Looks like lanesplitting is potentially coming to Oregon… again. The state’s leaders are once again looking at passing a bill allowing motorcycles to share lanes with cars under specific traffic conditions.

Some of you might remember we’ve been here before. Back in 2021, Oregon’s House of Representatives passed a lane sharing bill, which was then shot down by Governor Kate Brown a few days later.

The state’s motorcyclists have been hard at work in the two years since, and have now got the State Senate to approve SB0422, which would amend ORS 814.240. Once again, the new bill allows motorcyclists to ride between moving and stopped traffic under certain circumstances. Basically, if traffic is stopped or traveling at 10 mph or less, a motorcyclist is allowed to ride between cars at a speed of no more than 10 mph faster than surrounding traffic. In other words: If traffic is stopped, riders can lanesplit at 10 mph. If traffic is going 10 mph. riders can lanesplit at 20 mph. If traffic is going 11 mph, riders are not allowed to lanesplit.

Of course, there are fine details about school zones and highways and so on. You can see the whole of SB0422 here, but take note that what you see there might not survive the ongoing legislative process. There have been tweaks already, and it’s only at first reading in the House of Representatives. That pack of politicos may make serious changes, and after they have their way with it, it may be killed at that level, or passed on in seriously neutered form (perhaps lane sharing will only be allowed between stopped cars, or something like that).