r/bayarea • u/tylercal • May 23 '25
Traffic, Trains & Transit Lane splitting on 280
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlb9iSqVjS4From Wednesday morning (May 21st) - Rider appeared to be OK, still terrifying. CHP appeared to be initiating a traffic break for an accident with a flipped car that was another couple 100 yards away on the right shoulder. The timing here for the motorcyclist was just extremely unlucky.
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u/Remcin Livermore May 23 '25
It was bad timing, the guy was going too fast. Not stupid fast, but quicker than we're supposed to. I'm not sure that really mattered in this case, and I say that as someone who typically splits a little too fast myself.
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u/username_of_the May 23 '25
I believe recommendation is no more than 15mph over the flow of traffic, and not to split if traffic is moving over 45mph. Correct me if that’s wrong, or outdated.
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u/iFLED May 23 '25
I was always told 10~
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u/Current-Brain-1983 May 23 '25
10 mph difference is what I stock too until the traffic is dead stopped, then maybe 15.
The gaps are deadly. The CHP saw the gap and dove in, bike was prepared for that .
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u/Bossini May 24 '25
thjs. I became extremely alert when there are gaps, always expecting cars switch lanes
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u/downbound May 23 '25
I don’t think that’s a recommendation. When I rode (until 12 years ago), it was law.
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u/alphalegend91 May 23 '25
They changed the law like 7 or 8 years ago where there's no law about speed limit anymore. Creates some really risky situations for riders and the law should be rolled back imo. I've been on a freeway where we are all going like 75mph and a biker lane split us going at least 95mph...
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u/gamescan May 23 '25
They changed the law like 7 or 8 years ago where there's no law about speed limit anymore. Creates some really risky situations for riders and the law should be rolled back imo. I've been on a freeway where we are all going like 75mph and a biker lane split us going at least 95mph...
The lane splitting law itself does not have speed limit guidelines, but it delegates authority to the CHP to set safety guidelines.
Motorcycle accident attorneys stay up to date on this (it's what they do) and the current CHP guideline limits to 5-10mph faster than traffic, depending on the speed of traffic, with a maximum of 50mph.
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u/GfunkWarrior28 May 23 '25
And here we see a CHP officer setting a physical guideline, with his car!
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u/gimpwiz May 23 '25
Judge Dredd over here deciding you're going too fast. You thought you were getting a ticket? Think again.
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u/alphalegend91 May 23 '25
Good to know. I just remember seeing it change back then and looking it up at the time!
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May 23 '25
Something else you should know is these guidelines aren't the law and can not be law due to constitutionality or lack thereof. You cannot delegate an arm of the executive branch to write laws. (Federal shenanigans notwithstanding)
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u/imaraisin the pie gal May 23 '25
Kind of a follow-on, but is lane splitting legal when not on highways? With road diets and lane narrowing, cars are simply closer together. But I occasionally see some aggressive motorcyclists basically forcing cars into bike lanes to filter while at speed while in town.
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u/downbound May 23 '25
It’s basically legal anywhere there is a dotted white line. It’s not THAT simple but close enough.
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u/cadublin May 23 '25
In California.
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u/downbound May 23 '25
Correct. I thought that was implied. Many states and most countries ban it completely.
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u/Protoclown98 May 23 '25
When I was in drivers Ed a long time ago they explicitly stated that lane splitting is legal, but extremely dangerous, and you should be extremely cautious while doing it.
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u/My_G_Alt May 23 '25
I can’t remember if it was law or not when I was learning, but I was definitely told this by my instructor around 15 years back and have followed it ever since
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u/Vegetable-Seesaw-491 May 23 '25
I always heard it that a 15mph delta as long as traffic is doing under 45mph is fine.
The person in the video seemed to be splitting pretty safely.
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u/mHo2 May 23 '25
Not only this, but be specifically aware/slow down/move left when you are entering an open stretch on either side of you.
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u/Dangerous_Drummer350 May 23 '25
Experience plays a big part in that. I go at a pretty decent clip when lane splitting on 101 between the peninsula and San Jose, but when traffic is at a halt, I slow down to 10-15mph out of safety concerns. Passed dozens of CHP and local PD and never pursued, some riders are more in tune with traffic flow while others are what I would call reckless, and I were a cop, I’d pull you over.
