Louisiana State Police looking to bring awareness to lesser-known motorcycle law
By Rick Gogreve,
2024-08-27
NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO ) — Safety is often the number one priority of motorcyclists on the road, and one law in Louisiana helps them achieve it.
Louisiana revised statute 48:345 states that any motorcycle may use any high occupancy vehicle lane in Louisiana regardless of the number of riders or passengers on it.
“Typically, most people think that you have to have a passenger and a driver to drive in the HOV lane, but there is a clause in there that says that a motorcyclist can travel in that lane,” said Louisiana State Police Trooper First Class Tiah Larvadain.
According to state police, allowing motorcyclists to use HOV lanes and stay out of regular traffic helps reduce the risk of crashes.
“Like I said before, those crashes can happen anywhere, but if a motorcyclist gets in that HOV lane, they can travel safer,” said Larvadain.
The only problem is it seems that this law is unknown to many motorcyclists.
New Orleans resident and life-long motorcyclist Paul Rodgers says he’s ridden for almost 50 years and doesn’t know many people who know the law.
“I don’t know if it’s the signage or the fact that there’s no organized motorcycle community in New Orleans, but actually a lot of motorcyclists do not know that you can use the HOV lane, and it is a lot safer,” said Rodgers.
He says that the more people who know about this law, the safer our roads will be for motorcyclists across the state.
“Maybe the DOTD could come up with a little bit more signage. The signs are there, but they’re kind of rare, and this is going to help to, putting this on the air and kind of get the idea out there in public. I’d love to see more signage for sure,” Rodgers said.
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During rush hour traffic, the h.o.v is a disaster when it's time to exit. Most of the time, you need to get back on the bridge anyway to make it to your destination. Those are the main reasons I don't use it while riding my motorcycle.
D'Lisious Peters
08-27
And how many of these HOV lanes do we have in La. ?
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