UP TO SPEED
THE (LANE-SHARING) BATTLE CONTINUES
Oregon’s Motorcycle Advocacy groups got Lane Sharing passed in the House and Senate only to be stonewalled by the Governor’s veto, but sights are set on 2023 By Kali Kotoski
T
he votes had been counted in Oregon’s House of Representatives and it was time to break out the champagne and celebrate. A six-year effort to pass lane-sharing legislation finally appeared to be on the path of victory. With overwhelming bipartisan support, the Oregon Senate and House passed Senate Bill 574, which would
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have permitted motorcyclists to filter between lanes, on multilane highways, when traffic had slowed. It was already reason for celebration as previous versions of the bill had failed to advance to a vote in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Then, on the night of May 27, the messages and emails started pouring in announcing that the unthinkable
had happened. Despite overwhelming lawmaker and rider support, Governor Kate Brown (D) vetoed the bill, citing concerns over noncompliance and public safety. “We knew it was intellectually possible that Brown could veto the bill, but it still really set us back when it actually sunk in,” said Patrick Leyshock, co-founder of the Sang-
