Arizona's New Lane-Filtering Law for Motorcyclists - Motorcycle Cruiser
Joining the growing list of states that are passing motorcycle-friendly legislation is Arizona, whose Governor Doug Ducey just signed into law a bill that allows Arizona motorcyclists to lane filter. The bill was easily approved by Arizona’s House and Senate earlier this month, and as written, would allow motorcycles to pass another vehicle in the same lane going in the same direction, but only if the vehicle is stopped. There’s another pretty major caveat too: It’s only applicable to roadways with a speed limit of 45 mph or less, which would automatically rule out the maneuver on most highways.
But it’s something, right? The bill, known as S.B. 1273, was sponsored by Senator Tyler Pace of Mesa, and allows operators of two-wheeled motorcycles to safely pass another vehicle in the same lane that is stopped and going in the same direction. The move is also only allowed when the bike is going less than 15 mph, and on a street where the speed limit is less than 45 mph. Additionally, the move may only be completed on a road with at least four lanes. The upside is that it will allow riders in Arizona to move between cars up to the intersection at least in some situations.
In 2017, Arizona came close to passing S.B. 1007 which would have eliminated the wording that prohibited motorcycle riders from sharing lanes with cars, but at the time, it didn’t have the votes. That bill essentially laid the groundwork for the successful passage of S.B. 1273.
The only state that legally permits lane-splitting (as opposed to lane filtering) is still California, where it has been an accepted practice for what seems like forever, though it was only formally made lawful in 2016. Prior to that, it was simply not expressly made illegal.
Proponents of Arizona’s new law say it was written to mirror the one passed by Utah in 2019, which also allows for filtering by motorcycles on roads with speed limits of 45 mph or less. The utah.gov website clarifies things thusly: “Lane filtering is different from lane-splitting. Utah’s lane filtering law is very different from California’s lane-splitting law.” As originally written, Utah’s law had proposed a three-year filtering test window that was set to expire in July of this year, but as of this week, it now remains in effect until 2027.
Last year Montana also legalized lane filtering with a similar law that allows two-wheeled motorcycles to move between lanes of stopped traffic traveling in the same direction, though not at speeds greater than 20 mph. The law went into effect in October of 2021. (Note that all of the aforementioned laws don’t apply to trikes.)
Oregon and Washington have had their own legislation in the works for a while now, but have yet to successfully push it through the legal system, so the practice of lane filtering and/or lane-splitting there is still formally illegal.
Whichever state you’re in, be sure to always ride alertly, especially if you’re filtering.
source: https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/story/news/arizona-new-lane-filtering-law-for-motorcyclists/
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