Lane splitting experiment: comparative analysis of how this is accepted by motorcyclists and car drivers

Lane splitting is a common riding practice although forbidden by the traffic rules in France. Since February 1st, 2016, a secure shape of traffic, respectful of certain rules is allowed on motorways and urban expressways in several French departments. The objective here is to present the results concerning the acceptability of this secure form of lane splitting for motorcyclists and car drivers.
908 car drivers and motorcyclists, representative samples of the French population (in terms of sex, age and socio-professional category) were interviewed. 751 lived in the experimental area and 157, in the control area where lane splitting is not allowed.
The results show that the car drivers and the motorcyclists evaluate positively the experiment, the attitude of the experiment is even more positive for the motorcyclists. But, the car drivers have some reservations about the difficulty to understand where lane splitting is allowed. The results are discussed. As we will be replicating this research in 2017 and 2018, in order to study changes in how the experiment is accepted in the long term, at the end we will have some helpful elements, to decide if LS could be allowed in France.