Second Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 24-0466.01 Jery Payne x2157
SENATE BILL 24-079
Senate Committees House Committees
Transportation & Energy
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING AUTHORIZATION FOR A TWO -WHEELED MOTO RCYCLE TO101
OVERTAKE ANOTHER MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE .102
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
The bill authorizes a 2-wheeled motorcycle to overtake or pass
another motor vehicle in the same lane if:
! The other motor vehicle is stopped or moving in the same
direction of travel as the motorcycle;
! The road has lanes wide enough to pass safely;
! The motorcycle is moving at 20 miles per hour or less; and
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Hinrichsen and Smallwood,
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Mabrey,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. ! Conditions permit prudent operation of the motorcycle
while overtaking or passing.
A motorcycle rider overtaking or passing under the bill must not overtake
or pass:
! On the right shoulder;
! To the right of a vehicle in the farthest right-hand lane if
the highway is not limited access; or
! In a lane of traffic moving in the opposite direction.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) Motorcycle "lane filtering" generally refers to the practice of4
a motorcyclist overtaking another vehicle within the same lane or5
between lanes when the surrounding vehicles have stopped moving or are6
moving slowly;7
(b) Motorcycle "lane splitting" generally refers to the practice of8
a motorcyclist overtaking another vehicle within the same lane or9
between lanes, outside of specified slow-moving traffic conditions,10
though the terms "lane filtering" and "lane splitting" are sometimes used11
interchangeably;12
(c) A 2009 "Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study" by the13
European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers that was conducted14
in five European countries found that 0.45 percent of motorcycle crashes15
involved lane splitting and that motorcyclists were seven times more16
likely to be hit while stopped compared to crashing while lane splitting;17
(d) The state of New South Wales, Australia, conducted a18
two-year trial of lane filtering from February 2015 through January 2017,19
which concluded that:20
(I) Lane splitting "was a relatively low risk riding activity for21
SB24-079-2- motorcyclists under the conditions of the trial"; and1
(II) Attitudes toward lane filtering became more positive during2
the trial, and most motor vehicle drivers supported lane filtering even3
though they may not have necessarily believed it improved safety;4
(e) The lane-splitting trial in Australia resulted in a change in the5
laws of New South Wales, from prohibiting lane filtering to allowing lane6
filtering at a speed less than 30 kmph (19 mph);7
(f) A 2010 Oregon department of transportation literature review8
on motorcycle lane sharing concluded that lane splitting crashes were rare9
even in areas where lane splitting was legal and widely practiced;10
(g) In a June 2012 through August 2013 study from the California11
Enhanced Motorcycle Collision Data Project, of 5,969 motorcyclist12
crashes in California, the only state in the country to allow full lane13
splitting, motorcyclist injuries were far less severe when the14
collision-involved motorcyclist was lane splitting than when the15
collision-involved motorcyclist was not lane splitting;16
(h) Three studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 found that17
lane-splitting motorcyclists in California were less likely to be involved18
in a crash than motorcyclists who were not lane splitting. Two of these19
studies reported that lane-splitting motorcyclists are 43 percent less likely20
to be involved in a rear-end crash.21
(i) A year after the California Highway Patrol issued lane splitting22
safety tips, motorcyclist fatalities were reduced by 30 percent because23
motorcyclists were less likely to be involved in a rear-end crash;24
(j) Other benefits of lane filtering include a reduction in traffic25
congestion, and, accordingly, fuel consumption and emissions from all26
vehicles, and reduction in overheating in air-cooled motorcycles;27
SB24-079
-3- (k) In the last five years, Montana, Utah, and Arizona have all1
legalized lane filtering, and, following a sunset review in 2023, Montana2
extended the legalization of lane filtering; and3
(l) Lane filtering is prohibited in Colorado and can result in4
various citations, including violations of motorcycle lane restrictions and5
careless driving laws.6
(2) Therefore, the general assembly determines that the act of lane7
filtering by a driver of a motorcycle, when done at speeds at or below 208
miles per hour and when conditions permit, is in the best interests of9
motorist safety.10
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 42-4-1503, amend11
(2) and (3) as follows:12
42-4-1503. Operating motorcycles and autocycles on roadways13
laned for traffic. (2) E
XCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (3)(b) OF THIS14
SECTION, the operator
DRIVER of a motorcycle or autocycle shall not15
overtake or pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being16
overtaken.17
(3) (a) E
XCEPT AS PERMITTED IN SUBSECTION (3)(b) OF THIS18
SECTION, a person shall not operate
DRIVE a motorcycle or autocycle19
between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.20
(b) (I) T
HE DRIVER OF A TWO -WHEELED MOTORCYCLE MAY21
OVERTAKE OR PASS ANOTHER MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE AS THE22
MOTORCYCLE IF:23
(A) T
HE OVERTAKEN OR PASSED MOTOR VEHICLE IS STOPPED OR24
MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION OF TRAVEL ;25
(B) T
HE DRIVER OF THE TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE IS ON A26
ROAD WITH LANES WIDE ENOUGH TO PASS SAFELY ;27
SB24-079
-4- (C) THE PASSING MOTORCYCLE IS DRIVING AT TWENTY MILES PER1
HOUR OR LESS; AND2
(D) C
ONDITIONS PERMIT PRUDENT OPERATION OF THE3
MOTORCYCLE WHILE OVERTAKING OR PASSING .4
(II) A
PERSON OVERTAKING OR PASSING PURSUANT TO THIS5
SUBSECTION (3)(b) SHALL NOT OVERTAKE OR PASS:6
(A) O
N THE RIGHT SHOULDER;7
(B) T
O THE RIGHT OF A VEHICLE IN THE FARTHEST RIGHT -HAND8
LANE IF THE HIGHWAY IS NOT LIMITED ACCESS; OR9
(C) I
N A LANE OF TRAFFIC MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION .10
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date -11
applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following12
the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the13
general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant14
to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an15
item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,16
section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the17
general election to be held in November 2024 and, in such case, will take18
effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the19
governor.20
(2) This act applies to acts committed on or after the applicable21
effective date of this act.22
SB24-079
-5-