These are the only 'newish' things I found in the article.
"Now, an effort to legalize lane-splitting in other states, such as Washington, Oregon, Texas and Tennessee, is gathering momentum amid a push by motorcyclists and by some lawmakers looking to relieve highway congestion.
Those moves have set off a debate because some traffic-safety officials—and many automobile drivers—see the practice as unsafe. It’s also the latest entry in a long-standing battle over motorcycle-safety laws such as helmet requirements, which are in place for all riders in 19 states, including California, but have been fought or even repealed in many others.
But last year, a study from the California Office of Traffic Safety found that motorcyclists’ injuries were kept down as long as they split lanes in slowly moving traffic and exceeded the speed of other traffic by less than 10 miles an hour.
“Lane splitting, when done in a safe and prudent manner, is no more dangerous than regular motorcycling,” said Chris Cochran, a spokesman for the state traffic-safety office.
Further, the study found that motorcyclists were less likely to die or be injured in lane-splitting crashes when compared with other kinds of collisions.
While the state allows the practice, there is no existing law regulating it. A bill now in a legislative committee would codify the practice, allowing it to occur at a speed differential of less than 10 miles an hour in traffic moving at less than 30 miles an hour.
The lane-splitting measures in other states also set varying limits to motorcyclists’ speed and speed differential. Most of those bills are also in committee, although Washington state’s measure passed the state Senate this past week."
