Highway Ethics

[outlawtorn]

Greeting all,

Here is another question from a leaner rider. On my way to work this morning I was travelling in between the middle and right land on the motorway, my questions is in two parts:
1. Is it illegal to ride between the cars like this?
2. Is it legal to ride down the extreme right hand side of the motorway?

I've seen many bikes come past me on the right hand shoulder.

Cheers

[jrandom]

Do a forum search for threads about "filtering" and "lane splitting".

Please, for the sake of sanity, nobody else reply to this thread until outlawtorn has unanswered questions on the subject AFTER he's done that, OK?

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Do a forum search for threads about "filtering" and "lane splitting".

Please, for the sake of sanity, nobody else reply to this thread until outlawtorn has unanswered questions on the subject AFTER he's done that, OK?

So you do not want this thread to go on and on and on and on over old ground then :unsure:
Sorry think I will go to bed and leave it alone

[outlawtorn]

Thanks Jrandom,

Did those searches you suggested and found out the info I wanted, slowly but surely I'm also getting to grips with the terminology. I didn't know it was called "splitting".

Cheers for that.

[vifferman]

So... do I get first shot at "leaner rider" (presumably as opposed to the fatter ones)? What about the "middle and right land"?
I actually rather like that last one - sort of paints a picture of the road as a river, bounded by grassy land bits....

[jrandom]

Did those searches you suggested and found out the info I wanted, slowly but surely I'm also getting to grips with the terminology. I didn't know it was called "splitting".

Yup. 'Lane splitting' is the merrikan term, in the UK it gets called 'filtering'. They seem to be used pretty much interchangeably here.

It's not that nobody wants to enlighten you, quite on the contrary in fact, but enough has already been written about it on the forum that it would be counterproductive to try to do it all again in a new thread.

Since you're on the Shore, I imagine that there are plenty of local KBers who'd be happy for you to follow them down the motorway in rush hour for some sedate filtering experience.

[Biff]

Just be bloody careful doing it. Freakin cage drivers are famous for changing lanes suddenly - watch out for gaps in the traffic, they're like vacumes for cars. Go slow. I always have my hand ove the front brake and a thumb hovering over the horn.

Sorry, I couldnt resist posting. It makes me feel useful.

[bugjuice]

I called the fuzz on an unrelated matter, but decided to get a 'definitive' answer, since I had them on the phone.. Is it worth posting what 'they' told me? or let sleepin pooches lie?

[StoneChucker]

I called the fuzz on an unrelated matter, but decided to get a 'definitive' answer, since I had them on the phone.. Is it worth posting what 'they' told me? or let sleepin pooches lie?

go on, go on, go on, you will now!

[crashe]

I suppose you are gonna tell us its illegal.....lol

Well we know that, but we just make sure that we don't get caught....
and when we spot a nice police officer ahead of us, we all pop back into the lanes and ride nicely until we can pass them... and then back to lane splitting.....

And the fine for being caught is what? $150 ???

Or are you going to tell us something totally different... go on tell us..

[bugjuice]

k, well the chick on the phone at the time wasn't so sure, so she told me to hang on while she asked a bike-cop what the scoop is;

Filtering (splitting) - When the traffic is stationery, technically, it's parked. You're allowed to ride past a parked car, thus, at red lights and traffic jams, you can filter - but within reason. It doesn't permit you to fly thru at 150kph, cos that's just silly.
I mentioned as a rule of thumb, I travel at around 20kph, wether traffic is moving slower or not at all. They said (again, within reason) this is ok. I have passed many cop cars while they're doing 10 or so, and I've passed them at 20kph. So far, no one has given me grief. As soon as the traffic picks up speed, merge back in asap, but don't cut anyone up (they don't really like that either..)..

As for riding down the extreme right hand side of the motorway, big no-no. As is riding down the hard shoulder (very left emergency lane) unless it's clearly stated as a bus lane within those hours (or you follow a bus outside the hours, cos if you get done, then he can get done too..).
Using the chevrons too, is also a big no-no.. In fact, it's pretty much safe to say, that if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't, aside from slow speed filtering.

You can use any bus lane, as long as it's within the hours if stated. Else, the law applies (as in, if cars can use it outside the hours too, then so can you).

I was precautioned tho - a lot of this is at the officers' discretion. If you're being a silly dick, then they're gonna pull you and give you some paperwork. If you behave and don't 'act' nervous and keep your cool, they'll most probably ignore you.
I have been stopped once for filtering, but that's cos I made a bad/late decision and ironically, a cop was a few cars back, plus I was a little over the limit before the traffic. He just slapped my wrist and said what I did was ok, but to think ahead. That's the trick. Think ahead and don't be stupid, else they will have you.

This is all what I've been told by the boys in blue and is what I ride by, so if there are any cops reading this, or anyone knows any different, then please, tell me too!!

