Sitting at light......neutral or 1st gear?

[gregor]

Again . A triple posting. Sorry.

[BoxerSteve]

Just remember that all the lights, of any hues you like, in the world, will not make a dumbass driver actually look where he's going.

Fixed it for ya.

Seriously, don't y'all think lane splitting is a safer way to go? A few years back I was visiting CA and rented a bike and had a great time. With lane splitting I never had to worry about who was coming up behind me. Does anyone know if there have been attempts to get this legalized in other states?

No doubt it is, but unfortunately in the US it is only quasi-legal in CA, and illegal everywhere else. AFAIK. Even if it was quasi-legal around here cage drivers would still hate you for it. They would think you are cheating by cutting the line; you get no special privileges just because you are on a motorcycle. Wait in line like everyone else, is the attitude.

[NoRRmad]

Boy, I'd hate to lane-split myself up to the front of the line at a light, only to find myself between two cars, wondering what to do when the light turns green; drag race hard to get in front so I could claim a lane? Let people go and look for a gap in one lane or the other? If I lane-split at a light, it's only to advance into a visible gap in one lane or the other, then pull into that lane and stop.

Neutral or first at a light? I go for neutral, clutch out to keep the tranny spinning for a quick kick to first if needed, and watch the mirrors until somebody comes to a full stop behind me.

[gregor]

Boy, I'd hate to lane-split myself up to the front of the line at a light, only to find myself between two cars, wondering what to do when the light turns green; drag race hard to get in front so I could claim a lane?

Well it doesn't seem to work that way in the UK. Most drivers are semi asleep when the lights change, so modest acceleration gets me clear. Many drivers just want bikes to get ahead and out of their way as they are afraid of them. It would take a rather high performance car to out drag even our modestly powered bikes. If someone tried it I'd not race them anyway or even want to get in their way.

[sstein]

My only fear would be to pull out and get whacked by someone running a light in the other direction. As I recall in CA, on the busier streets there were at least 5-6 bikes lined up between the cars waiting for the light to change. It seemed pretty well accepted that the bikes would shoot out ahead and the cars would follow. There never seemed to be a race between the bikes and cars for the open road.

[gregor]

[quote="sstein"]My only fear would be to pull out and get whacked by someone running a light in the other direction.

The risk would be the same of I was sitting behind the stop line at the head of my own queue/line. Our road junctions are a smaller scale version of what I've experienced in LA but a quick glance for illegal/dangerous driving always makes sense before setting off. Our highway Code advises that a green light does not mean it is safe to go.

[sstein]

The risk would be the same of I was sitting behind the stop line at the head of my own queue/line. Our road junctions are a smaller scale version of what I've experienced in LA but a quick glance for illegal/dangerous driving always makes sense before setting off. Our highway Code advises that a green light does not mean it is safe to go.

Makes sense.