Is Lane Splitting Legal in California? What Riders Need to Know

Lane splitting is the practice of riding a motorcycle between two lanes of slow or stopped traffic. California is the only state that has made it legal by statute. This article explains what the law says, what the CHP tips ask of riders and drivers, who is at fault when a lane-splitting rider gets hit, and how insurers try to pin the crash on the rider. It applies to California claims. Every case is different.

Is lane splitting legal in California?

Yes. Lane splitting has been legal in California since January 1, 2017, when Assembly Bill 51 added Vehicle Code 21658.1. Before that, the practice lived in a gray area: not banned, but not protected by any statute a rider could point to.

Section 21658.1(a) defines lane splitting as “driving a motorcycle, as defined in Section 400, that has two wheels in contact with the ground, between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, including on both divided and undivided streets, roads, or highways.” That covers surface streets as well as freeways, and moving traffic as well as stopped traffic. It does not cover trikes.

The statute sets no speed limit for splitting. It leaves that to CHP guidance and to the rules that apply to every vehicle, like the basic speed law in Vehicle Code 22350. Riding on the shoulder is not lane splitting and is still illegal.

What do the CHP lane splitting safety tips say?

The CHP tips are advice, not law. Section 21658.1(b) let the CHP develop “educational guidelines” for lane splitting, and the department posted its current Lane Splitting Safety Tips in 2018. They tell riders that danger rises as overall speed rises and as the speed difference between the bike and the cars around it rises. They say it is usually safer to split between the far left lanes than between other lanes. They warn riders to stay out of blind spots, avoid splitting next to big rigs and buses, and wear bright gear.

Riders often ask about the 10 mph and 30 mph numbers. Those came from the CHP’s 2013 guidelines, which said not to go more than 10 mph faster than traffic and not to split once traffic moves 30 mph or faster. The CHP pulled those guidelines in 2014. The current tips on chp.ca.gov do not set a number.

In our practice we see adjusters quote the old 10 and 30 figures as if they were still the rule. They are not. But a jury will still hear how fast you were going, so those numbers are a good habit even if they are not the law.

Can a driver legally block a motorcycle that is lane splitting?

No. The CHP’s message for drivers is direct: lane splitting is legal, and intentionally blocking or impeding a motorcyclist in a way that could cause harm is illegal. So is opening a car door to block a rider. The Vehicle Code backs that up. Vehicle Code 22400(a) bars driving so slowly, or stopping, in a way that blocks the normal movement of traffic without a safety reason. Vehicle Code 22517 bars opening a door on the traffic side unless it is reasonably safe.

Two other sections come up in almost every lane splitting crash we handle. Vehicle Code 21658(a) requires a driver to stay within a single lane until a move can be made with reasonable safety. Vehicle Code 22107 bars any move to the right or left until it is safe and only after a signal. A driver who drifts into the gap, swerves to “teach the rider a lesson,” or changes lanes without looking has broken one or both of those rules.

Who is at fault when a lane-splitting rider gets hit?

Fault depends on what each person did, not on whether the rider was splitting. Because lane splitting is legal, splitting is not negligence by itself. The question is whether the rider used reasonable care and whether the driver was watching, signaling, and staying in the lane.

California uses pure comparative negligence. The state Supreme Court adopted that rule in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804, and Civil Code 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for harm caused by a lack of ordinary care. A jury assigns a percentage of fault to each person, and your recovery is reduced by your share. There is no cutoff. A rider found 30 percent at fault still collects 70 percent of the damages. A rider found 60 percent at fault still collects 40 percent.

That is why the insurer’s whole strategy is to push your percentage up. Every point added to your side is a point off the check.

Why does the insurance company blame the rider, and how do you push back?

Adjusters blame the rider because it works. Many jurors have never been on a motorcycle and think splitting is reckless. The usual arguments are that the rider was going too fast, was in the driver’s blind spot, or “came out of nowhere.”

The rebuttal starts with the law. Splitting is legal under Vehicle Code 21658.1, so the adjuster has to prove the rider did something more than split. Then it turns to the driver’s conduct. Did the driver signal for the last 100 feet, as Vehicle Code 22108 requires? Did the driver check the mirror? Was the driver on the phone? Camera footage, phone records, and the damage pattern on both vehicles usually answer those questions.

Speed is the other battleground. If traffic was crawling at 10 mph and you were rolling at 20, that is a modest differential and in line with the CHP tips. If traffic was doing 45 and you were doing 70, the driver’s insurer has a stronger argument. We cover the adjuster’s playbook in our guide to whether to accept the first settlement offer after a crash.

What evidence proves a lane splitting crash?

Video wins these cases. A helmet camera shows your speed, your lane position, and the driver’s move into the gap in a way no witness can match. Dash cams from nearby cars can do the same, but most footage is overwritten within a week.

The CHP report is next. On the freeways around San Dimas, that usually means the CHP Baldwin Park Area office, which handles crashes on the 10, the 210, the 605, and the 57 and 60 through the San Gabriel Valley. The report records the point of impact, the driver’s statement, and any citation. A driver cited for an unsafe lane change under Vehicle Code 22107 is a driver whose insurer has a hard time blaming you.

Witnesses matter more in motorcycle cases than in car cases, because the driver’s version is often “I never saw him.” Get names and numbers from anyone who stopped. Photograph both vehicles, the lane markings, and the gap. Keep your helmet and gear as they were after the crash, and do not repair or sell the bike until it has been inspected.

What should you do after a lane splitting crash in the San Gabriel Valley?

The first 48 hours shape the whole claim. Motorcycle injuries are often worse than they feel at the scene, and the insurer will use any gap in care against you. Here is the order we give our own clients:

Crashes on surface streets like Arrow Highway are usually handled by city police, not the CHP, so ask which agency has the report. A lawsuit over a crash in San Dimas, Covina, Glendora, or Pomona is filed at the Pomona Courthouse South. We explain the full first-week plan in our guide to what to do after a crash in San Dimas and the San Gabriel Valley.

When should you call a lawyer?

Call before you talk to the other driver’s insurance company, and always when the adjuster says you were at fault for splitting. A motorcycle case has a bias problem a car case does not, and the first version of events tends to stick. These red flags mean you should not handle it alone:

The deadline to file a lawsuit for a motorcycle injury in California is generally two years from the crash under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Claims against a city or the state over a road defect have a much shorter six-month claim deadline. If the driver had no coverage, read our guide on what happens when you are hit by an uninsured driver in California.

How does Morales Law Firm handle motorcycle accident cases?

We treat a lane splitting case as a fault case first and an injury case second, because the fault fight decides the size of the recovery. Our office is at 151 W. Bonita Ave in San Dimas, minutes from the 210 and the 57, and we handle rider claims across the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire. You can read about our approach on our motorcycle accident lawyer page.

The first thing we do is lock down the evidence. We send preservation letters for dash cam and traffic camera footage, pull the CHP report, and interview witnesses while their memory is fresh. When speed or lane position is disputed, we bring in an accident reconstructionist who can read the physical evidence. Then we build the damages case the same way we do for any car accident claim: medical records, wage loss, future care, and the effect on your life. If the driver carried too little insurance, we open an underinsured motorist claim on your own policy, which we explain on our uninsured motorist coverage page.

The consultation is free, in English or Spanish, and there is no fee unless we win. For a sense of how a claim is valued, start with our guide to how much a car accident case is worth in California. The same factors apply to a motorcycle claim.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading: how a policy limits demand works in California.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every case is different. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you were injured, speak with a qualified attorney about your specific facts and deadlines. Reviewed by Francisco J. Morales, Esq., California personal injury attorney, SBN 349235. About the author.