Traffic congestion is an ever increasing issue as cities develop and solutions are needed. One inexpensive, simple, and immediate way to reduce congestion is to permit motorcyclists and scooters to travel between slow moving lanes of traffic. Allowing this practice would open more lane space for larger vehicles by relieving the requirement of motorcycles to always occupy a car sized lane space. The state of California has set an example for the adoption of lane splitting in other states through its recent posting of a guide lines to safe lane splitting practices (http://www.chp.ca.gov/programs/lanesplitting.html, http://ots.ca.gov/lanesplittinggeneralguidelines.pdf). These guidelines provide an informative reference for states considering legalization of lane splitting.

Representatives Morris and Wood previously proposed a bill that would allow lane splitting during congestion; HB 3159 of 2003-2004 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3159&year=2004). I am asking that the Washington State Legislators sponsor a bill of similar nature to HB 3159 of 2003-2004 and vote to legalize lane splitting for motorcyclists.