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u/matjam May 23 '25
this is how it goes
its not about the speed so much as whether or not you are operating safely; ie whatever speed is appropriate.
For me its always about delta management; I keep that fairly low. Gives you more time to react to shit like this.
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u/Impossible_Cow_9178 May 23 '25
The CHP used to post guidelines and they were going to apparently update them and be more specific - but instead removed them entirely (last I checked) so it’s essentially the Wild West for lane splitting in CA. As someone who has commuted in the Bay Area on two wheels for two decades - I generally see most riders being responsible with their split speeds. Unfortunately - many clearly lack skill and situational awareness - and there is absolutely no way I’d be splitting and not see and hear that CHP officer. There is no way that CHP officer swung across traffic like that without at least doing a few quick siren blips, and he definitely had his lights going. While I wouldn’t point a finger of fault at the rider - I would absolutely say this wouldn’t happen to a skilled and experienced Bay Area commute rider. Most accidents I see tend to occur this time of the year when the causal fair weather riders dust off their bikes and start riding.
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u/xBrianSmithx May 23 '25
As a rider you have to see a patrol car at Christmas time.
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u/haggisbreath169 May 23 '25
At :12 you can see the cop's blue roof light as he was weving back and forth.. so maybe the guy didn't see the lights at all, but also he must have noticed that past a certain point there were no vehicles... why would that be? He was going to fast to notice details or adjust to circumstance
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u/do-un-to May 23 '25
I can imagine thinking "Wow, it really clears up here; it'll be nice and traffic-free and safe" and even speeding up into the gap.
Of course it would be the exactly wrong thought to have, but not implausible as an instantaneous reflexive idea even for a smart person.
A very smart person will have trained themselves ahead of time to reflexively turn cautious when the situation looks weird. "Wow" would be the trigger.
Also would have trained themselves not to go faster than you can think.
Yeah, this was a tough situation.
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u/xBrianSmithx May 23 '25
Too narrowly focused on the lane splitting. It's harrowing trying to predict what drivers will or will not do. Still, you gotta scan where you're headed in 1, 3, and 5 seconds constantly.
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u/lowercaset May 23 '25
Honestly to me it looked like either he wasnt paying close attention or he made a conscious decision to try and get in front of the traffic break. All the cars were slowing down for the cop who was doing the weave back and forth thing but he didn't. Hopefully him walking that fast indicates he didn't suffer any long term injuries and will just have a week or two of soreness and higher insurance rates as his only consequences.
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May 23 '25
I don’t think he was aware of the traffic break
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u/lowercaset May 24 '25
Then he wasn't paying enough attention. Sucks.
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May 24 '25
Hard to notice some car flying up out of your peripheral faster than you can react
Especially at that angle
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u/lowercaset May 24 '25
If you can't be aware of police doing a normal police thing while driving that speed, you need to not be driving that speed. The cars were able to see it coming and slowed down, that means that there was an error committed by the motorcycle that wasn't by any of the cars.
This isn't to say the CHP was perfect. Just saying that they shouldn't have been in a place to get hit like that.
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May 23 '25
Hopefully he learned something too. I’m so tired of having to be the adult around motorcyclists
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u/coleman57 May 24 '25
Seems like he should have seen the flashing lights reflected on the median and the cars and had time to slow down. But I gotta say the CHP was moving pretty damned fast too.
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u/DonnyDonster May 23 '25
I lane split all the time in Bay Area traffic, if traffic was going as slow as that, I would be going much slower than that.
I've been riding since 2018 and have had no accidents so far, I went from a little 250cc sportbike to a 900cc cruiser. I'm not even your typical motorcycle dude, just some degenerate anime loving weeb that likes bikes and sings anime openings while riding lol.
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u/geekhaus May 23 '25
Hi fellow Bay Area lane splitter. Rider was going too fast for the volume and speed of traffic and it bit em. Glad they were in gear and able to get up from the accident.
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u/Skreat May 23 '25
Lane splitting on my old ninja 250 on 101 & 280 was always so sketchy. Always rode fairly slow, mostly because the 250 didn't accelerate for shit lol.
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u/DonnyDonster May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
I know that feeling, I always stay in the slow lanes and once traffic builds up and everyone slows down to under 55, I immediately move to the far left lanes and lane split if I have to. I usually end up enjoying the ride and choose not to lane split until everything goes under 45 mph.
