Lane Filtering soon to be permanently legal in Utah
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Utah's Transportation Interim Committee voted to advance legislation that would permanently legalize motorcycle lane filtering throughout the state, according to reporting from KSL News.
The committee's decision follows safety data presented by the Utah Highway Patrol. That agency review demonstrated that the state's pilot lane filtering law, which took effect in 2019, resulted in no statistical increase in motorcycle crashes.
The current framework was enacted with a scheduled sunset date of July 1, 2027. The proposed legislation removes that expiration clause to make filtering permanent. In addition to securing long-term legality, the draft measure expands the designated zones where riders are permitted to filter between vehicles.
For riders, lane filtering helps prevent rear-end collisions in congested traffic and shortens travel times. Establishing the practice permanently in Utah also creates an established legal precedent as other state legislatures consider their own filtering bills.
Utah is not alone here. California is the only state that allows full lane splitting between moving traffic, while Utah, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, and Minnesota allow lane filtering, the narrower version that covers stopped or slow traffic under set speed limits. Several other states have taken runs at it, including Oregon, Washington, Virginia, and Connecticut, but none of those bills have made it into law yet.
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Photo: MotorBiscuit.
