Lane Splitting: Legal or Not?

Published by Lloyd Castle in SA Traffic Law · 2 September 2024
Tags: Traffic, Law, Legislation, Legal

LANE SPLITTING – LEGAL OR NOT?

Confusion on the issue of lane splitting, among riders, traffic officials and politicians requires us to explain the non-existent “offence” of “lane-splitting” in South Africa.

“Lane splitting”, also known as “lane sharing” or “filtering” is, for those who are uncertain, the practice of a motorcyclist passing between two lines of slow moving or stationary vehicles and while it could happen anywhere, it is normally prevalent on multi-laned roadways.

In most cases this roadway is a divided one which means that traffic travelling in one direction is separated from traffic going in the opposite direction by a raised island, median or dividing space. The result is that all traffic travels in the same direction and the motorcyclist passes other slower traffic while in the same lane as the vehicle being passed. This passing action has been labelled an “offence” by some in traffic law enforcement

To label any act an offence, we therefore need to understand what an offence is or rather what makes behaviour an offence. All offences are divided into two classes or types of behaviour. The behaviour can either be an “Act” or an “Omission”.

An Act is doing something which is prohibited by law and an Omission is not doing something that is required by law. For example : Stealing is forbidden by law. If your act is to steal (the act) you would break the law. Paying your taxes is a requirement of law. If you do not to pay your taxes (the omission) you break the law.

So in reality the law has to create a requirement for some action on your part or forbid an action by you to create an offence. The offence is committed when you actually do or don’t do what the law requires. If the law does not prohibit or require any action on your part, then there is no offence.

This most basic explanation and understanding of what an offence is then leaves me somewhat confused as to the apparent misinformation being fed to the general public. For the action of passing a slower moving vehicle while remaining in the same lane as that vehicle to be an offence (“lane splitting”), the law must have prohibited the action s/he did or required the rider to perform some action which s/he did not.

Despite a very thorough scouring of the National Road Traffic Act 93/1996, I remain unable to find any prohibition placed on the practice of lane splitting. Nothing in traffic law prohibits this behaviour by motorcyclists.

There is no requirement or obligation placed on motorcyclists in this regard at all except that (like every other vehicle on the road) any passing be executed safely and with the required degree of care. So, in the absence of there being an actual law which is being broken, I struggle to understand how the pronouncement of illegality can be made by Officialdom.

The actual legislation related to this matter is found in the National Traffic Regulations of 2000, which prescribe the requirements for safely passing other traffic and the actions commonly referred to as “overtaking”. The National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 at Chapter X dealing with the rules of the road and related matters, has specific reference to the passing of a vehicle in Regulation 298(1). It requires that the driver of any vehicle intending to pass any other vehicle proceeding in the same direction on a public road, pass to the right thereof, at a safe distance and not drive on the left side of the roadway again until safely clear of the vehicle being passed. It also prohibits any passing on the shoulder or verge of the road.

In lay terms, Drive on left, pass on right, stay on the road. This regulation then has a proviso which says that, passing on the left of the vehicle being passed is also permissible if the person driving the passing vehicle can do so with safety to himself and other traffic or property which is or may be on such road. It then goes on to qualify the circumstances under which this passing on the left side is permitted.

One of these circumstances is Reg 298(1)a) where the vehicle being passed is turning to its right or the driver has signalled the intention of turning to the right. BUT you cannot pass that vehicle if doing so would put your vehicle on the shoulder or verge of the road.

Note it requires that the passing be safe and prohibits the passing from happening on shoulder or verge. It therefore requires the passing to happen on the roadway and if a single lane road that means in the same lane as the vehicle being passed.

To my mind that seems remarkably like "lane splitting".....or passing another vehicle while in the same lane as that vehicle. Reg 298(1)(a) therefore REQUIRES vehicles to share a lane (“split a lane”) when passing a vehicle turning right. Failing to stay in the lane when passing would then be an offence.

Reg 298(1)(b) says that if the road is a one-way wide enough for two or more lines (note lines - not LANES) of moving vehicles. The driver wishing to pass another, may pass on the left side of the vehicle being passed. - This means that any vehicle (not just a motorcycle) may pass any other vehicle travelling in the same direction on its right or left side if the road is wide enough for those vehicles to fit alongside each other.