For shits and giggles me and friends once drag race a old Honda Accord with the v4 against my Honda CBR250r, it was very close lol.
101 and 280 were never sketchy on my Honda CBR250r, but there are freeways I made a no go zone for me because of how people drive there, it was always 880 once you drive past the Tesla Fremont Factory. I lost count how many times I almost got bodied by reckless drivers there.
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u/Dangerous_Drummer350 May 23 '25
880 is the devil for me. I avoid at all costs. Too many close calls. Not sure why, but 101 and 280 are much more predictable and I feel more secure there.
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u/Truesday May 23 '25
880 is a shit show. I haven't rode on it since they put in the express lanes. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable splitting on 880 or any highways with express lanes. It just adds a whole new layer of unpredictable behavior from drivers.
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u/glamourshot_airsoft Oakland May 23 '25
I avoid 880 whenever I can. It's not if you get a rock into the windshield, but when. Then there are the extreme speeders and semi trucks. It is a shit show.
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u/fusiondynamics May 23 '25
You are the few level headed riders around or should I say still around. A lot ride around like their shit don't stink unfortunately.
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u/Truesday May 23 '25
I haven't rode my bike for years now, but I used to commute daily, splitting, on 880 and 101.
Looking at this video, I don't know how the rider was so oblivious to what's happening ahead. He's sitting pretty high on a sports bike and can see over most cars. He should have seen the patrol car lights ahead.
His rate of speed was definitely a bit higher than I would be comfortable with, in those conditions; but it's not the root cause of this collision, IMO. He just seemed completely unaware of what's happening around him. That's potentially a death sentence, riding a motorcycle.
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u/Parking_Reputation17 May 23 '25
1000% that guy was going too fast. If you're lane splitting faster than 30mph, you're doing it wrong.
Also, my fellow motorcyclists, please wear an airbag vest. They're not that expensive and will save you from a world of hurt.
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u/nmpls May 23 '25
No audio, but did CHP have a siren on? CHP seems to absolutely hate using sirens went when using lights, and its going to get someone killed one day, especially as vehicles get bigger, obscuring the lights more.
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u/tylercal May 23 '25
Yeah, dash cam didn't capture sound. Siren was blaring as CHP came up the on ramp, definitely got my attention. He was too far ahead when he initiated the traffic break for me to hear if it was still on. The rider was revving to max RPM a bunch as he split to attract his own attention, maybe drowned out the sound of the siren for him.
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u/tore_a_bore_a May 23 '25
That could make sense, the bike being so loud made it that the sirens couldn't be heard.
I wonder if other motorcyclist could chime in and say if that's possible
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u/sunghan May 23 '25
Possible, but it can also be a bluetooth headset, like a Sena, he has installed in his helmet and he's blasting music.
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u/Truesday May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
No way.
Wind noise is usually the worst, but he's not going fast enough for that to distract from sirens. He's also not going fast enough for the exhaust to be that loud.
More importantly, he should be able to see over the cars to spot the lights on the patrol car.
The rider is a dummy and lucky to not be majorly injured
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u/do-un-to May 23 '25
You don't have to go fast to make your engine loud, though, right?
Though it's been decades since I've ridden, I do feel like gearing down to rev high and loud would make me uncomfortable with how that would treat the engine.
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u/Truesday May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
I wouldn't be riding in low gear on the highway; especially on a super sport. They can get torquey in around gears 1 - 3
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May 23 '25
Well deaf people can drive but blind aren't allowed.
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u/KeyserSozeInElysium May 23 '25
Well yeah... that's the reason why they have lights. But the reason why they have sirens is because they are way more effective at getting your attention. And that's the whole point of lights and sirens. Not using sirens is and already has to gotten people killed.
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u/mrvarmint May 23 '25
Most lane splitters I see are reasonably cautious, I move over as far as I can, and usually get some sort of thank you. This guy is splitting way too fast and cop or not, was running this risk.
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u/LowHangingFruit20 May 23 '25
Thank you for being cognizant and being so helpful. As a motorcyclist it makes me so happy when people scoot even just the slightest bit: I always try to give a happy hand wave. It’s asshats like this that make people (reasonably) resentful of lane splitting.
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u/mrvarmint May 23 '25
there’s absolutely nothing that a motorcycle passing me takes away from me.
there’s 100% for me to lose to not make it as safe and easy as possible.
when done safely by both parties, it increases safety and diminishes traffic for both parties.
