ACTION ALERT: If you have a vested interest in lane splitting for motorcycles in Texas, SB 506 is scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow (March 18) by the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security at the capitol building.

If you cannot go to the public hearing tomorrow, call your state senator and tell them you want them to support this bill --- a bill, by the way, which costs the state and tax payers nothing to implement.

Contact information can be found here: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members.htm.

My senator, Kirk Watson (R) is the Vice Chair of this committee and I'll be calling his office first thing in the morning.

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As an avid motorcycle rider --- my bike is my primary mode of transportation --- I'm excited that the Texas 81st Legislature is considering a bill to allow lane splitting in Texas.

SB 506 would allow motorcycles to ride "between" lanes of traffic --- but no more than five miles per hour greater than the speed of other traffic moving at a speed of 20 miles per hour or less.

When traffic on I-10 in Houston, MoPac through Austin, or I-34 through Dallas is at a parking lot stand still...or barely creeping along at 5-10 mph --- this bill would allow motorcycle commuters to use the 5-6 feet of space between the cars in two lanes to ride at up to 25mph down this lane.

Currently, California is the only state that allows lane splitting, and it has been a fantastic success.

Why should motorcycles be "allowed" to ride between lanes during nearly-stopped traffic:

1. Many motorcycles are air-cooled, thus needing movement to prevent damage to the engine (my bike is a classic big v-twin air cooled cruiser that is much happier when rolling than when sitting still in traffic).
2. A motorcycle is much more visible and therefore safer riding in the center lane at low speeds than they are sitting still between parked cars.
3. More motorcyclists are encouraged to commute due to fewer problems with traffic congestion and potential overheating.
4. Less gas (my bike gets nearly 44 mpg), less smog/pollution.

For all the green initiatives out there...everybody bending over backwards to give tax credits to hybrid drivers, trying to find ways to reduce gas consumption and their carbon footprint -- there just isn't a single car on the market with a smaller carbon footprint than any motorcycle.

Anything we can do to encourage more people to ride more often should be done. Which is why I hope Texas passes the lane splitting bill.

(cross-posted at Urbangrounds)