Drivers face $100 fine from today for breaking new lanes law – you are most at risk at a stop light

DRIVERS are preparing for a new road law to change vehicle interactions at the stop light.

Colorado announced the start of a new road law after a months-long driver education period.

CBS NEWS COLORADO

CBS NEWS COLORADO

Colorado officials announced that motorcyclists can advance through car traffic when vehicles are stopped at a red light.

Lawmakers passed the so-called lane filtering rules into law in April.

The laws went into effect on August 7.

There are stringent standards for motorcyclists to advance toward the light legally.

Passenger vehicles must come to a complete stop before the biker can make their way past the cars.

Riders must pass on the left side of the car and can only pass if there is enough room to fit both the vehicle and the bike.

Finally, bikers cannot exceed 15 mph when they are filtering.

Police said the rules for bikers are very clear.

“You can’t use the shoulder, you can’t go into an oncoming lane, and again, if traffic is moving, you can’t pass that either,” Colorado State Police’s Colonel Matthew C. Packard told local CBS affiliate KCNC-TV .

“If it is illegal to pass otherwise, it is still illegal to pass.”

Recent studies have suggested that lane filtering may be safer for some motorcycle riders.

Motorcycle riders are particularly vulnerable to car drivers who are too late to hit the brake in stopped traffic.

Several states, including Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Utah, and Minnesota, allow motorcyclists to filter through stopped traffic.

Minnesota’s law was passed after a biker , Phil Stalboerger, staunchly advocated for the policy shift.

Stalboerger was struck by a car going 30 mph when he stopped at a red light in 2022, according to Minneapolis-based NBC affiliate KARE .

Lane filtering regulations

Here are the five rules for lane filtering. Failure to adhere to these five points leaves bike riders susceptible to $100 fines.

• Cars must come to a complete stop
• Each lane must be wide enough to fit the stopped car and the motorcycle
• Motorcyclists must proceed at less than 15 mph
• Riders must maintain control of their bikes
• Riders must pass on the left, avoid using the shoulder, and stay out of oncoming traffic

“People hear about motorcycle accidents all the time, but when you’re in stop-and-go traffic, you shouldn’t be a sitting duck,” he told the station.

“If this law had been in place in 2022, I wouldn’t have been rear-ended because I would have been between cars or on the side of cars away from high-speed traffic.”

But drivers in all the states must beware of lane splitting, police and driving experts said.

If car traffic is moving, motorcycles are not allowed to pass in the same lane. This is called lane splitting.

The maneuver leaves riders susceptible to a $100 fine, police said .

“Lane filtering and lane splitting are totally different,” Peter Wolfe, a local motorcycle instructor, told Denver’s ABC affiliate KMGH-TV in May.

“They’re confused about these two, and it’s a big problem, and it could create a real disaster.”