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It seems new lane-filtering legislation pops up every year in one or more states, and this year it's Arizona (where a bill has made at least a little progress) and Virginia.
In the Arizona Senate, the Transportation and Technology Committee passed SB1273 on Monday. It's only a first step, as the bill still has to go through the full Senate, the House and to the governor. But if it passes, it will no doubt bring welcome relief for riders stuck in Phoenix traffic, especially on 110-degree days, by making lane filtering legal under certain circumstances.
If you’re new to these terms, lane splitting allows motorcycles to ride between moving or stopped traffic within certain limits. Lane filtering is a milder alternative to lane splitting that allows motorcycles to move between stopped or nearly stopped traffic, such as moving to the front of traffic at stop lights. The United States is one of the few countries where lane splitting is not legal, although efforts to change that have increased over the last few years with limited success.
SB1273 is another step forward for supporters of lane filtering and lane splitting, whose organized efforts in multiple states have reduced restrictions on motorcycles in traffic. Arizona’s neighbor, Utah, made headlines in 2019 when it adopted lane filtering, and Montana legalized filtering in March of last year. In fact, large western states lead the nation in legislation allowing lane filtering and lane splitting by motorcyclists. Oregon came close to legalizing filtering last year, but the bill was stopped by the governor's veto.
The allowed filtering described in Arizona SB1273 is practically identical to Utah’s. Riders in Arizona would be able to filter to the front on multi-lane roads (so they're riding in between two lanes going in the same direction) where the speed limit is 45 mph or less and surrounding traffic is stopped. Lane-filtering riders must go no faster than 15 mph.
Arizona legislators have presented similar bills in the past without success. It remains to be seen if it can progress further this year, but at least it has been approved by the committee.
Meanwhile, in Virginia...
Tucked between legislation that would allow golf carts on local streets in Virginia, filtering bill HB838’s fate will be decided soon. If passed, it would permit lane filtering in stopped or slowed (10 mph or less) traffic on highways with at least two lanes of traffic in each direction. Filtering motorcycles would not be able to travel faster than 20 mph. Unlike the Arizona bill, this proposal would allow riders to filter while traffic is slowed, not just when stopped. Anyone who has traveled the Capital Beltway will be familiar with these conditions.
The Virginia bill is the latest in a trend towards Utah-style lane filtering over California-style lane splitting. This popular compromise allows motorcyclists to move through the worst parts of traffic, but it still keeps a short leash on riders compared to the lane splitting found around the world.
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