Motorcycle lane filtering will soon be legal in Colorado. Here's how it's different from lane splitting.

Colorado will become the fifth state to allow motorcyclists to filter lanes thanks to legislation that officials say will increase the safety of riders on the roadways.

Gov. Jared Polis in April signed SB24-079, known as the “Motorcycle Lane Filtering and Passing" bill, into law. It goes into effect Aug. 7.

With the new legislation, motorcyclists will be able to pass and filter through stopped traffic as a way to decrease rear-end collisions of motorcyclists — crashes that typically result in serious bodily injury, or death, according to Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Sam Cole.

“It’s a common-sense law that's easy to implement and helps get motorists out of harm's way,” Cole said.

While the more common types of fatal and serious crashes involve speed and loss of control, Cole said the law will work to promote motorcycle safety and protect the most vulnerable set of motorists.

“Rear-end collisions involving motorcyclists are rare, but even saving one motorist from a rear-end crash is worth it. It's easy to implement and easy to measure.”

According to state data provided by CDOT, while motorcyclists only account for 3% of motorists on the state roadways, they account for 20% of fatal crashes.

In 2022, Colorado saw a record-breaking number of motorcycle fatalities, those crashes representing 19.9% of the 764 roadway fatalities seen that year. While the state saw a slight decrease in 2023, Cole said the new law will be a way to continue to promote motorcycle safety throughout the state.

Minnesota, Arizona, Utah and California have already legalized lane filtering.

Officials have expressed concerns about motorcyclists confusing the new law for lane splitting — a practice currently only legal in California.

“Lane splitting and lane filtering are two very different things,” Sgt. Patrick Rice with the Colorado State Patrol said.

“Lane splitting means motorcycles can go between moving cars in adjacent lanes, essentially creating a dotted line lane for the bike and allowing them to pass when vehicles are anywhere below the posted speed limit," Cole said.

Lane splitting remains illegal in Colorado. If motorcyclists are caught splitting lanes on state roadways, the action is considered a Class A traffic infraction, resulting in a fine "usually around $100 with an $11 surcharge," according to Cole.

Lane filtering, on the other hand, not only requires all surrounding vehicles to be stopped but also adds the stipulation that motorcycles cannot travel faster than 15 mph while filtering lanes.

“The reason the legislation was passed is to protect motorcycles that are sitting at a standstill at the back of a line of traffic. They can motor to the front or to an exit to avoid overheating and avoid getting rear-ended,” Rice said.

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Implementation of the new state law will be followed by a three-year probationary period during which CDOT will determine lane filtering's effectiveness.

"It’s just going to be an internal analysis of crash data over the next few years. We're going to look at if crashes involving motorcyclists on the roadways go down or did side swipes go up," Cole said.

Motorcyclists who participate in lane filtering before the new law's implementation could face a Class A traffic infraction, resulting in a three-point driver's license deduction and a $35 fine.

Nick Sands, the representative of the American Motorcycle Association, supports the new bill.

"One of the major positives to this (law) is it's not something that's required of motorcyclists. It's a safety tool for riders when they think they need it," Sands said.