CHRISTOPHER S. RAINWATER, M.P.A.
358th Civil Affairs Brigade Safety
U.S. Army Reserve
Riverside, California

Several years ago, one of my closest friends, Cynthia, was involved in an accident while touring California on her motorcycle with her husband, Tim. Cynthia was an experienced rider and she and Tim enjoyed getting out on the weekends and taking trips on their bikes. On this particular trip, the two had taken a week off to travel from their home in northern New Mexico to California. As they rode on an interstate, Cynthia was lane splitting between a car and a pickup when the pickup suddenly changed lanes. Not seeing Cynthia, the driver of the pickup bumped her motorcycle, trapping her left leg between the truck and the bike. Cynthia was thrown off the bike and came to rest about 80 feet away in a field.

Cynthia was airlifted to the closest hospital, where she underwent surgery to save her life. The surgeries were successful; however, she lost her left leg below the knee and suffered extensive cuts to her body that resulted in terrible scarring. She was in the intensive care unit for two weeks.

Active and involved before the accident, Cynthia now found herself disabled. Her looks — she had been a model in Germany — were deeply affected by the injuries. It was uncertain if and when she could ever return to her career in New Mexico. In her eyes, life, as a result of the motorcycle accident, looked bleak.

I spoke with Cynthia and Tim on several occasions after the accident, and my wife and I happily tracked her improvement. She told me the crash was her fault. She knew lane splitting was dangerous and not allowed elsewhere, but she felt empowered by California’s allowance of this dangerous practice. She thought she’d try it out.

Less than a month after the accident, I got an early morning call from Tim. He told me Cynthia had wheeled herself outside, watched the sun set over a New Mexico mesa and then took her life. The physical agony she was enduring, the loss of her leg and the scarring were all too much for her. This incredible woman, only 46 years old, was gone. Although what she’d done on her motorcycle may have been legal in California, it was anything but safe.

What is lane splitting?
Lane splitting is the term used to describe a motorcycle sharing your lane as the rider passes you (between you and another vehicle). In California, the practice was a source of controversy for many years. While the state did not specifically authorize lane splitting, it did not outlaw it either. In the summer of 2016, however, California became the first state to officially give riders the green light to lane split. While lane splitting is currently illegal outside of California, lawmakers in other states have shown interest in passing legislation to allow it.

On my drive from my home in Sun City, California, to March Air Reserve Base, located in Riverside, I travel on Interstate 215. Countless riders, many wearing ACUs, blow by me as they weave between vehicles. Traffic is often slow during the commute, and the riders travel at far greater speeds than traffic — adding to the many dangers of lane splitting.

If you are a rider, or if you have friends or relatives that ride motorcycles, share this with them. Remind them to follow these guidelines:

• Travel no more than 10 mph faster than the vehicles with which they’re lane-splitting.

• Merge back in with the traffic when they reach 30 to 35 mph.

• Never exceed the speed limit.

• Lane-splitting between lanes one and two is preferred (lane one being the fast or inside lane)

• Stay, more or less, in one lane or the other.

• Ride carefully to not cause damage to other vehicles.