A video recently uploaded depicts a motorcyclist lane-splitting between a Tesla Model 3, cruising on Autopilot, and a Toyota Prius. When the motorcyclist wasn’t given adequate space to split, he pushed the Model 3’s side-view mirror forward. Before either side of the argument heads to the comments, I’ll be very clear, both the motorcycle rider and the inattentive Model 3 driver are both very much in the wrong.

In California, where the incident occurred, lane-splitting is legal. It gives the smaller motorcycle the right to dip between lanes of traffic so as to reduce overall congestion. When done safely and properly, it's truly the only way to quickly get around heavily congested cities like Los Angeles. Per California’s Department of Transportation, however, car drivers should give motorcycles the right of way and make adequate space for safer travel. The safe execution of splitting, though, rests solely on the motorcyclist. That means commonsense is absolutely required.

The incident in the video, which the Model 3’s owner calls an “attack,” is a prime example of how both parties can be in the wrong. As to the commonsense aspect, the motorcyclist could have waited for a better opportunity to pass the Model 3. In the five years I’ve been riding motorcycles in Los Angeles, I’ve clocked nearly 60,000 miles. A large portion of that was lane-splitting. Waiting a handful of seconds or maybe a minute isn’t going to affect your overall time. And being aggressive toward a driver will only cause further tension between motorcyclists and drivers. It’s a lose, lose situation.