diff --git a/lib/uri/generic.rb b/lib/uri/generic.rb
index 629323e80e..140fb055de 100644
--- a/lib/uri/generic.rb
+++ b/lib/uri/generic.rb
@@ -979,7 +979,7 @@ module URI
     # returns an Array of the path split on '/'
     #
     def split_path(path)
-      path.split(%r{/}, -1)
+      path.split("/", -1)
     end
     private :split_path