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This video features Steve Grover, a Personal Injury attorney based in Alberta, Canada.
Steve Grover:
The main thing is if you're out there and you're a motorcyclist, make sure you ride hard, ride safe, wear your motorcycle helmet.
Tom Mustin:
What is lane splitting? And is that something that can make riding a motorcycle safer? We're gonna talk to lawyer and motorcyclist, Steve Grover about that on today's episode of Ask the Lawyers. Steve, thank you for joining us.
Steve Grover:
Alright. Thanks for having me today.
Tom Mustin:
Great to have you here. So what is lane splitting on a motorcycle, and is it legal in Alberta or in Canada?
Steve Grover:
Lane splitting is when there's... Obviously there's a backup of traffic on the freeway and essentially the motorcyclists will split the lane in between two cars that are in two separate lanes. Unfortunately, that is not legal in Canada. But in my motorcycle experience, I've been down to LA on the San Diego freeway, I don't know if you've ever had experience of trying to drive rush hour in LA. But I've done it. It's legal down in California, but unfortunately it's not legal here in Canada.
Tom Mustin:
Right. So what people are obviously, like you said, are doing it anyway, is that a good idea to be lane splitting?
Steve Grover:
I would not recommend it in Canada because we're taught the rules of the road when you get your driver's license in a province like Alberta, that lane splitting is not legal by a motorcyclist. So unfortunately if you're driving your car and you're in Calgary and you're stuck in traffic like on one of the big freeways like Deerfoot Trail, you're not expecting a motorcyclist to split the lanes between you and the other vehicle to the left of you. And some people just will make that change into the next lane without taking that second view behind them to see if there is a motorcyclist. So we're not anticipating that in Alberta. So I wouldn't recommend it if you're riding your motorcycle in Alberta, not to lane split.
Tom Mustin:
Okay, good answer there. But can lane splitting actually be safer for motorcyclists in certain situations?
Steve Grover:
It can be in certain situations like in California when there is a backup of traffic and if you see someone coming up behind you and you're on your motorcyclist and they're gonna rear-end you, instead of going to the side, the shoulder, you can split the lane in between two vehicles and avoid an accident. But in the general sense, it's not legal in Alberta. But it is something I know there's been advocates in Alberta to change the law in Alberta for more cyclists to lane split. But the government here in Alberta's very hesitant about it, and it hasn't been a safety issue. They're more concerned if someone just starts splitting lanes and then a car comes out and makes a shoulder change, they're gonna hit the motorcyclist. So it can be safe in certain situations. It could be a dangerous move in certain other situations.
Tom Mustin:
So have you actually seen accidents in your practice when it comes to lane splitting?
Steve Grover:
Yeah, unfortunately, we didn't take on that case because the motorcyclist was lane splitting. And like I said earlier, that's illegal in Alberta. And unfortunately that person did have some very traumatic injuries, but they were blamed 100% for the accident because in Alberta, it's against the law to split lanes between two vehicles. So we weren't, unfortunately, interested in helping out that party.
Tom Mustin:
Okay. And we mentioned you're an experienced motorcyclists yourself, Steve. Do you have any tips for motorcyclists who are lane splitting on how to stay safe out there?
Steve Grover:
Well, if you're in a jurisdiction like California, again, using California as example, and you're down in LA and stuck in traffic, be very careful. Even when I was on the San Diego freeway and there's a backup of traffic, I was... I don't have that experience of lane splitting because I wasn't raised in California. But be very careful before you split a lane, make sure that the vehicles ahead of you or the side of you are not going to move to the side to the other lane to hit you. So I'd be very careful in that kind of move. It is a fun move. It got us outta... Out of rush hour traffic in LA. And we got to a hotel quicker than if we just sat there on San Diego freeway. But if you're gonna do it, be very careful in doing it.
Tom Mustin:
There you go. Well, we really appreciate your expertise, Steve. Anything else you wanna add about this or any other issues when it comes to motorcycle?
Steve Grover:
No, I think that the main thing is if you're out there and you're a motorcyclist, make sure you ride hard, ride safe, wear your motorcycle helmet. Obviously the most important part of your body is your brain, and it would be unfortunate to have someone have not wearing a motorcycle when they're riding a motorcycle and hit asphalt with their head and have some severe brain injury. So I know in some jurisdictions, it's not required to wear a motorcyclist helmet, but I'd recommend everyone wear a motorcyclist helmet when they're riding a motorbike.
Tom Mustin:
Alright. Well, great stuff. Thank you, Steve. That's gonna do for this episode of Ask the Lawyers. Our special guest today has been Steve Grover. If you wanna ask him any questions about your situation, call the number you see on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask the Lawyers.
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