'Lane Splitting', Dangerous Motorcycle Activity, Leads To Death Of Aurora Motorcyclist
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A motorcyclist was killed Saturday night in Aurora as he rode between cars at the intersection of Blackhawk Street and Mississippi Avenue. The motorcyclist crashed into a tow truck that was turning left.
It is called "lane splitting" -- motorcycles maneuver between the cars. Often when a light is red the motorcycles will move between the stopped vehicles to get in front of them at the intersection.
It's a practice that Megan Burchstead sees regularly from her apartment perch in Denver's LoDo neighborhood.
"I have seen and also recorded (it) countless times. Probably the main thing they do downtown is the lane splitting," she said.
The internet is full of videos that show the consequences of lane splitting. One shows a rider crashing his motorcycle. He couldn't see when he tried to go around a truck.
The sport bikes have kept residents in LoDo awake at night with the revving of engines and other issues.
Burchstead is one of those impacted.
"I had to get a hotel for a week before that I was only getting about 3-4 hours a night, unfortunately."
She has kept a log of some of the incidents, including 8-10 motorcyclists riding on the sidewalk, then more. Others going through red lights.
Burchstead say her calls to police have brought little visible reaction.
"One thing they could do is pull them over when they are doing blatantly illegal things like doing the lane splitting, going the wrong way going down the sidewalks."
It comes at a time when motorcycle related deaths have become increasingly common. Burchstead she has spoken to 911 operators and officers at Denver Police District 6.
DPD says they will contact Burchstead to talk about possible solutions. They also provided this statement to CBS4:
"DPD has invested resources into curbing street racing citywide – directing prevention and enforcement efforts based on resident complaints and data – and, of course, strongly discourages motorists and motorcyclists against racing and speeding due to the significant danger these behaviors pose to all road users."