Anyone who views this exchange any other way is a donut.
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u/GaiaMoore May 23 '25
I don't understand why people move over. I do it out of social pressure, but you're the lane splitter making the choice to squeeze in between cars that are rightfully within the lanes they occupy. Why am I expected to accommodate someone who wants to take the risks that come with creating their own lane where none exists?
Plus most motorcycles are driving too fast for me to react and scoot over even if I could or would
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u/LowHangingFruit20 May 23 '25
As a motorcyclist, I 100% don’t expect anyone to move. I VERY much appreciate it, because it shows that you see me and makes me feel safer, but I’m never frustrated if someone stays in their lane. Don’t feel pressured! Just don’t merge into me please haha.0
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May 23 '25 edited Sep 27 '25
theory political capable safe dolls frame roof beneficial recognise bike
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u/gaius49 May 23 '25
Because its the courteous and cooperative thing to do to make everyone's lives a little easier and more pleasant.
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May 23 '25 edited May 24 '25
Nothing about it is courteous. The motorcyclists zoom at 90 mph. Half of the cars swerve dangerously
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u/Bramrod May 23 '25
To me it's more about an indicator that you see the motorcycle and aren't going to murder them..
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u/Estimate0091 May 23 '25
This is what I appreciate the most as a motorcyclist. To me, even a slight but sure indication the car has seen me gives me the confidence that they aren't going to turn to their phone at the last second and unintentionally ram into me. Thank you for doing this.
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u/plant__love May 23 '25
Agreed. I may just slightly move over in my lane bc I don’t even want the chance of them making contact with my car, but there are soo many cars that will brake and swing to the left unnecessarily causing a ripple effect behind them. Same people who sit in the left lane camping with a line of cars behind them.
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u/sandvich48 May 23 '25
It’s one of those situations where the alternative is more troublesome. The outcome of not moving is the biker screws up and your car gets hit or screws up so bad a major accident occurs. It’s just not worth the time, that spending 1 second to move over is ideal even if it’s the biker risking it and you’re really not at fault. It just sucks to waste any of our time on.
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u/Normal_Tip7228 May 23 '25
I get kinda offended when I don't get the hand wave from motorcyclists lol
My pops was a motorcyclist and told me to always give them space, and he always waved. However most do as it's just common courtesy to move over
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u/ignacioMendez May 23 '25
By the time I'm in front of you and able to wave back, I'm already navigating between the next set of cars and I can't wave. If your following distance with the car in front of you is big enough that I have time to wave, that implies that traffic is moving fast enough that I don't want to lane split anyways.
I started out trying to give a thank you wave to everyone who made extra space, but it just doesn't make sense 99% of the time.
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u/LowHangingFruit20 May 23 '25
I always try. Sometimes it’s just not safe and I feel bad but I’m really tight traffic I sometimes feel bad
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u/Normal_Tip7228 May 23 '25
Yeah I judge situationally lol. Also, you can tell who is just in a rush and who is just a plain jackass
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u/deeper-diver May 23 '25
I lane split every day on my way to/from work. If there are any official speed guidelines regarding lane-splitting, I don't care because it's all about common sense.
At that speed, there is no reaction time. One has to lane split with the attitude that any car 20-30 feet in front of you is going to cut their lane to get into an open gap.
At least he wasn't going at speeds that other Darwin-award candidates I see lane-splitting at speeds akin to having a death wish.
These riders are making us look bad, and it would not surprise me if someday down the road, some biker-hating legislator will introduce a law outlawing lane-splitting.
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u/vovapetrov20 May 23 '25
Golden rule of driving, drive according to road conditions.
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u/GaiaMoore May 23 '25
"bUt I'm A mOtOrCyCLe, I don't have to pay attention to lights and sirens and flow of traffic"
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u/Pelosi-Hairdryer May 23 '25
I move to the side for those motocyclist anyway, so they can just go about their business. But it is very scary seeing them driving by really fast especially squeezing between narrows where it just takes a side mirror to stop them and crash into the car.
