It is always important to watch for motorcycles on Utah’s roads and with a new law in effect as of today it is especially important. Utah Legislature passed a bill this year that allows lane filtering by motorcycles. For those that are unfamiliar, lane filtering is when a motorcyclist travels between lanes of stopped traffic, moving to the front of the line. In the rural Uintah Basin, this mostly means that lane filtering can occur while traffic is stopped at lights on Highway 40 in Vernal, Roosevelt, and Duchesne. Lane filtering is legal in Utah anywhere the speed limit is posted at 45 mph or less and only when the road has two or more lanes in the same direction. When filtering, motorcycles cannot exceed 15 mph and once traffic begins moving, the motorcyclist must merge back into a lane as soon as possible. All drivers are urged to be watchful for motorcycles. Riders engaging in lane filtering are urged to use extreme caution. Visit
www.ridetolive.utah.gov
for more information.