GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) — On Tuesday, the Colorado State Patrol reached its 90th anniversary of serving and protecting the Centennial State.
FOX31 sat down exclusively with the head of state patrol, Col. Matthew C. Packard, to reflect on this milestone and ask exclusive questions about changes in laws impacting the state today.
Last August, a new law went into effect allowing motorcyclists to lane filter, meaning motorcycle riders can drive between two lanes when traffic is stopped under certain circumstances.
“This particular change in our law was really challenging,” Packard said. “When you ask me, is it a good idea to ride between trucks and other cars? No, there’s so many bad things that can happen.”
Packar got candid with FOX31 about the change.
“I was worried about, you know, road rage, for example,” Packard said. “I was worried about mirrors being taken off and doors being opened or pulling onto the shoulder because something happened that you need to pull over and having a motorcycle be there. And quite frankly, when I was asking those questions, it was a little bit immature across the country still, I would offer, but no one was seeing no one was seeing a significant increase in those crashes.”
He called counterpart agencies around the country, where this law had passed, asking if they saw significant changes in crashes.
“We talk a lot about the importance of data and so that was really a driving factor,” Packard said. “And if you really look at our law, it’s not a done deal. In fact, lane filtering comes off the books here in a couple of years, but it requires CDOT to do a study and to see what that impact is and crash data will be a part of that. Enforcement data will be a part of that, public sentiment will be a part of that.”
Packard says Colorado motorists and data could potentially drive additional change.
“That’s a part of growth, I think,” Packard said. “Now, the other side of this argument, though, is people still don’t understand it. And what’s still illegal is lane splitting. And that is dangerous as heck. Like, there’s no two ways about that driving at speed in between cars that are moving at speed is dangerous and that I don’t forecast that ever being legal here.”
This interview will air on FOX31 at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
