bikes. They call it white lining or lane splitting. I’m not sure it’s as legal in New York City as it is in the state of California, but it’s common practice and accepted as legal in both places. What a difference lane-splitting makes to a rider stuck in traffic that’s come to a standstill. Okay, I may have just lost drivers who’ve had the frightening experience of a motorcycle whizzing by at 160 kmh while they’re driving a “mere” 20 kmh over the legal limit. But that’s something else again. I’m talking about splitting lanes when traffic has stopped or is barely moving, not about startling other drivers with a high-speed run past their car doors. Though, I suppose, if you live in the Big city you’ve grown somewhat accustomed to outrageous behaviour in traffic. The reality is that bikes on GTA streets are splitting lanes more frequently—especially when traffic is stalled, but we all have our limits of what we think is acceptable. I know I’ve passed bikes sitting frustrated in traffic, who then follow my lead. And I’ve followed others who haven’t waited as long as I might to make the move. It’s about my willingness to take the risk on one day or my following someone who’s taking it another. And the risk for me isn’t about weighing the odds of an accident. That seems no more likely than on any other day, so I don’t dwell on it. The times I do lane-split, the traffic’s moving so slowly that even if I were involved in an accident, I probably wouldn’t get hurt. My primary concern is that the police might be watching and I could end up with a ticket. My fear isn’t the act, it’s about getting caught. IN NO WAY AM I WAY PROPOSING WE LEGALIZE UNSAFE RIDING, BUT CAUTIOUSLY LANE-SPLITTING THROUGH very slow or stopped traffic on a highway or city street is actually quite safe. With cars and trucks moving less than 10 kmh it’s not as though they’re jumping out at us, or we between them. And the gaps between them are huge. By motorcycle standards, it’s a full lane. And if we travel only marginally faster than they do (and imagine they’re at full stop) you may see my point. Or you may already live in a place where this is common practice, legal or not. I’ve spent plenty of time splitting lanes in other places where it’s acceptable and legal. I don’t split in fast moving traffic. If the traffic is moving at a reasonable speed then so am I. But I do sometimes give in to the urge to keep moving when others aren’t. My bike with hard saddlebags and jugs sticking out horizontally is about as wide as motorcycles get—and there’s still plenty of room between lanes. Other places where there’s plenty of room are on downtown streets during rush hour, when we can easily slip up on the right side when the light is red. We end up at the head of the pack, waiting and ready to pounce when the light turns green. It only makes sense. Or does it? There have been incidents where a rider has slipped in front of a stopped vehicle—say a high-cabbed gravel truck—and has not been noticed by the driver, who promptly floors it when the light flips to green. If the rider is slow taking off when the light changes, he could get rolled over by the truck behind him. It’s happened before, so if you’re going to take advantage of your motorcycle’s size and mobility by moving to the front of the line, you’d better be prepared to move quickly when the light changes. I’m sure this is a divisive issue with many varying opinions. I’d like to hear your thoughts and experiences. What would it take to legalize white lining—lane-splitting—in Canadian cities or congested areas? How was it that it became legal in California? While bikers in the rest of Canada’s big cities are trying to figure out how to get free parking, I’m wondering how to legalize riding the line. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.