Is Lane Splitting Legal in Michigan?

The Motorcycle Legal Minute™ was created by Jason Waechter, THE Motorcycle Lawyer, to explain Michigan’s motorcycle law in a short and easy to understand way.

Lane splitting is when a motorcyclist rides between two lanes of traffic going in the same direction. It allows motorcyclists to pass slower moving vehicles and continue down the road even when all the cars and trucks are at a dead stop on the highway. In Michigan, lane splitting is illegal.

Lane splitting can be dangerous but is especially useful in very congested cities. I have personally seen this at work in Rio and Bangkok. If you want to see something crazy, type into YouTube: Scooter lane splitting Bangkok. You will see traffic stopped for a red light, and 30 Scooters lane split and swarm up to the front of the line.  

When the light turns green, mopeds, scooters and motorcycles all take off ahead of the cars.  It’s crazy! The idea with lane splitting is that it gives a person an incentive to ride a two-wheeled vehicle, which takes a car off the road in a very heavy traffic city. This helps with less traffic and a smaller carbon footprint.

The states that allow lane splitting are Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Texas.

If you are a Michigan resident and visit any of these states, be very careful. We are not used to seeing motorcycles lane splitting. It is surprising. You need to be extra careful when changing lanes on the highway. Signal, check your mirrors, look over shoulder and, only then, slowly move to the other lane.

Copied here is the Michigan statute regarding lane splitting:

MCL 257.660 Electric personal assistive mobility device, low-speed vehicle, commercial quadricycle; electric skateboard, or moped; operation; limitations; applicability to police officer; regulation by local government; prohibitions; regulation by department of natural resources.

Sec. 660.

  (1) A person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device, low-speed vehicle, electric skateboard, or moped upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable and shall exercise due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. A motorcycle is entitled to full use of a lane, and a motor vehicle shall not be driven in such a manner as to deprive a motorcycle of the full use of a lane. This subsection does not apply to motorcycles operated 2 abreast in a single lane.

  (2) A person riding an electric personal assistive mobility device, motorcycle, electric skateboard, or moped upon a roadway shall not ride more than 2 abreast except on a path or part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive use of those vehicles.

  (3) Where a usable and designated path for bicycles is provided adjacent to a highway or street, a person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device or electric skateboard may, by local ordinance, be required to use that path.

  (4) A person operating a motorcycle, moped, low-speed vehicle, electric personal assistive mobility device, or electric skateboard shall not pass between lines of traffic, but may pass on the left of traffic moving in his or her direction in the case of a 2-way street or on the left or right of traffic in the case of a 1-way street, in an unoccupied lane.

Is Lane Splitting Legal in Michigan in 2023?

The Michigan lane splitting law has not changed in 2023

Is Lane Splitting allowed in Michigan 2022?

The Lane Splitting Law in 2022 is the same in 2022. No updates or changes to Michigan law with respect to lane splitting.

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