The large framed photo of 1970s television star Erik Estrada as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello, the dashing motorcycle-riding patrolman in the NBC hit “CHiPs,” failed to persuade. So did state Rep. Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmittt, R-Colorado Springs, sponsor of a bill that would have allowed motorcyclists to ride between cars when traffic slows to a crawl.

In a committee room crowded with more than two-dozen pungent, leather-clad supporters of House Bill 1205, the House Transportation and Energy Committee stopped the bill in its tracks, rejecting it on a bipartisan 8-5 vote.

“I was inspired (by ‘CHiPs’),” Klingenschmitt told the committee members. “I’m not a motorcycle driver myself, but I was inspired by law enforcement and the way they take care of public safety and the way they care for people.”

Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain known as “Dr. Chaps,” said that he began working on the bill after learning that motorcycle “lane splitting” in California was legal.

“Here is the brochure from the California Highway Patrol,” he told the committee. “Erik Estrada himself might have had a hand in writing this brochure, which is published by CHP, and it says, and I quote, ‘Lane splitting in a safe and prudent manner is not illegal in the state of California.’”

Klingenschmitt’s bill would have allowed motorcycle drivers to ride between rows of cars at 15 mph when traffic moves at 5 mph or less.

Klingenschmitt said California is the only state where lane splitting is legal. Highway Patrol there has issued lane-splitting guidelines and the Golden State Legislature is now considering a bill that would explicitly allow motorcycles to split lanes during heavy traffic.

Many of the riders who came to testify in support of the bill detailed hazards motorcyclists face in heavy traffic, including being hit by inattentive motorists.

Colorado State Patrol came out against the bill, but a representative said that the organization wasn’t opposed to further studying the issue.

A major sticking point, the CSP representative said, was the public education effort it would take to inform drivers, riders and pedestrians about the details of any new law and on how to safely navigate any new road challenges it might bring.

— ramsey@coloradostatesman.com