For drivers, perhaps one of the more alarming sights on the road can be a motorcycle squeezing past them, by riding in between lanes of moving or stopped traffic on a busy highway.



For bikers, lane splitting eases their concerns are about being rear-ended by a distracted driver, who doesn't see the motorcycle ahead of them in stop-and-go traffic on a highway.

Whether you call it lane splitting, white lining or filtering, is the practice legal in New Jersey?



That question was posed by a reader who encountered a motorcycle lane splitting on the New Jersey Turnpike Hudson County extension.

"They are very dangerous when you try to change lanes," he wrote.



Q: Is it legal for motorcycles to "lane split" or ride in between lanes of traffic?



A: The answer is somewhat unclear. While New Jersey doesn't have a law on the books forbidding it, the practice isn't encouraged.

Two motorcycles "lane split" in between traffic on the Garden State Parkway north.

New Jersey's state driver's manual warns bikers against "lane sharing" with another vehicle and specifically says "do not ride in between rows of stopped vehicles."

Police can cite riders for failure to keep right, if they lane split, said Anthony Parenti, executive director of the New Jersey Traffic Officers Association. A former motorcyclist himself, Parenti said he used to lane split at traffic lights to save time, but refrained from doing it on highways for safety reasons.

One danger of lane splitting on busy highways and interstates, is that a driver who decides to change lanes may not see a motorcycle, he said.



Why do bikers lane split? Motorcycle advocacy groups cite safety reasons for lane splitting. Riders who endorse the practice cite efficiency, fuel economy and not adding to traffic congestion as reasons for doing it.



The American Motorcyclist Association says that stop and go traffic is the most dangerous situation for motorcyclists because they are surrounded by drivers of larger vehicles, who may not see them. The AMA cited a motorcycle crash study that said 59 percent of collisions happen in moderate to heavy traffic.



A May 2015 University of California at Berkley study concluded "motorcyclists who split lanes in heavy traffic are significantly less likely to be struck from behind by other motorists, are less likely to suffer head or torso injuries, and are less likely to sustain fatal injuries in a crash."



Even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seems to be split about the topic. While not endorsing it, a NHTSA motorcycle safety website said that lane splitting can offer an escape route for motorcycles who might be hit from behind and said that the practice needs further study.

Another group, the Motorcycle Industry Council, said it supports state laws that allow lane splitting with reasonable restrictions. No bills have been proposed in the state to make lane splitting legal, however an online petition to make it legal in New Jersey received over 700 signatures.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

