Gov. Brown surprise veto over motorcycle lane-splitting

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

It caught many lawmakers by surprise when Governor Brown made a rare veto over the motorcycle lane-splitting bill SB 574.  Senate Bill 574 allows motorcycles to use the space between lanes when freeway traffic has stopped or slowed to 10 mph. Lane-splitting was promoted as a a way to advance traffic when traffic has stopped.

Governor Brown in  her veto, shared that by legalizing lane-splitting on freeways could lead to lane-splitting on residential City roads and therefore become a safety hazard.  As demonstrated with Covid-19 rules, Gov. Brown favors the heavy hand approach to government safety rules.

At this point, few bills have made it through both chambers, and this bill did advance with bipartisan support, which made the surprise veto a shock to many.