Ontario Highway Traffic Act
Lane splitting falls within a legal gray area.
Although Ontario’s Highway
Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. H.8 (“HTA”) does not make specific or
express reference to “lane splitting,” the common elements of lane splitting
may fall outside of the type of driver behaviour permitted under Ontario’s
Rules of the Road. For example, the HTA requires vehicles to stay
within a single lane and sets out express circumstances under which a motorist
can legally exit that lane to pass another vehicle traveling in the same
direction.
In particular, Ontario’s laws emphasize that:
- Motorcycles must follow the same traffic rules as cars.
- Changing lanes without signaling, and moving between vehicles in a
non-designated lane, violates road safety regulations.
Motorcyclists caught lane splitting in Ontario
may face fines, penalties, or demerit points on their license. Police may also
interpret lane splitting as dangerous driving, which can result in more severe
penalties under Ontario’s aggressive driving laws.
There are so many times when we are driving when the traffic is heavy and we watch a motorcycle think that they can drive between two lanes of traffic just because they are a smaller vehicle. Well, it is very simple to say that what they are doing is against the law (if caught or involved in an accident) and they are both making it a risk for themselves but for other vehicles as well because what if I wanted to change lanes and a motorcycle suddenly appeared out of no where.
We were in a traffic jam the other day and we watched numerous motorcycles drive between two lanes of traffic as if they had their own separate lane where they are allowed to drive. A motorcyclist is not just putting themselves at risk, but they are putting other drives at risk because someone that is driving a car, or truck doesn’t expect a motorcycle to suddenly in an area that they have considered clear in a second or two before. When vehicles are driving at a reduced speed no one is expecting some vehicle to appear out of nowhere at a speed that exceeds the speed of what all the vehicles around are going.
It was so amazing to watch the motorcycles just got between the two lanes of traffic as if all the traffic was going at the speed limit. What the motorcycles don’t think about is they are approaching some vehicles especially those that are trying to change lines withing a blind spot because there aren’t in view and then all a sudden, they are in view. The view of a lot of other drives is that motorcycles are driving aggressively and that isn’t something that should be allowed on the roads.
I have done some research that ways that yes, lane splitting helps reduce congestion, but it is only reducing congestion for individuals that are on motorcycles not for other vehicles. So, you might be reducing the commute time for a single person or maybe two while vehicles that can up four or more passengers are sitting in traffic so how it that reducing congestion.
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat
If a motorcycle was to do lane splitting the
only way I can see it working is if they are driving on the shoulder of the
left more lane which isn’t normally used for any vehicle even in an emergency.
So maybe, lane splitting is something that could be used in the future, but
every driver needs to be aware of it happening and there still needs to be
rules and regulations (laws) of where and when it can be used. Driving on the
left shoulder might be allowed but driving between lanes of traffic at full
speed shouldn’t be allowed.
