Geronimo Togunon-calupitan THIS WAS PART OF SLMAI (Southern Luzon Motorcyclist Association,Inc.)’s 1994 Anniversary Souvenir Program,which was condensed by the late,great ATTY.BENJAMIN”SUPERLOLO”S.MANAS.This will add to the myth of the necessity for The MMDA DESIGNATED”C-5/KATIPUNAN AVE. MOTORCYCLE LANE:THE ROAD TO HELL”…. LANE-SPLITTING (With apologies to Steven Anderson) By:Arch.Luis Canchela Even with the Eye of the Sky in a helicopter hovering and transmitting to DOTC’s ALPHA 6 over the radio station,he couldn’t see the end of the traffic jam.AQLPHA 6 relays the NON-NEWS THAT EDSA and the SOUTH LUZON EXPRESSWAY(SLEX)is clogged at the rush hour. To the”EYE IN THE SKY”in the helicopter,the only discrepant motions in this tableau are of MOTORCYCLES,flashes of RED,BLACK,BLUE,WHITE,et al and chrome making their way steadily between the cars,jeepneys amd buses at about 30 KPH.Almost all the bikes are travelling between the inside and the adjacent lane.From the inside of one of thestopped,the motorcycles and the riders seem to be coming dangerously close.From one of the motorcycles,or the helicopter above,the space between these two rows of cars seem like its own expressway,with more than two feet of open space on both sides beyond the handlebar ends.What the motorcycles are doing is called”LANE-SPLITTING”,an accepted way of life for motorcyclist. In CALIFORNIA,”LANE-SPLITTING”is not explicitly allowed and NOWHERE in the STATE CODE is it explicitly PROHIBITED.The ChiPs,with its high percentage of POLICE on MOTORBIKES(KAWASAKI Z1000 POLICE MODEL),relies on LANE-splitting FOR MOBILITY.without it,THE CHiPs will be stuck on traffic like all other vehicles.(*Which might be the MMDA’s REAL OBJECTIVE?) “LANE-SPLITTING”is a lot more than a way to cut to the front of the queue,or a way to keep moving WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS STOPPED.In a high traffic environment,it becomes a defensive technique for motorcyclists.At traffic lights,the motorcyclist ride up between the rows of stopped cars until he is at the frontof the line.As the light changes,he is away first,and quickest.Without accelerating hard he has cleared a gap between him and the cars.If he is not speeding,he”ll have ten seconds of clear road before the cars that are speeding fly by,and even then,he”ll be out of the bulk of traffic. With the commencement of the controlled experiment for motorcycles 400 cc and above on the expressways,other motorist will witness these two-wheeled vehicles lane-splitting.This should not be a cause for concern to four-wheeled vehicle drivers,for a biker will lane split if he feels it is perfectly safe.He wouldn’t want to damage a very expensive car or his motorcycle. (Posted by TERMINATOR 2 of GREENHILLS)
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 13:18:33 +0000
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