Motorcycles in Minnesota will now be able to split lanes — here's what that means

Motorists and motorcyclists should be aware of a major new traffic law that goes into effect July 1 in Minnesota.

Beginning on that date, motorcyclists will be allowed to ride in between traffic lanes and maneuver through traffic in certain conditions, under the terms of a new state law.

The legislation, which was passed in 2024 but doesn’t take effect until Tuesday, allows for driving techniques known as “lane splitting” and “lane filtering,” but only in specific situations.

“Lane splitting” allows a motorcycle to travel between lanes of traffic. It’s only allowed when traffic is moving 25 miles per hour or slower.

“Lane filtering” is allowed when two or more lanes of traffic moving in the same direction are stopped, such as at a traffic light, or during a traffic jam.

Motorcyclists are now legally allowed to move through traffic in those situations, but they can’t drive more than 15 miles per hour over the speed of traffic and must pass a vehicle in the same direction of travel and in the same traffic lane.

Both riding maneuvers are not allowed in roundabouts (or approaching them or exiting), school or construction zones, or on an on-ramp to a freeway.

The measures were passed to improve safety for motorcyclists. The state has seen an increase in motorcycle fatalities and traffic deaths in recent years, according to state transportation officials.

In 2022, Phil Stalboerger was traveling on a motorcycle in stop-and-go traffic on I-694 when he was rear ended by a distracted driver. His wife, who was sitting in back, broke several bones.

“This bill is about safety, and it is about reducing congestion,” Stalboerger testified to the Minnesota Senate transportation committee in April 2024.

“As bigger vehicles are driving at faster speeds, [with] more distracted drivers, I am a sitting duck on Minnesota's freeways, and this bill will help prevent some of those injuries,” the long-time motorcyclist said.

If the law was in place at the time, he said, he would have been in between vehicles, or on the side of cars, and likely wouldn’t have been struck from behind.

Minnesota is now the sixth state to allow lane filtering, following California, Utah, Montana, Arizona and Colorado, according to the American Motorcyclist Association.

To help ensure this new law is enacted as safely as possible, state officials are launching a $200,000 education campaign.

Motorists need to be aware of motorcycles sharing lanes in slow-moving traffic and when stopped at intersections and cannot impede their legal right to do so.