[Biff]

k, well the chick on the phone at the time wasn't so sure, so she told me to hang on while she asked a bike-cop what the scoop is;

Filtering (splitting) - When the traffic is stationery, technically, it's parked. You're allowed to ride past a parked car, thus, at red lights and traffic jams, you can filter - but within reason. It doesn't permit you to fly thru at 150kph, cos that's just silly.
I mentioned as a rule of thumb, I travel at around 20kph, wether traffic is moving slower or not at all. They said (again, within reason) this is ok. I have passed many cop cars while they're doing 10 or so, and I've passed them at 20kph. So far, no one has given me grief. As soon as the traffic picks up speed, merge back in asap, but don't cut anyone up (they don't really like that either..)..

As for riding down the extreme right hand side of the motorway, big no-no. As is riding down the hard shoulder (very left emergency lane) unless it's clearly stated as a bus lane within those hours (or you follow a bus outside the hours, cos if you get done, then he can get done too..).
Using the chevrons too, is also a big no-no.. In fact, it's pretty much safe to say, that if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't, aside from slow speed filtering.

You can use any bus lane, as long as it's within the hours if stated. Else, the law applies (as in, if cars can use it outside the hours too, then so can you).

I was precautioned tho - a lot of this is at the officers' discretion. If you're being a silly dick, then they're gonna pull you and give you some paperwork. If you behave and don't 'act' nervous and keep your cool, they'll most probably ignore you.
I have been stopped once for filtering, but that's cos I made a bad/late decision and ironically, a cop was a few cars back, plus I was a little over the limit before the traffic. He just slapped my wrist and said what I did was ok, but to think ahead. That's the trick. Think ahead and don't be stupid, else they will have you.

This is all what I've been told by the boys in blue and is what I ride by, so if there are any cops reading this, or anyone knows any different, then please, tell me too!!

Hang on a minute - you don't qualify for being a member of this site. The membership rules clearly state that only over exaggeration, BS and pure guess work are allowed on here. How dare you come here and post hard facts!!








Good work - and welcome.

[bugjuice]

Hang on a minute - you don't qualify for being a member of this site. The membership rules clearly state that only over exaggeration, BS and pure guess work are allowed on here. How dare you come here and post hard facts!!

Good work - and welcome.

damn it, I've been had!! every dude for themselves
I could try guessing, if that helps.. I'd guess that pulling a wheelie past the cops while sat in mild traffic might get attention.. but I didn't ask and haven't done that yet, so it's purely a guess

[vifferman]

I've been stopped twice - once for "riding like an idiot" (which I guess was for carefully filtering past stopped traffic to the front of the queue at the traffic lights :spudwhat: ) and the other time was basically for overtaking both lines of stopped traffic and not indicating when I pulled out to do so.

On the first occasion, the cop (on a bike) just frothed at the mouth, yelled and screamed like a gibbering idiot (so I presumed he was) and told me that if I rode "like a proper motorcyclist instead of a bloody idiot, I wouldn't give the rest of us a bad name!"
Riiiight.... whatever, Dude.
Get that blood pressure checked, and please get back to me on how a "proper motorcyclist" rides. I've been learning to ride for over 30 years, and carefully studying this, and I've still no idea what he meant.
Unless of course, he meant, "If you ride your bike like it was a car, staying in your lane, thus completely negating the whole purpose of riding it in the first place, then you will be less visible, less happy, arrive at work late, not enjoy your commute, and be a tight-arsed, uptight, crabby wanker like me!"
The second time, the policeman was very polite and pleasant, so I took the opportunity to ask him about lane-splitting, filtering, KombatKommuterKaos, etc. He actually advised me that there was a grey area with regards to the law, but if I was going to filter, do it on the gutter side (!) However, if I was involved in a collision, it would be my fault, and I would be in trouble (presumably they'd get Biker Cop to come and chastise me some more.... )

Anyway, as we now know from previous threads, from extensive research, and from all the crap I've found embedded in my tyres, this "filtering in the gutter" is patent nonsense, illegal, and dangerous. Just like The Spanish Inquisition, no-one expects you to sneak past them on the left, so they are easily startled by this and tend to run you over. Well, only once, at least. And then it was someone who was turning left, and I ignored his confirminator, as no-one uses this to actually indicate a turn.
Generally, when I do this (several times a week, sneaking past backed-up traffic on the on-ramp onto the Harbour Bridge), they ignore me or move out of the way. I know it's very very bad, but it saves lots of time, and I've become addicted to it.

[**R1**]

damn it, I've been had!! every dude for themselves
I could try guessing, if that helps.. I'd guess that pulling a wheelie past the cops while sat in mild traffic might get attention.. but I didn't ask and haven't done that yet, so it's purely a guess

No its fact i proved it 4 years ago(im a dumbass) i was lane splitting on my old 750 and thought it would impress the hell outa all the cagers if i wheelied between the cars.....well one happend to be a mufty ...he was actualy quite shaken when he stopped me...recons all he saw was a front wheel level with his passenger window, lost licence for 3months for careless driving....not sure how it was careless?? i did it on purpose.