Second Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REREVISED
This Version Includes All Amendments
Adopted in the Second House
LLS NO. 24-0466.01 Jery Payne x2157
SENATE BILL 24-079
Senate Committees House Committees
Transportation & Energy Transportation, Housing & Local Government
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
HOUSE
3rd Reading Unamended
March 18, 2024
HOUSE
Amended 2nd Reading
March 15, 2024
SENATE
Amended 3rd Reading
February 13, 2024
SENATE
Amended 2nd Reading
February 12, 2024
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Hinrichsen and Smallwood, Gonzales, Lundeen, Priola
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Mabrey and Weinberg, Ortiz
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
4
(a) A 2009 "Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study" by the5
European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers that was conducted6
in five European countries found that 0.45 percent of motorcycle crashes7
involved lane splitting and that motorcyclists were seven times more8
likely to be hit while stopped compared to crashing while lane splitting;9
(b) The state of New South Wales, Australia, conducted a10
two-year trial of lane filtering from February 2015 through January 2017,11
which concluded that:12
(I) Lane splitting "was a relatively low risk riding activity for13
motorcyclists under the conditions of the trial"; and14
(II) Attitudes toward lane filtering became more positive during15
the trial, and most motor vehicle drivers supported lane filtering even16
though they may not have necessarily believed it improved safety;17
(c) The lane-splitting trial in Australia resulted in a change in the18
laws of New South Wales, from prohibiting lane filtering to allowing lane19
filtering at a speed less than 30 kmph (19 mph);20
(d) A 2010 Oregon department of transportation literature review21
079-2- on motorcycle lane sharing concluded that lane splitting crashes were rare1
even in areas where lane splitting was legal and widely practiced;2
(e) In a June 2012 through August 2013 study from the California3
Enhanced Motorcycle Collision Data Project, of 5,969 motorcyclist4
crashes in California, the only state in the country to allow full lane5
splitting, motorcyclist injuries were far less severe when the6
collision-involved motorcyclist was lane splitting than when the7
collision-involved motorcyclist was not lane splitting;8
(f) Three studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 found that9
lane-splitting motorcyclists in California were less likely to be involved10
in a crash than motorcyclists who were not lane splitting. Two of these11
studies reported that lane-splitting motorcyclists are 43 percent less likely12
to be involved in a rear-end crash.13
(g) A year after the California Highway Patrol issued lane splitting14
safety tips, motorcyclist fatalities were reduced by 30 percent because15
motorcyclists were less likely to be involved in a rear-end crash;16
(h) Other benefits of lane filtering include a reduction in traffic17
congestion, and, accordingly, fuel consumption and emissions from all18
vehicles, and reduction in overheating in air-cooled motorcycles;19
(i) In the last five years, Montana, Utah, and Arizona have all20
legalized lane filtering, and, following a sunset review in 2022, Utah21
extended the legalization of lane filtering; and22
(j) Lane filtering is prohibited in Colorado and can result in23
various citations, including violations of motorcycle lane restrictions and24
careless driving laws.25
(2) Therefore, the general assembly determines that the act of lane26
filtering by a driver of a motorcycle, when done at speeds at or below 1527
079
-3- miles per hour and when conditions permit, is in the best interests of1
motorist safety.2
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 42-4-1503, amend3
(2) and (3) as follows:4
42-4-1503. Operating motorcycles and autocycles on roadways5
laned for traffic - report - repeal. (2) The operator DRIVER of a6
motorcycle or autocycle shall not overtake or pass in the same lane7
occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.8
(3) (a) A person shall not operate DRIVE a motorcycle or autocycle9
between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.10
(b) (I) N
OTWITHSTANDING SUBSECTIONS (2) AND (3)(a) OF THIS
11
SECTION, THE DRIVER OF A TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE MAY OVERTAKE12
OR PASS ANOTHER MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE AS THE13
MOTORCYCLE IF:14
(A) T
HE OVERTAKEN OR PASSED MOTOR VEHICLE IS STOPPED ;
15
(B) THE MOTOR VEHICLES IN THE ADJACENT LANES, IF THE LANES16
ARE FOR THE SAME DIRECTION OF TRAVEL AS THE LANE OCCUPIED BY THE17
TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE , ARE STOPPED;18
(C) THE DRIVER OF THE TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE IS ON A19
ROAD WITH LANES WIDE ENOUGH TO PASS SAFELY ;20
(D) THE PASSING MOTORCYCLE IS DRIVING AT FIFTEEN MILES PER21
HOUR OR LESS; AND22
(E) CONDITIONS PERMIT PRUDENT OPERATION OF THE23
MOTORCYCLE WHILE OVERTAKING OR PASSING .24
(II) WHEN THE MOTOR VEHICLES THAT ARE BEING OVERTAKEN OR25
PASSED BY THE TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE BEGIN MOVING, THE DRIVER26
OF THE MOTORCYCLE SHALL CEASE OVERTAKING OR PASSING A MOTOR27
079
-4- VEHICLE PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (3)(b)(I) OF THIS SECTION.1
(III) A PERSON OVERTAKING OR PASSING PURSUANT TO THIS2
SUBSECTION (3)(b) SHALL NOT OVERTAKE OR PASS:3
(A) O
N THE RIGHT SHOULDER;4
(B) T
O THE RIGHT OF A VEHICLE IN THE FARTHEST RIGHT -HAND5
LANE IF THE HIGHWAY IS NOT LIMITED ACCESS; OR6
(C) I
N A LANE OF TRAFFIC MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION .7
(IV) THIS SUBSECTION (3)(b) IS REPEALED, EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER8
1,
2027.
9
(c) (I) T
HE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SHALL
ANALYZE10
DATA ON THE SAFETY EFFECTS OF SUBSECTION (3)(b) OF THIS SECTION AND11
ISSUE A REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY JANUARY 1, 2027. THE12
DATA AND REPORT MUST INCLUDE :13
(A) M
OTORCYCLE REAR-END COLLISIONS
BEFORE AND AFTER14
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBSECTION (3)(c);15
(B) T
HE SEVERITY OF REAR-END COLLISIONS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC
16
CONDITIONS BEFORE AND AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBSECTION17
(3)(c);
AND
18
(C) M
OTORCYCLE SIDE-SWIPE COLLISIONS WHILE OVERTAKING OR
19
PASSING AT A RATE OF LESS THAN FIFTEEN MILES PER HOUR BEFORE AND20
AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBSECTION (3)(c).21
(II) T
HIS SUBSECTION (3)(c) IS REPEALED, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2028.
22
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date -23
applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following24
the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the25
general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant26
to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an27
079
-5- item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,1
section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the2
general election to be held in November 2024 and, in such case, will take3
effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the4
governor.5
(2) This act applies to acts committed on or after the applicable6
effective date of this act.7
079
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