Should Motorcyclists be Allowed on the Shoulder?
You know the saying, “Look once for cars, look twice for a motorcycle”. The logic behind that saying is the same one behind the new bill, that if approved, could give motorcyclists a big advantage on the nation’s highways.
Advantage, sure. But, safe? Not everyone thinks so. The bill in Washington state proposes for a biker’s ability to use the left lane shoulder to pass slower traffic up to 10 mph faster, but only up to 25 mph. Technically, it would turn something highly illegal and unsafe, into something legal, and supposedly “safe”.
While the proposed bill offers relative benefits to reducing collisions between careless drivers and motorcyclists and highway congestion, it also arises issues like: what about road debris on highway shoulders, or stranded vehicles, or if merging back into the left lane from the shoulder could lead to even more random accidents?
Motorcycle advocate groups and politicians alike, agree on the pros and cons of this controversial issue, but believe that doing even the slightest effort to help motorcycle fatalities is reason enough to pass the bill.
What do you think? Safety or craziness?
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