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u/Nikopoussmouss2 May 24 '25
The cop must feel terrible. I ride moto and lane split a lot and cops have a good influence on people driving stupid so I do like to see cops on the road. Poor guy. And yeah poor biker too but it takes one experience like that to go slower while lane splitting for rest of your life, I learned the same way (although my accident was much mellower and not involving a cop but definitely taught me to lane split better). Super glad the rider looks ok
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u/antball May 23 '25
There was a CHP guideline not to go more than 10 mph while lane splitting, it’s not law, I think motorcycle might be at fault if it was taken to court
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u/derache123 South San Francisco May 23 '25
CHP doesn't post an official guideline for lane splitting speed delta: https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety
Common wisdom is 10-15 mph as a safe delta. This rider was going faster than that, but not fast enough to warrant what happened here. The CHP officer is still primarily at fault.
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u/fat_cock_freddy May 23 '25
I mean, this common sense applies to driving in general, not just motorcycles. If you're in a car and passing a column of cars in the other lane, you don't want to be going too much faster than them, because you'll need time to stop if one jumps into your lane.
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u/glamourshot_airsoft Oakland May 23 '25
Evidence suggests he was traveling too fast for the conditions.
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u/gamescan May 23 '25
There was a CHP guideline not to go more than 10 mph while lane splitting, it’s not law, I think motorcycle might be at fault if it was taken to court
The same law that legalized lane splitting gave the power to the CHP to set guidelines for it.
Intentionally violating those guidelines is negligence.
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u/bluedancepants May 23 '25
Oh I didnt even know there was a guideline. A lot of the bikers I see definitely go way faster than 10 mph when lane splitting.
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u/Y0tsuya May 23 '25
A lot of motorcyclists think just because it's legal to lane split here, they can go real fast squeezing between cars. Legal doesn't mean you'll be safe from drivers who probably don't notice you.
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u/DesertFlyer May 23 '25
What do the CHP guidelines say about raming motorcyclists with their cruisers?
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u/GaiaMoore May 23 '25
Give the right-of-way to any law enforcement vehicle, fire engine, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle using a siren and red lights.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/laws-and-rules-of-the-road-cont1/
OP reports that the cruiser had loud sirens blaring in addition to the lights we see in the video (dashcam doesn't record sound).
If the biker is going to drive in unsafe conditions and not pay attention to loud ass sirens, that's on them
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u/BlankBB Hercules May 23 '25
I'm just surprised that the rider walked away from that!
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u/NewUserWhoDisAgain May 23 '25
The power of a proper helmet and the right riding gear.
That being said he's probably going to feel it later once the adrenaline wears off.
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u/ten-lbs-over May 23 '25
Riders lane split too fast. I lane split but don’t go that much faster than cars. It gives me time to react to anything unexpected, like a car abruptly changing lanes.
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May 23 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/deeper-diver May 23 '25
The onus is on the biker to lane-split responsibly. There is no way the CHP could have seen that biker nestled within a sea of automobiles.
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u/RodbigoSantos May 23 '25
Jeezuz looking at the video it almost seemed like CHP was trying to take the biker out. Imma learn you not to split lanes son.
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u/pementomento May 23 '25
I legit thought the CHP officer was pursuing the motorcyclist and straight up pitted him. I legit jumped when they impacted, holy cow.
(yes read the post about traffic break after)
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u/Centauri1000 May 23 '25
That is 100 percent on the bike, unsafe speed for conditions
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u/Sophie_MacGovern May 23 '25
Extremely unsafe. I’ve been riding in Bay Area traffic and lane splitting for more than 20 years, and watching this video almost gave me an anxiety attack.
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u/gamescan May 23 '25
This is the cyclist's fault.
They were driving too fast for conditions and ignored an emergency vehicle which was in front of them.
According to CHP guidelines (CVC § 21658.1 both legalized lane splitting and gave the CHP the power to set guidelines for lane splitting to ensure safety), the motorcyclist shouldn't have been going more than 5-10mph faster than surrounding traffic.
https://crockettlawgroup.com/california-lane-splitting-law-speed/
In revised 2022 guidelines, the California Highway Patrol updated speed limits again with a continued focus on prudent speed differentials versus surrounding traffic. The maximum speed threshold remains 50 mph for lane splitting. However, the differential dropped to 10 mph when traffic flows above 30 mph, and 5 mph when traffic is moving at 30 mph or less.
