Oregon Lane-Sharing Bill Update
Press Release | June 8, 2021
Lane-sharing in Oregon was one step closer to becoming a reality after the Oregon House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 574 with a vote of 42 to 14 on May 17. The House vote occurred after the Oregon Senate passed the bill in early May with wide bipartisan support. The passage marks nearly seven years of advocacy work by local Oregon motorcycle organizations and the AMA to educate lawmakers on the bill’s safety, traffic and environmental benefits.
Despite bipartisan support, however, Gov. Kate Brown vetoed the bill on May 26, citing her concerns about safety. Although the Legislature could still override that veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers, it’s highly unlikely.
“The AMA is disappointed in Governor Brown for ignoring the will of the Legislature, which passed this bill with broad support,” said the AMA’s Director of Government Relations Michael Sayre. “Despite a veto, we’d like to congratulate advocates in the state who’ve lobbied for years to get this bill to the Governor’s desk, which is farther than lane-filtering legislation has ever gone in Oregon, and the AMA plans to continue to work with Oregon advocates to overcome this final hurdle in the future.” CN
The following is an update from April 7, 2021:
Oregon Senate Bill 574 has passed the Joint Committee on Transportation and been sent to the full senate for consideration.
The bill would legalize lane sharing on roads with posted speed limits of 50 mph or higher when traffic is stopped or moving at 10 mph or less. The AMA supports lane sharing legislation to promote rider safety and to limit road congestion.
The bill would legalize lane sharing under the following conditions:
- On highways with a posted speed limit of 50 MPH or higher
- Traffic on the road must be stopped, or moving at less than 10 MPH
The rider:
- May travel no more than 10 miles per hour faster than traffic
- Must not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic
- Must safely merge with traffic, if traffic speed exceeds 10 miles per hour
- Must pass traffic traveling in the same direction
Riders cannot lane-share:
- Between a traffic lane and the curb and bicycle lane (on either side)
- Between a traffic lane and a row of parked vehicles (on either side)
- On the right side of the rightmost lane of traffic, or the left side of the leftmost lane of traffic
- In a school or construction zone
Visit laneshareoregon.com/#getinvolved for more details.