A 3-minute lesson from the Minnesota course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Motorcycles are small and easy to misjudge, and riders have no protective shell. Minnesota lets motorcyclists split and filter between lanes, and you must not get in their way.
Around motorcycles
Their small size makes speed and distance hard to judge
Follow at the same or a greater distance than other vehicles — riders may weave
Moving in front of one, leave as much space as you would for a car
When a motorcycle passes you, keep your lane position and speed
Crowding a motorcyclist is illegal — never drive beside one in the same lane
A motorcycle passing in your lane when 2+ lanes go the same way and traffic is moving — at no more than 25 mph and no more than 15 mph faster than traffic.
Motorcycles may ride or pass between you and the car in the next lane. This is legal, and you may not interfere with their safe movement or try to stop them.
Crashes at urban intersections are the most common motorcycle-car collisions — often a driver turning left in front of an oncoming motorcycle. Right-of-way laws apply to motorcyclists, and they may use high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
People on highways, bikeways, sidewalks or trails with less protection than car occupants: riders of two- or three-wheelers, electric mobility devices, horses or scooters, and walkers.
Freeway traffic is creeping at 10 mph when a motorcycle rides between your lane and the next at 25 mph. That's legal lane splitting — hold your position and don't drift over to block it.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
How should your following distance behind a motorcycle compare to your following distance behind a car?
It can be shorter, since motorcycles are smaller
It doesn't matter at all
It should always be exactly half
It should be the same or greater
Answer: It should be the same or greater
Following distance behind a motorcycle should be the same as, or greater than, that behind a car.