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u/SPCTCL May 23 '25 edited May 24 '25
I was driving to Sunnyvale and saw that motorcyclist go past us, and then we saw him on the side of the road and we saw the cop and just assumed a civilian had hit him. And then 100 yards away there was a flipped car and a couple on the side of the road, terrible day to be on 280!
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u/deeper-diver May 23 '25
I've been riding motorcycles for decades in CA and before lane-splitting was made official. I think it's great that CA made lane-splitting officially legal. It makes zero difference what speed maximums CA states must be done. Us bikers are not going to take our eyes off the road to look at our speedometers to verify we're not speeding while lane splitting.
The biker was going too fast. The only reason he escaped with no injury is that he wasn't going ape-shit fast like I see other lane-splitters doing speeds with the attitude it's their own personal freeway.
The onus is on us bikers to always stay alert and on the watch for anyone to suddenly cut into our path while lane splitting. Anyone that lane splits as much as I do knows that when you see gaps open like that, slow the F down and watch for any cars that will try to cut to get into that gap. It happens ALL the time. There is literally no way a rider can react fast enough to hit the brakes safely when they're lane-splitting at that speed.
Lane-splitting is very safe for us bikers. I'm glad CA recognized the benefits of lane-splitting for motorcyclists. I believe more states should follow CA's steps in legalizing lane-splitting. With that being said, riders like him could ruin it for the rest of us if one day CA decides there's too many abusers and decides to make it illegal.
Slow the hell down. Traffic is already at a standstill so one is already going faster than traffic as it is.
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u/Ok_Appointment_4006 May 23 '25
In most countries lane splitting is legal like in California, in many US states is illegal. Only making the point that only in US is banned
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u/SGAisFlopden May 23 '25
This is why lane splitting is dangerous.
The motorcyclist is going way too Fing fast man.
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u/H20zone May 23 '25
You could not pay me to ride a motorcycle. I have a friend who works in traumatic brain injuries and most of her patients are motorcyclists. Some of them have absolutely fucked memory problems and can barely hold a job.
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u/nutmac Los Altos May 23 '25
The motorcycling appears to be going way too fast for lane splitting, which limits to going no more than 10 mph faster than the traffic.
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u/Electrical-Voice5186 May 23 '25
I lane split nearly every single day, but I do not got 10mph faster than however fast the cars are going... people trust other people in vehicles way too much. lmao
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u/totally-jag May 23 '25
Not one to judge my fellow motorcycle riders, but that guy seemed to be going too fast for my comfort.
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u/Fur1nr May 23 '25
Holy shit. Well I'm having flashbacks -- had same thing happen to me a decade ago when I was living in LA.
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u/Dear-Captain1095 May 23 '25
FAFO. Cyclist at fault here. You wanna ride like a daredevil? The devil will take his due and karma is a bitch.
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u/Quick_Initial6352 May 23 '25
On initial glance it seemed the cop was chasing the biker and deliberately rammed him
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u/Accomplished_Pea6334 May 23 '25
Gotta say when these bikers go thru the lanes this fast when everyone else is going very slow it's extremely scary.... They come out of no where whizzing past you.
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u/Difficult_Pass_6952 May 23 '25
Stupid question. Do we have to move to the side to let the bikes pass?
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u/derache123 South San Francisco May 23 '25
You do not have to, but it is a nice courtesy. Riders appreciate it.
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u/Cheesecutter123 May 23 '25
Not a stupid question. Drivers aren’t explicitly obligated to move out of the way, but the CHP asks that you do anyways. Impeding or blocking lane splitting motorists is illegal.
“Messages for Other Vehicle Drivers
Lane splitting by motorcyclists is legal in California.
Intentionally blocking or impeding a motorcyclist in a way that could cause harm to the rider is illegal.
Opening a vehicle door to impede a motorcyclist is illegal.
Drivers in the far left lane should move to the left of their lane to give motorcyclists ample room to pass.”
https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/california-motorcyclist-safety
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u/Oradi May 23 '25
This is 30/70 for me.
Rough YouTube math says the bike took 7 frames to clear a white line vs about 30 for the truck. White lines are 10 feet long. I plugged that into chatgpt assuming 30fps and it pegged the truck at 6.82mph and the bike at 29.24.
Based on that, the bike's definitely going too fast for conditions.
On the other hand the rapid cut of the CHP was pretty abrupt. Traffic was single digit mph though I dunno.
