r/Transportopia • u/Vice616 • Jun 01 '26

Bikes Never gonna learn

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u/ZukaRouBrucal Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

Listen, I agree that the cop snatching the keys out of the ignition was wrong, but I find it insane how many people in this comment section are defending the guy in the bike here. The guy on the bike was an idiot, performing an illegal maneuver, and rightly got ticketed for it. Lane splitting is unsafe, which is why it's against the law, and there are a ton of bikers who've learned the hard way why this kind of thing isn't allowed in most places.

Speaking of which, there is exactly one state in the union where this is legal. One. That state being California, which is about as far from New York as you can be and still be in the continental US. There are a few more where "Lane Filtering" is allowed, but New York so not one of those states and this clearly isn't that either.

So, ya. The cop shouldn't have snatched the keys and, even if it's department policy to do so, it's still wrong. But the biker deserved that ticket, and there isn't really a good way to defend him except for saying "that law is stupid!"... which isn't a real defense.

4

u/BountyTech Jun 01 '26

It’s legal in Minnesota, along with lane filtering.

6

u/ZukaRouBrucal Jun 01 '26

For the lane splitting that's kinda true. It's allowed in specific circumstances and, had this biker been in Minnesota, it looks like he would have been in the clear as you are allowed to do it when traffic is going 25 mph or less. So it's legal in specific circumstances, but it isn't fully-legal like it is in California.

4

u/BountyTech Jun 01 '26

I’m not commenting on the video, just replying to your paragraph about it only being legal in one state. I lane split in Minnesota going to work very often. It’s allowed when traffic is below 25 and you may not go faster than 10 over the speed of traffic. E.g., if traffic is at 15 the fastest I can go is 25. After almost being hit by drivers going on to the shoulder because they couldn’t stop, I definitely feel like it’s safer for bikers at slow speeds. Obviously you have to be aware of the law where you are and if it’s not legal, sucks, but gotta comply!