Monday’s U-T carried a letter from David Gillespie about lane-splitting (“Allowing lane-splitting is a deadly decision,” June 12). I have been riding motorcycles since 1962 and I have some strong opinions about rider safety. I once heard that lane-splitting became legal because early motorcycles had air-cooled engines and needed forward motion to keep cool. It sounds possible. A problem exists when traffic is moving.

Moving traffic is full of varying changes that make predicting flow just too complicated. Gillespie is right about how dangerous lane splitting is, and also right about drivers not seeing motorcycles.

I choose to split lanes only in stopped traffic, and I see no reason to ban that activity.

Burt Quackenbush


Santee

(Getty Images)

In regards to David Gillespie’s letter on lane splitting: The No. 1 lane on the freeway is designated as a passing lane. There is no time period of the day that it is not, if people would use it only for passing then get out, it would free up space so motorcycles wouldn’t have to split lanes. And loud pipes save lives.


Drummond Macomber

El Cajon

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Lewis Flock’s reasonable suggestions for limitations on lane-splitting (“Allowing lane-splitting is a deadly decision,” June 12) were most welcome and made a lot sense.


I need a solution to my recent experience of having my driver’s side mirror damaged by a lane-splitter while I was stopped at a red light. And, he timed it perfectly so I could not approach him before the light turned green.

Nona Switala

Oceanside

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