Motorcycles — California Permit Test

Motorcyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicle drivers.

A rider is a driver with less metal around them and the same claim on the lane.

Motorcyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicle drivers.

Check for motorcycles and use your mirrors when you change lanes or enter a road, because motorcycles are smaller and easily disappear in blind spots.

A motorcycle takes up so little of the mirror that a glance simply misses it.

Check for motorcycles and use your mirrors when you change lanes or enter a road.

Allow a safe three-second following distance behind a motorcycle, so you can avoid hitting the rider if they brake suddenly or fall.

A rider who goes down stops almost at once, and three seconds is what buys you the room.

Allow a safe three-second following distance. This space will help you avoid hitting a motorcyclist if they brake suddenly or fall.

Whenever possible give a motorcycle the full lane, and never try to pass a motorcycle in the same lane you are sharing with it.

Half a lane is not a lane, and it leaves the rider nowhere to move when something appears.

Whenever possible, give a motorcycle the full lane.

It is legal to share lanes with motorcycles, which is known as lane splitting.

A rider moving between the lines is doing what the state allows, not driving badly.

It is legal to share lanes with motorcycles, this is known as lane splitting.

Check for motorcyclists before you open your door next to traffic, and where possible move to one side of your lane to give them more room to pass.

A door opening is a wall appearing, and a rider has no time at all to go round it.

Check for motorcyclists before you open your door next to traffic.

What rights does a motorcyclist have?

The same as any other driver. A rider is a driver with less metal around them and the same claim on the lane. California Driver’s Handbook, p.44: “Motorcyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicle drivers.”