I am aware of the new lane filtering law, although I have not read it and am not certain of the details. My nephew, a Salt Lake City Police officer, mentioned a few things:
Filtering is only legal on multiple lane roads,
Filtering can only occur at intersections with stop lights,
Filter is only allowed between vehicles stopped for a stop light, not allowed when vehicles are moving, I believe this means the motorcycle cannot pass traffic to the left or right of all lanes.
My first question is: Are the above statements correct?
I’ve witnessed three incidents, that I suspect were a result of motorcyclists misunderstanding the law:
Motorcyclist passed the car in front of me, on the right, in the bike lane, when stopped at a street light in the downtown area. The road, had only one lane in each direction. The motorcyclist and the motorist he passed almost came to blows over the incident.
Motorcyclist passed a long line of traffic, on the right, in a bike lane. The line had formed as a result of the traffic waiting for someone at the front to turn left, in the middle of a block. Again, the road has only one lane in each direction.
Motorcyclist passed my wife and I on the right, between southbound lanes of traffic on 7th East and 9th South, however, we were, as were all other lanes moving - the light had changed several seconds previously and all lanes were moving and accelerating to come up to speed. We were probably going 20 miles an hour by the time he passed us.
I’m interested in the opinions of motorcyclists on the board of these incidents.
I have also witnessed several incidents on southbound 7th East, during rush hour traffic, where motorists, who I assume are not familiar with the new law, become enraged at motorcyclists for passing them. More than once, these have nearly resulted in fistfights. I bring the subject up here, as a public service discussion opportunity. It seems to me that if more people were aware of the law, there would be less animosity. I have not seen anything (probably missed them) in the local papers, or on the local news about lane filtering, and if I’ve missed them, I assume many others have as well.
BTW - This is in no way meant as an indictment of motorcyclists. I personally have no problem with the law, and no problem with motorcycles or motorcyclists. My father, brother, and nephew were each at one point, motorcycle officers, for Salt Lake City, and lifelong motorcyclists. I road a motorcycle for many years, until a minor accident scared me away from them - not because of the motorcycle, but because of the motorists in cars who treat to motorcycles as second class vehicles. As with any group, there are those who drive safely and courteously, and those who do not.