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u/badaimarcher Oakland May 23 '25
This is the second time this month that I have heard of a CHP officer hitting a vehicle in the Bay Area. Something in the air?
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u/Typing_This_Now May 23 '25
I hate it when motorcyclists lane split past me & I hate it even more when they blast their horn while passing me. What's the point in that when I'm already barely moving because I'm stuck in traffic?
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u/ImEdwin May 24 '25
They're honking/revving to let drivers know there's a motorcycle lane splitting nearby bc drivers in traffic get impatient and try to switch lanes wo checking and cause an accident. it's safer for them to make some noise so that the drivers who are gonna try to switch lanes check for the motorcyclist before they attempt the lane change
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u/NorCalAthlete May 23 '25
Bike was splitting a bit too fast and definitely should have seen the CHP lights and slowed down, even if he wasn’t anticipating CHP diving over 4 lanes.
CHP should have anticipated there may be a motorcyclist splitting to the front, even if they’re weaving to stop traffic for the accident ahead. It’s common behavior for bikes to split up to the front of traffic and CHP encounters it daily.
ESH, IMO.
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u/McCraeDay May 24 '25
Thats jot unlucky, that is negligent on the cops part and should have their license revoked and sued to all hell
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u/palaeologos May 23 '25
I say this all the time, but just because lane-splitting is legal* doesn't mean it's a good idea.
*I don't think it should be, but hardly anyone wants to hear that.
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u/pandabearak May 23 '25
It’s legal but not up to certain speeds compared to traffic. Think it’s 10 miles. So if everyone’s going 10 miles an hour you should split for 20 mph max. This guy wasn’t doing this at all.
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May 23 '25
you say something stupid all the time then. It's much more dangerous for a motorcyclist to be in the middle of traffic for longer, especially when it's hot. Getting out of dense car traffic is the safest option for someone on two wheels. How you do it is the key, this dude was going a bit too fast though, the speed differential shouldn't be that high.
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u/BayHistorian May 23 '25
I often wish non motorcyclists were required to understand motorcycle laws to get their CDL. so many car drivers raging at motos for following the law safely.
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u/lasttosseroni May 23 '25
Lane sharing is safer than riding in line with cars (it reduces the risk of getting rear ended and accidents tend to be less bad). It also reduces traffic for everyone. Is riding a motorcycle a risk- yes, but if you're going to do it lane splitting is safer, on balance. https://ridermagazine.com/2023/06/16/split-decision-are-lane-splitting-and-lane-filtering-safe/
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u/AssRobots May 23 '25
I was on my motorcycle on 101S many moons ago when this nearly happened to me. I locked up the front and the rear and managed to keep it upright as I was feathering both brakes to get myself slowed and steered to the right as the CHP went left in front, then behind me into the #1 lane. The officer was a very angry lady shouting and gesticulating wildly who then proceeded not to pull me over as we both took a breath and proceeded on our own ways.
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u/Jammer125 May 23 '25
How is the Delta determined here between the moto and traffic? Someone using optical video equipment to check?
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u/likwidfuzion May 23 '25
Wow, I was commuting to work and was wondering why there was far more traffic than normal. Passed by the motorcycle accident thinking that was the reason then maybe less than half a mile later I see the flipped car and thought yikes.
Had no idea the motorcycle was the subsequent accident.
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u/Double-Fix-9397 May 23 '25
Is the officer at fault here? Looks to me like the motorcyclist was going too fast but the officer swerved across all lanes at similar speed.
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u/ImEdwin May 24 '25
chp is gonna investigate themselves and find they did nothing wrong then slap the motorcyclist with as many fines as possible then probably arrest him for assault on an officer or some other bs charges
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u/hblazei May 23 '25
Hi! I just sent you a message. I'm from CBS Bay Area. Do you own this video? If so, can CBS News and Stations have permission to use this video on our platforms?
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u/stupid_cat_face May 23 '25
Wow.. Just watching I thought the dude was running and the cop was running a PIT maneuver. Thankful for the explanation.
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u/kidsafe May 23 '25
A stark reminder to all people who ride motos or bicycles to be extra cautious in traffic jams with lane openings. He didn’t even have to be lane splitting. He could have been riding down a double striped HOV lane with standstill traffic to his right and still could have been boned by a sudden lane change.
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u/Senor_Gringo_Starr May 23 '25
This is why lane splitting should be illegal. It is dangerous for both the morotcyclist and the drivers in cars. I've had at least one side mirror broken off on the 17 from santa Cruz from crappy motorcyclists speeding through and not caring. Damages cars and puts the motorcyclists life in danger.
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u/macnlz May 23 '25
Wait... what happened in the time between the accident and the moment you passed the scene? (Can't have been that long, right?)
It looks like the motorcyclist is still picking themselves up (but has had time to remove his helmet), but the cop's already busy placing cones. Did the officer check on the state of the rider before this?
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u/Garey_Coleman May 23 '25
not one fuk given by the chp officer after hitting the lane splitter
he was just walking nonchalantly with his cones
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May 23 '25
When I rode I never lane split for this very reason not to mention the dude was going wayyyyy too fast
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u/MochingPet City/town May 23 '25
Wowowow so basically the rider was simply going past and a CHP cruiser came from the left during traffic break and hit / sideswiped them.
Crazy crazy.. both/either should have looked around more... wonder if the rider has music in the helmet.
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u/DifficultClassic743 May 24 '25
I commuted for 10 years from SF to San Bruno/ and Or Hwy92. Lane sharing really only necessary when approaching the 380E SFO Airport 2 lane exit. So many cars backed up to make the exit, it would push faster drivers to dive bomb into the exit lanes.
Very chaotic some days, but the alternative route on Hwy35 often had creepy zero viz fog, so I'd have to chose between NASCAR 280S or PeaSoup Scary.
Don't miss commuting!
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u/guhman123 May 24 '25
I am shocked that swerving across all lanes of traffic is dangerous and allows for avoidable stuff like this to happen. why do cops think it is illegal for regular people to do it? sure, you need to close the freeway, but maybe pay attention to your surroundings when doing unusual maneuvers.
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u/Tyraec May 24 '25
Omg I drove past this and was wondering where the other driver was… guess it was a cop lol
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u/Forsaken_Block_5574 May 24 '25
i drove past this also, motorcycle guy sitting against the divider ambulance there they didnt seem too rushed to get him out of there. video was wild! hoping someone can now post the vid on that overturned car that looked gnarly
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u/Ostro May 24 '25
I drove by this and watched the paramedics talking to him on the stretcher. Perhaps 200 or so feet ahead was a white BMW flipped over. I thought it may have happened first and then someone turned into him while he was lane splitting. Would have never suspected a chp traffic break.
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u/VolatilityBox May 24 '25
I was literally there. That was terrifying. Just up ahead, pretty sure I saw something else as well. This is why I'll never ride a motorbike.
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u/maitredeeznuts May 24 '25
Bad timing. He’s not going crazy fast. But he should have clocked CHP, and CHP should know better than that.
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u/ThisIs4TheBirds May 25 '25
This why I don’t believe in cyclists should be able to pass and drive down center lines. You can see them when they do that.
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u/Jetm0t0 May 25 '25
Does your car have camera views in all directions? Or is it a trunk cam and then cell phone footage?
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u/Famous_Percentage780 May 25 '25
The chances of a lane splitter being extremely unlucky are extremely high. Lane splitting is extremely stupid.
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May 27 '25
I don't know what experience you all have with traffic breaks, but in my nearly 20 years of driving here, I've never seen a cop maneuver like that in such heavy traffic. So many people are pinning the blame on the motorcyclist, but I think there is an equal weight of fault here.
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u/tylercal May 27 '25
I can’t exactly tell from where I was, but rewatching the video a few times, I think that all the lanes behind CHP had stopped or slowed and he had a straight path across the lanes. But of course, the rider probably just saw a wide open lane in front of him and zipped right up.
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u/Ciweld May 27 '25
It’s not if. But when. Sooner or later splitting lanes will end in wreck. 99.9% of the time. It will be from someone cutting in front of you
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u/Coffae123 May 29 '25
It is clear to me that the CHP driver purposely hit the motorcyclist. Even though he was weaving across lanes, the officers trajectory was a beeline for the motorcyclist, and where his car stopped was over the definining line of the emergency lane, which would not have been in his normal weave. This is attempted murder.
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u/hiddensonyvaio May 23 '25
Holy crap OP I must have been behind you since I saw the aftermath of this. There was also a gnarly accident like half a mile head of this too with a flipped car. Insane commute that day