Oregon governor vetoes even limited lane splitting

The law was modest in scope and probably would be more accurately referred to as filtering. SB 574 would have allowed motorcyclists to split lanes on multi-lane highways when traffic was moving 10 mph or less. The motorcyclists would also have to go no faster than 20 mph and ride in a "prudent" way. Despite those limitations, the governor said she was concerned about how dangerous the practice would be.

Several previous attempts to legalize lane splitting in Oregon had failed, but this bill passed with significant majorities: 42 to 14 in the House and 18 to six in the Senate. Given those majorities, it's still possible the measure could become law. A two-thirds majority can override the veto.

The Oregon bill was similar to one passed in 2019 in Utah, which is the only U.S. state other than California to allow some form of lane sharing by motorcyclists. Even if it had become law, the Oregon bill would have had minimal impact, because of its extreme limitations. In addition to the speed restrictions, it only applied to highways with speed limits of 50 mph or higher. I know from personal experience from living in places where lane-splitting is common practice that being able to filter to the front of traffic at stop lights can be a huge time-saver and increase safety, as well, but most city streets with lights don't have 50 mph speed limits.

It's disappointing that even such a limited measure, allowing a very restricted form of a practice that is commonplace and legal in the vast majority of the world, is still considered, at all of 20 mph, dangerous behavior here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave."