Maine Bans Lane Splitting and Filtering Outright While Guaranteeing Riders the Full Lane

Section 2062 stacks four different rules about where a Maine motorcycle may be in a lane, and reading only the first one gives the wrong answer.

The entitlement comes first. Subsection 4, paragraph A says an operator of a motorcycle other than a moped may fully use a lane, and paragraph C makes that enforceable against other traffic: a motor vehicle may not be driven in such a manner as to deprive a motorcycle of the full use of a lane. So a Maine driver who crowds a rider toward the fog line to squeeze past within the lane is the one committing the offense.

Paragraph B then sets the sharing limit. More than 2 motorcycles may not be operated abreast within the same lane, which is an affirmative statement that two abreast is permitted. The same paragraph, amended by PL 2019, c. 345, carves autocycles out: an autocycle may not be operated abreast with any motor vehicle within the same lane, so the three-wheeled steering-wheel machines that section 101 defines as autocycles do not get the pairing right that two-wheeled motorcycles have. Mopeds are excluded from the full-lane entitlement altogether and are pushed to the edge of the road by paragraph D, which requires a moped to be operated only in single file and as far as practicable to the right side of the way at all times, except when making a left turn.

The first prohibition is in subsection 5. A motorcycle operator may not overtake or pass in the lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken. Maine writes two exceptions into that sentence and they are narrow and specific: passing a bicycle, and passing a roller skier. Section 101 defines a roller ski as an object affixed to a foot, separately from the other foot, primarily propelled by human power and driven by the operator on the ground via wheels, which is a nod to the training culture around Maine's nordic ski venues rather than a general escape clause. Subsection 5 also does not apply to a law enforcement officer performing an officer's duties.

The second prohibition is in subsection 6, headed Between lines, and it is the one that closes the door on filtering. A person may not operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles. Three things are missing from that sentence and all three matter. There is no speed limit condition, unlike the Arizona and Colorado schemes that only permit movement below a set speed. There is no stopped-traffic condition, so a queue at a light is covered. And there is no police exemption: the law enforcement carve-out in subsection 5 is written into subsection 5 and does not reach subsection 6.

The practical effect is that a Maine rider in stop-and-go traffic on I-295 has no lawful way to move to the front of the queue. The rider's remedy is the full lane in subsection 4, not movement between lanes. Subsection 7 rounds out the section by prohibiting intentionally or knowingly raising the front wheel of a motorcycle off the surface on a public way or anywhere public traffic may reasonably be anticipated.

What counts as a motorcycle for all of this is set by section 101: a motor vehicle with a seat or saddle for the rider, designed to travel on only 2 or 3 wheels of 10-inch or larger diameter in ground contact, with a motor of more than 50 cubic centimeters or an electric motor of not less than 1,500 watts. An electric machine below 1,500 watts falls outside the motorcycle rules and into the moped or scooter provisions instead.

§ 104 supplies it: except as otherwise provided, a person who violates a provision of Title 29-A commits a traffic infraction. Section 103(3) fixes the exclusive penalty at a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500, or suspension of a license, or both. Because a traffic infraction is not a crime under § 103(1), there is no jury trial under § 103(2) and the State only has to prove the violation by a preponderance of the evidence under § 103(4). A rider cited for splitting can therefore be convicted on an officer's account alone.

Where the splitting also results in a collision, the same conduct will usually support a separate charge under a section such as § 2118, failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle, and the civil consequence is that the rider carries the fault. Motorists have exposure too: § 2062(4)(C) makes it a traffic infraction for a driver to deprive a motorcycle of the full use of a lane, and that is the provision a rider should point to after being squeezed.