California is on the verge of legally sanctioning one of the most fundamental renegade practices of motorcycle culture: lane-splitting.

Motorbikes that overtake between two lanes of fast-moving traffic have long caused consternation among drivers, who can feel both concern about hitting bikes or not insignificant envy at how fast they can cut through traffic jams. But on Thursday, California’s state assembly unanimously approved a bill that identifies “lane-splitting”, paving the way for the California highway patrol (CHP) to establish safety guidelines.

If Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill, California would become the first state that officially sanctions and regulates lane-splitting, clarifying the legal situation in a state where law enforcement has long considered the practice “not illegal”.

In 2013, the CHP published guidelines for safe lane-splitting, but was forced to withdraw them when a state employee complained that the agency was not empowered to set rules absent legislative action.

A 2014 study commissioned by the California office of traffic safety found that 60.8% of drivers disapprove of the practice, a majority of them because they think it is unsafe.

Yet a 2015 study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley analyzed 5,969 motorcycle collisions and concluded that lane-splitting was a “relatively safe motorcycle riding strategy” as long as it was done in traffic moving at 50mph or less and the motorcyclists did not ride more than 15mph faster than the rest of traffic.

News of the legislative breakthrough was met with something of a shrug by avid bikers. “Whether or not it’s an actual law or not, it’s been permitted for years, and we already do it,” said Tug Boat, the business manager for the East Bay Dragons, a black motorcycle club in Oakland.

“Them making it a law isn’t going to change things.”

‘Whether or not it’s an actual law or not, we already do it,’ said Tug Boat, business manager for the East Bay Dragons

Soni Wolf, the secretary of Dykes on Bikes, a San Francisco motorcycle club, said that she was pleased the CHP will now be able to impose guidelines on the practice.

“I know we have that allure of being outsiders, but most motorcyclists use it for their transportation, and most cyclists are very safe and sane drivers,” she said. “If you’re in a hurry, then you need to leave earlier to get where you’re going.”

It remains to be seen whether legal sanction tarnishes the outlaw image of motorcycling.

Reached via Facebook, the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club of Oakland declined to comment.