Minnesota has become the second state to allow lane splitting by motorcyclists, but with rules substantially tighter than California’s.
In addition to the lane-splitting states, four other states allow what they call lane filtering.
What’s the difference?
Lane filtering means motorcyclists can drive between cars that are stopped (or, in Montana, moving very slowly). With lane splitting, the practice is allowed when cars are moving.
What does California’s law say?
The law that took effect in 2017 attempted to codify practices that had generally been allowed by the California Highway Patrol.
Early versions of Assembly Bill 51 specified speeds at which a motorcyclist could legally ride between lanes, but those restrictions were deleted in favor of allowing the CHP to “develop educational guidelines relating to lane splitting.”
In a 2022 handout titled “Lane Splitting General Guidelines,” the CHP advised that motorcyclists split lanes only when car traffic is going less than 30 mph and that they ride no more than 10 mph faster than the cars they are passing. It also notes that the law allows motorcyclists to move between lanes to the front of traffic stopped at a light.
The agency’s most recent webpage on the topic makes a few stipulations in regard to legality:
- The motorcycle must have two wheels on the ground.
- Riding on the shoulder is illegal.
- People in cars cannot open a door or take other measures to impede a lane-splitter.
What are the other states’ laws?
Minnesota: Allows motorcyclists to drive between lanes at no more than 15 mph over the speed of other traffic, with a maximum speed of 25 mph. The law, which took effect on July 1, 2025, bars the practice in roundabouts and school zones and on freeway on-ramps.
Montana: Though the legislation refers to the practice as lane filtering, it allows passing when traffic is moving as fast as 10 mph. The motorcyclist must not exceed 20 mph.
Colorado: Traffic is stopped, and the motorcyclist must not exceed 15 mph.
Utah and Arizona: Traffic is stopped on a road with a speed limit of 45 mph or less; motorcyclist must not exceed 15 mph.