Written by Brad Cranmer, who handles lane splitting injury claims at Mansfield Melancon Injury Lawyers — mmcdlaw.com/about-us/our-team/brad-cranmer/
If you ride, you’ve probably done it without thinking twice. Maybe you filtered between stopped cars on I-10 when traffic locked up. Maybe you squeezed past slow lanes to beat a red light. In Louisiana, lane splitting isn’t a gray area. It’s illegal, and that can complicate a claim if a crash happens while you’re doing it.
Louisiana’s Answer on Lane Splitting
Louisiana law requires motorcycles to stay within a single lane, same as any other vehicle. Under La. R.S. 32:191.1, no rider may operate between lanes of traffic or between rows of vehicles. A few states have started legalizing some version of low-speed filtering. Louisiana isn’t one of them, at least not yet.
How Lane Splitting Affects Fault If You’re Hit
Here’s where it gets more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Say you were splitting lanes when a driver changed lanes into you without signaling. You may have technically broken a traffic law, but that doesn’t automatically mean you caused the crash. Louisiana uses a pure comparative fault system. A jury or insurance adjuster weighs both drivers’ actions and assigns a percentage of fault to each.
Being illegally positioned in the lane can raise your percentage of fault. It doesn’t erase the other driver’s responsibility if they failed to check mirrors or drifted without signaling. Insurance companies know this distinction. They’ll often lead with “you were lane splitting” as if that ends the conversation. It doesn’t.
Comparative Fault and Motorcycle Claims More Broadly
Motorcycle claims already face an uphill battle with adjusters who assume riders are more reckless than drivers of passenger vehicles. That bias shows up constantly in how insurers value injury claims, often lower than a comparable car accident claim with similar injuries. Add an actual lane splitting violation into the mix, and expect the initial offer to reflect that assumption rather than the facts of the crash. Our breakdown of how comparative fault affects motorcycle claims covers this in more depth.
What to Do After a Lane Splitting Crash
Get medical attention right away, even for injuries that seem minor. Motorcycle crashes often cause road rash, fractures, and joint damage that don’t show their full severity for days. Document where both vehicles ended up before anyone moves them. If you were lane splitting, tell your own lawyer immediately. That detail will come out one way or another, and it’s better managed early than discovered later by the other side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is lane splitting illegal in Louisiana?
Yes. Louisiana law requires motorcycles to stay within a single lane, and there’s currently no exception for filtering between stopped or slow-moving traffic.
Can lane splitting affect my claim if I’m hit while doing it?
It can increase the percentage of fault assigned to you under Louisiana’s comparative fault system, but it doesn’t automatically excuse the other driver if they changed lanes carelessly or failed to signal.
What’s the difference between lane splitting and lane filtering?
The terms are often used interchangeably, but some states distinguish low-speed filtering in stopped traffic from higher-speed splitting between moving lanes. Louisiana doesn’t legally permit either.
Do insurance adjusters treat motorcycle claims differently?
Often, yes. Riders frequently face assumptions about recklessness that don’t hold up under the actual facts of a crash, which is part of why a documented, well-argued claim matters even more for motorcycle injuries.
Riding legally doesn’t guarantee fair treatment, and lane splitting doesn’t mean you have no claim. Call us and let’s look at what actually happened.