Passes & Canyons Blog

So Rep. Ron Weinberg decided not to kill his bill calling for a study of lane-splitting in Colorado.

In a report on Local Today, Weinberg said “Motorcycling is a contentious issue . . . People are afraid there will be more fatalities. I certainly don’t want that, but all the more reason to study it.” He stated further that “There is no arrogance or selfishness here. If it really comes back and says it’s harming Coloradans’ lives, I’ll kill it myself.”

What exactly does the bill call for? Here’s the current text.

43-1-131. Motorcycle lane splitting study – report – repeal.
(1) THE DEPARTMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE COLORADO STATE PATROL, SHALL STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF PERMITTING MOTORCYCLES TO PASS OR OVERTAKE A MOTOR VEHICLE BY DRIVING ALONGSIDE THE MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE OR DRIVING BETWEEN ROWS OF STOPPED OR MOVING MOTOR VEHICLES, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS “LANE SPLITTING.” THE STUDY MUST, AT A MINIMUM:
(a) IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF PERMITTING MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING; AND
(b) IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO PERMITTING MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING.
(2) NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 31, 2023, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SUBMIT A REPORT ON THE STUDY TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE AND THE SENATE TRANSPORTATION AND ENERGY COMMITTEE, OR THEIR SUCCESSOR COMMITTEES.
24-33.5-204. Departmental cooperation – repeal. (3) (a) THE COLORADO STATE PATROL SHALL COLLABORATE WITH THE DEPARTMENT HB23-1059-2-
OF TRANSPORTATION ON THE MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING FEASIBILITY STUDY DESCRIBED IN SECTION 43-1-131.

A fiscal note has been produced, specifying how much the proposal would cost and where the funding would come from–a requirement for all bills. The study is expected to cost $75,000 and the money would come from the state highway fund. No special appropriation would be needed.

So that’s where it sits right now. Stay tuned for future twists and turns.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a motorcycle is exactly like riding a bicycle except you have power between your legs.

Tags: lane-filtering, lane-splitting

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 16th, 2023 at 11:50 am and is filed under Motorcycle legislation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.