Motorists in Favor of Lane Sharing in Oregon

I just sent out emails to our twelve individual representatives. It didn't take very long.
Here's what I wrote:
As a constituent and an Oregon motorcyclist, I respectfully request your support of Oregon House Bill 3542. HB3542 would legalize a limited form of motorcycle lane filtering, helping reduce congestion, benefiting the environment, and increasing rider safety.
I’m a 64-year-old Portland native and life-long resident. I'm also a professional commercial truck driver with a Class A CDL.
I earned the motorcycle endorsement on my Oregon driver’s license in 1986, and have been commuting to work on my motorcycle nearly every day since. My wife and son are also street riders, as are my brother and brother in-law. My father was a street rider. I have been working in the motorcycle industry since 1998, and was a motorcycle safety instructor for a decade, both with Team Oregon and with Harley-Davidson’s Rider’s Edge Program.
I request that you support HB3542 in favor of safe and legal lane sharing for scooters and motorcycles. Safe and legal lane filtering will reduce traffic congestion for everyone, reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gases, and improve safety for motorcyclists.
I understand that you might be 'surprised to hear that it increases rider safety.' Please allow me to explain.
Allowing motorcyclists to ride between lanes gets us out of the more vulnerable position of potential rear-ender crashes. Although lane sharing increases the risk of a sideswipe incident, it reduces the risks of rear-ender crashes. A motorcyclist can avoid a sideswipe incident more easily than a rear-ender. A sideswipe incident is typically less damaging to vehicles, and less injurious to drivers, passengers, and riders.
The Australian state of New South Wales had recently legalized lane filtering for motorcyclists, for the sake of safety. I encourage you to read their report by searching for the following (non-hyperlinked) website:
By permitting scooters and motorcycles to filter through congested traffic, we permit those cars and trucks behind us to advance. Lane sharing creates new lanes on the freeways and highways without the expense and inconvenience of widening or rebuilding the roads.
As a commercial truck driver, it is easier for me to see motorcyclists in my rear-view mirrors if they are on the dotted-line between lanes than if they were directly behind me. I would also have a greater space cushion for braking-distance if motorcyclists are on the dotted lines than if they are directly in front of me.
Some ask if lane splitting is dangerous. Everything we do is dangerous. Driving is dangerous. Bicycling is dangerous. Skiing, snowboarding, and hot-tubing are dangerous. Celebrating the Fourth of July is dangerous. Going to the shopping mall, going to school, and going to church are dangerous. We can’t eliminate danger, but we can reduce it.
There will be some who believe that lane filtering allows motorcyclists to cheat their way through traffic, and that it isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair. It isn’t fair that rich people get to live in big houses. It isn’t fair that some people get to drive a car to work, while others take the bus. It isn’t fair that some people don’t pay for parking while others do. Many others will see scooters and motorcycles making progress through traffic jams, and consider riding the motorcycle to work and leaving the car at home, removing a car from the traffic mix.
We have a way to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion and fuel consumption, and it is sitting there in front of us. Please support HB3542.

Transportation Joint 2025 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System

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Safe & Legal lane filtering for motorcyclists reduces the risks of riders being killed or injured in a rear-ender crash on freeways and highways during traffic jam situations, which is the most common type of crash during rush hour on freeways and highways.
Safe & Legal lane filtering for motorcyclists reduces traffic congestion for everyone.

https://www.jpcycles.com/common-tread/normalizing-lane-splitting-an-interview-with-the-lobbyist-behind-minnesotas-lane-filtering-law?

Normalizing lane splitting: An interview with the lobbyist behind Minnesota’s lane-filtering law Aerostich founder Andy Goldfine and a professional lobbyist who rides talk about how the lane-filtering law got passed in Minnesota.

Minnesota is now the easternmost state to legalize lane filtering and joins California, Utah, Montana, Arizona, and Colorado — which also signed filtering into law this year — as states that permit lane filtering.
“With this new ability to filter through slow-moving traffic and at stoplights, riders in Minnesota will benefit from increased safety on the open road,” AMA Central States Representative Nick Sands said. “The recent successes of lane-filtering legislation passing into law in Colorado and Minnesota signal excellent momentum for our efforts in that space, and the overall well-being of our road-riding members.”

https://ridermagazine.com/2024/05/28/minnesota-legalizes-lane-filtering/?

Minnesota Legalizes Lane Filtering | Rider Magazine Minnesota has become the sixth state in the U.S. to pass legislation allowing lane filtering after a similar bill passed in Colorado in April

This photo was from 2015.
I passed by the Motosport offices the other day and I saw ONLY ONE motorcycle parked out front. How sad that Motosport is no longer the true enthusiasts company that it used to be.

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Two key instances where the new 'lane filtering' law will apply will likely be in standstill traffic and at traffic lights.

https://denvergazette.com/outtherecolorado/news/new-law-motorcycles-to-be-able-to-pass-vehicles-between-lanes-in-colorado-sometimes/article_87f3d044-f386-11ee-a2bd-ab364b3fcf3b.html?

NEW LAW: Motorcycles to be able to pass vehicles between lanes in Colorado – sometimes | OutThere Colorado On Thursday, Senate Bill 24-079 'Motorcycle Lane Filtering and Passing' was signed into law in Colorado, which will make it legal for motorcycles to pass other vehicles between lanes in