You will note that there is no prohibition on them passing each other in the same traffic lane at all, provided they can safely fit into the space available…..to my mind that seems remarkably like "lane splitting".

Reg 298(1)(c) states that if the road carries traffic in two directions (not a one-way) and the roadway was wide enough for two or more lines of moving traffic, that you may pass on the right or left of any other vehicle…..no mention is made of different lanes, meaning that such passing should occur in the same lane as the vehicle being passed…provided you do not use the shoulder or verge of the road to drive on.

Again, to my mind that seems remarkably like “lane sharing” or "lane splitting" and it is specifically permitted by law.

Reg 298(1)(d) says that you may pass on the left or right of any vehicle on a roadway which is a one-way roadway and which is divided into traffic lanes. This one allows you pass in the right or left lane but (with reference to motorcycles) does not take away from the provisions of 298(1)(b) if each lane is actually wide enough to allow passing without leaving the lane.

Each traffic lane is regarded as a roadway for the purposes of Reg 309(6)(a) dealing with riding in single file and overtaking by motorcyclists and as such the provisions of Reg 298(1)(b) should still apply…allowing a motorcycle in its lane or “roadway” to pass another vehicle in the same lane or “roadway” if the lane or “roadway” is wide enough to safely do so. To my mind that seems remarkably like "lane splitting."

The proviso to Reg 298(1) states that no such passing in any of the above instances may occur on the shoulder or verge of the road… which means that if passing on the left is allowed in all these cases it has to happen within the same lane as the other vehicle. Naturally it has to be done with due care and consideration for all using the road at the time...To my mind that seems remarkably like "lane splitting"...

The entire Regulation 298 dealing with passing another vehicle actually confirms or re-affirms in every single subsection that “lane splitting” is in fact a legally permitted requirement for ALL vehicles (not just motorcycles) where it is safe to do so. Now that “lane splitting” is very obviously legal in terms of Reg 298(1).

The next paragraph or subsection at Regulation 298(2) goes out of its way to reaffirm the argument for “lane splitting” by plainly stating yet again that no driver may pass any other vehicle travelling in the same direction when approaching the summit of a rise, a curve or at any other place where the driver’s view is so restricted or obstructed that the passing action would cause a danger to approaching traffic….UNLESS that passing action can be performed “without encroaching on the right-hand side of the roadway”…which to my mind seems to require any passing at these dangerous points to be done by passing the other vehicle in the same lane…commonly referred to by bikers as “LANE SPLITTING” – at these places which are commonly accepted as being dangerous places to overtake and where overtaking is normally prohibited, the law allows any vehicle to overtake if it stays in the same lane as the vehicle being passed. – This is legally sanctioned “lane splitting”

That being said the issue now goes from legality to wisdom. Motorcyclists have for some time been advised to lane split at no more than 10kmh faster than the ambient traffic speed on the roadway at the time by various road safety groupings. There really is no need to lane split under normal riding conditions when everyone is at the speed limit. In most cases it is advisable to only lane split where traffic is stationary or near stationary and to do so with the utmost care, remaining mindful of the fact that drivers of cars and other four-wheeled vehicles may decide to lane hop in heavy traffic in their attempts to get ahead.

Pedestrians also may run out between near stationary vehicles in peak traffic. Motorcyclists are reminded that while lane splitting is of itself not illegal there are still a host of charges that can be brought against the motorcyclist who behaves irresponsibly while lane splitting. Among these is Reckless or Negligent driving, riding without due care or consideration, passing when unsafe, failing to signal the rider's intentions, cutting in after passing, speeding or speed inappropriate for the prevailing circumstances and so on. While you cannot be prosecuted for “lane splitting” there remains a whole list of other charges that can be applied if you ride irresponsibly.

The Officer bringing those charges will then have to satisfy the elements of each offence cited, if and when that matter goes to court. So, despite the fact that lane splitting is entirely legal. You are cautioned to remain aware of the fact that only you are ultimately responsible for your own safety. Just because you can doesn’t always mean that you should.

You need to exercise good judgement and maintain a higher level of awareness of your environment that most other road users because, regardless of how legal your actions may be, you as a motorcyclist, will invariably come off second best in any collision.

Regardless of how legal it is, always ask yourself how wise it is before jumping in with both feet...especially if you would like to keep those feet and the legs to which they are attached.

Regards

Lloyd