Lane Positioning, Following Distance, and Sharing the Road
You own the lane
Oregon gives a motorcycle the same right to a full lane as any other vehicle. Don't share a lane with a car, and don't linger in a driver's blind spot where a mirror check won't find you. Oregon has not authorized general lane splitting, so don't count on it.
Choosing a position
- Left third: the standard choice. Best view of oncoming traffic and the best chance an oncoming driver sees you; it also keeps you off the oil strip that drips down the center at intersections.
- Center: fine at speed for space on both sides, but near stops it collects oil, coolant, and debris.
- Right third: useful when a left-turner is edging out, but it hides you behind parked cars and driveways.
Following distance
Two seconds minimum; four or more at night, in rain, or on gravel; and at least three seconds behind a large truck, far enough back to see its mirrors. Count "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two" from the moment the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object.
Space cushion
Manage front, rear, and sides. Check mirrors before braking and tap the brake light when slowing so the car behind reads your intent. Always keep an escape path - a gap you can use without thinking.
Worked example
You follow at 50 mph with a two-second gap. Reasoning: 50 mph is about 73 feet per second, so two seconds is roughly 147 feet - closer to ten car lengths than two. At night or in rain you double it to about 294 feet.
Traps
- Tailgating to "be seen" by the car ahead.
- Cruising in a blind spot instead of passing cleanly.
- Sitting in the center oil strip at a red light.