Micah Smith joined the station in December 2018 and is Denver7's Social Equity Reporter. You can watch her weekdays at 5 p.m.
DENVER — Colorado is about halfway through a lane filtering pilot program, a 2024 law created for motorcyclists, and the Colorado State Patrol is keeping an eye on how effective it’s been at improving safety for motorcyclists and drivers.
“We are seeing positive numbers coming from the first official year of the law, and we're hoping that continues,” Hunter Mathews, Colorado State Trooper, said. Lane filtering allows motorcyclists to pass a vehicle in the same lane when traffic is at a complete stop. Lane splitting is when motorcyclists drive between lanes when traffic is moving. Lane splitting remains illegal in Colorado.
“In the first year, we've seen a 13% drop in crashes involving motorcycles. For injury crashes, we went from 581 to 502, so we have seen a significant drop off in terms of injuries, which is promising,” Mathews said. Mathews said CSP can’t attribute the drop in crashes directly to lane filtering.
“It hasn't hurt, as long as we're seeing this drop off. We do appreciate that people are following the law, and hopefully it is helping,” Mathews said. A few weeks ago, CSP and the Colorado Department of Transportation reported an increase in fatal crashes involving motorcycles during the first few months of 2026. Mathews said there was also a slight increase in fatal motorcycle crashes from 2024 to 2025.
“We've covered two extra fatalities. We went up from 53 to 55 from 2024 to 2025, that is with the extension of the warmer months in the winter,” Mathews said. According to CSP, there is still confusion surrounding the law. Mathews said CSP receives calls from frustrated drivers who report motorcyclists are not following the law correctly and from drivers reporting road rage incidents connected to lane filtering and lane splitting.
“We do hope that drivers start to appreciate the thought of what's actually occurring,” Mathews said. “We have seen a lot of people who are stopped at stop signs or traffic lights, where they're getting rear-ended by vehicles. So we're just trying to prevent that. ”Troopers are asking everyone to be patient and share the road.
The pilot program runs until September 2027; lawmakers will then decide whether to keep the law.
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