AMA Vice President of Government Relations Wayne Allard Testifies Before Legislature

Former U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, AMA vice president of government relations, joined about a dozen motorcyclists and other motorcycle advocates appearing before the Oregon State Legislature on May 15 in favor of a bill to make lane splitting legal.

“The American Motorcyclist Association supports bills that would legalize responsible lane splitting,” Allard told the House Committee on Transportation and Economic Development. “To this end, the AMA is actively supporting or is otherwise involved with all 11 of the lane splitting bills that have been introduced in 2015. Note, this is a significant increase from previous years, and we believe that it is still possible that additional states will introduce similar legislation.

“Specifically, we believe Oregon’s S.B. 694 is a reasonable compromise that would have the potential to reduce crashes and injuries,” Allard said.

S.B. 694 would limit lane splitting to instances in which traffic is moving 10 mph or slower and would allow motorcyclists to travel no faster than 20 mph. Lane splitting would be permitted only on highways with speed limits of 50 mph or higher.

AMA Western States Representative Nick Haris also presented written comments to the committee in favor of the legislation.

Haris pointed to a 2014 University of California at Berkeley study that found lane splitting is no more risky than motorcycling in general. In fact, motorcyclists are less likely to suffer head or torso injury or be killed while lane splitting than other motorcyclists, the study shows.

“Other potential benefits of this legislation would include an increase in motorcycle conspicuity, because the motorcyclist is moving relative to other traffic; a reduction in motorcyclist fatigue from constant shifting and braking in stop-and-go traffic; a lessening of the risk for engine damage for air-cooled engines; a reduction in motorcyclists’ exposure to ambient heat in the summer and car exhaust year-round due to fewer hours spent in traffic,” Haris wrote in his comments.

Allard noted that speakers from law enforcement agencies and the Oregon Department of Transportation opposed the bill.

But Allard emphasized to the committee that enacting legislation “would create a safe framework for responsible, legal lane splitting.”