Motorcycles were to be given priority in traffic jams: what changes to the traffic rules were proposed
The initiative to officially allow motorcycles to move between lanes of traffic flow in Ukraine did not receive sufficient public support. The author of the petition proposed to legalize the so-called lane splitting — a practice used in some countries around the world that allows motorcyclists to cautiously move between cars during traffic jams. According to the initiator, this could reduce the risk of some traffic accidents and partially ease road congestion, but the petition did not gather the required number of votes for government consideration.
The petition did not reach the required 25,000 votes
The petition to the Cabinet of Ministers calling for allowing motorcycles to move between lanes of traffic flow did not gather the necessary number of signatures for consideration. The appeal received only 297 votes out of the 25,000 required.
According to international practice and with the aim of improving road safety and reducing traffic jams, it was proposed to amend the Traffic Rules of Ukraine to provide for the possibility of motorcycles moving between lanes of traffic flow (lane splitting).
Why the author proposed to change the Traffic Rules
The author of the appeal emphasized that the current Traffic Rules of Ukraine do not directly regulate the issue of motorcycles moving between lanes. In his opinion, this leads to ambiguous interpretation of the norms, conflicts between road users, and increased risk of traffic accidents, particularly rear-end collisions involving motorcyclists in traffic jams.
In this regard, he proposed to legally regulate the possibility of such movement under certain conditions.
What rules were proposed to be introduced for motorcyclists
In particular, motorcycle riders were proposed to be allowed to move between lanes in case of dense or completely stopped traffic flow.
Among the proposed restrictions were the following conditions:
- the speed of the traffic flow must not exceed 30 km/h;
- the motorcycle speed cannot exceed the traffic flow speed by more than 15 km/h;
- movement must take place between the two leftmost lanes in one direction if there are three or more lanes, or between the first and second lanes on roads with two lanes in one direction;
- exceptions are cases of preparing vehicles for turns or U-turns;
- movement between large vehicles, including trucks and buses, is prohibited.
Thus, the initiative to legalize motorcycle lane splitting in Ukraine will not be submitted for government consideration, as it failed to collect the legally required number of supporting votes.
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