COLORADO SPRINGS, (KRDO) – Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said confusion over the new lane filtering law is unintentionally reinforcing dangerous riding habits, as 11 motorcyclists died in crashes statewide last month.
“It just put it in people’s mind that they can do it anywhere,” Trooper Hunter Mathew said.
The most misunderstood point with the new law is lane filtering on the highway. CSP said it is illegal for motorcyclists to move up at any point on the highway, even in standstill traffic. This has caused some confusion, as the law says motorcyclists can pass if traffic is completely stopped and does not explicitly differentiate between highways and non-highways. Regardless, CSP said it will pull people over for trying to pass that way.
CSP said it has also seen an uptick in lane splitting, where a motorcyclist passes between two moving vehicles. Lane splitting has always been illegal in Colorado, and is only fully legalized in California…