State Laws

The short answer, and why it is not the useful one Yes. Per mile traveled in 2023, the motorcyclist fatality rate was 31.39 per 100 million vehicle miles against 1.13 for people in cars — almost 28 times higher, on NHTSA’s own arithmetic. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety puts the 2024 comparison at almost … Read more

The headline figures, and the year each one belongs to Most of the motorcycle statistics circulating online have no date attached, which makes them useless. A figure from 2019 and a figure from 2023 describe different worlds — deaths rose by more than a thousand between them. Everything below carries its year. The primary source … Read more

Filtering and splitting are not the same maneuver Lane filtering is moving between lanes past traffic that has stopped. Lane splitting is riding between lanes of traffic that is still moving. In ordinary conversation the two words get used interchangeably; in a statute they do not, and the distinction decides whether what you just did … Read more

Three groups, and only one of them is simple Every state falls into one of three categories. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia require a helmet from every rider and every passenger, whatever their age. Three states — Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire — require one from nobody. The other thirty sit in the … Read more

Michigan requires a helmet. The exemption is the exception Start from what the statute actually says, because the popular version of Michigan’s law — “they repealed it, helmets are optional” — skips the part that decides whether you are exempt or in breach. MCL 257.658 opens with a flat requirement: “A person operating or riding … Read more

No, and New York says so in those words Most states leave you to work this out from a general lane-discipline rule. New York does not. Its Vehicle and Traffic Law has a section devoted to motorcycles and lanes, and one subdivision of it addresses the maneuver directly: “No person shall operate a motorcycle between … Read more

No, and Ohio’s rule reaches further than most Lane splitting is not permitted in Ohio. As in Illinois, no Ohio statute uses the phrase — the prohibition comes from the general lane-discipline rule that applies to every vehicle. What makes Ohio different, and worth reading carefully if you ride in a city, is how that … Read more

No — but Illinois gets there a different way Lane splitting is not permitted in Illinois. What makes the question hard to answer, and what generates the persistent belief that there is a loophole, is that no Illinois statute uses the phrase. Compare that with the states that do name it. California defines lane splitting … Read more

Yes — and the reason is not the one you have read Lane splitting is legal in California. The California Highway Patrol says so in one sentence: “Lane splitting is legal if done in a safe and prudent manner.” What almost every article gets wrong is why. The usual version is that California legalized lane … Read more

Georgia requires a DOT helmet for every rider and passenger, with no age or insurance exemption. What the law says and what it costs to ignore.