Originally Posted by
Helmet Head
I also want to expand on my definition of lane-sharing, which I believe is currently too restrictive compared to how it is commonly used:
Lane-sharing: Traveling fully within a lane, but far enough over to one side or another to leave room for another vehicle to travel alongside in that same lane. When another vehicle is present alongside it may be lane-sharing or lane-straddling, and may be moving faster, slower or at the same speed (traveling alongside another vehicle moving at the same speed is generally considered dangerous, whether it's the same or an adjacent lane).
But I think I had the CVC 21202 definition of what makes a lane shareable in mind when I wrote this, and that's why I restricted it to being "fully within a lane". But really there is no need for this restriction. Indeed, if you're riding on a shoulder stripe you're sharing the lane to your left, even though you are not fully in it. And a lane-splitter who is
whitelining is simultaneously sharing both lanes. So here is the updated version of lane-sharing:
Lane-sharing: (or sharing-lanes) The practice of traveling far enough over to one side or another of a lane to leave room for another vehicle to overtake in that same lane, or the practice of using unused space in a lane to overtake slower traffic in that lane.
I think that's much cleaner and more consistent with what people are talking about when they refer to sharing lanes.
After sleeping on it, I realize I cut out too much. Taking the "traveling fully within the lane" part out makes sense, because sharing lanes does not necessarily mean doing that, but excluding side-by-side sharing while moving at the same speed is not right either. After all, two (or more) cyclists can share a lane riding side-by-side, as can two motorcyclists. So, here's the latest revision:
Lane-sharing: (or sharing lanes) The practice of traveling far enough over to one side or another of a lane to leave room for the driver of another vehicle to also use part of that same lane (to be overtaken, or to share side-by-side at the same speed), or the practice of using unused space in a lane to overtake slower traffic using another part of that lane. Motorcyclists sometimes share lanes not side-by-side, but in a staggered fashion - one ahead and over laterally from the other. Dozens of bicyclists sometimes share one lane by riding in tight packs behaving like a single unit, similar to a flock of birds.