Lane splitting crackdown in Wellington?

[TheDemonLord]

If we are on the left of the cats eyes, with a cage on our left, this is not AS illegal, but the thinking goes that we are overtaking, and so we should have 100m of clear road ahead of us and 1m clear gap between us and the cage we are overtaking.

Therefore unless the traffic is stationary, lane splitting is illegal.

Officer LVBA75 says this is the final word.

If my memory serves - the rules in the road code that allow you to overtake slow moving vehicles (Bicycles, Ag vehicles etc.) are the same rules that loosely interpreted allow for Motorcyclists to Split when the traffic is moving....

it might be worth a challenge in court.

[mossy1200]

Not that I lane split a lot unless the traffic is really crawling because im concerned about people changing lanes on me plus I don't commute so im never in a hurry on the motorways.
I think idd be using the traffic moved over a bit to let me through. Wonder how that would go down assuming it was slow moving traffic.
Not sure doing a hundred up the middle is going to impress the fuzz much. If it looks dangerous the ticket book will come out even if you think it wasn't.

Disclosure. My general opinion has no factual content and I don't want red rep for having an opinion that you don't like.

[MD]

Hi, Got stopped at the base of Ngauranga Gorge this morning by officer number LVBA75. Nice chap, all things considered.

I have never been stopped for lane-splitting before, but I have always taken the opportunity to ask when I got the chance.

Like the 3 other cops before him, he was is and always will be convinced that he is right. However, unlike the other three cops before him, he issued me a ticket. I now have 150 reasons why lane splitting is not a good idea (and they will all be leaving my account within the next 28 days. As per the notice.

His explanation is that it is simple.

If traffic is moving it is illegal to overtake a cage on the left side, unless it is turning right.
So being on the right of the cats eyes, and passing a cage that is on our right, when it is not turning right, is illegal.
If traffic is stationary, it is OK.

If we are on the left of the cats eyes, with a cage on our left, this is not AS illegal, but the thinking goes that we are overtaking, and so we should have 100m of clear road ahead of us and 1m clear gap between us and the cage we are overtaking.

Therefore unless the traffic is stationary, lane splitting is illegal.

Officer LVBA75 says this is the final word.

Thanks for sharing your costly new information. It all helps.
I commute almost everyday now and yes I lane split. So just what vehicle was said Officer LVBA75 driving/riding? Was he waiting on the curved overpass at the bottom of the Gorge? Was he a ginga? Heard he was. Nasty types those ginger tops. Rusty hair, nothing a good tap on the head would fix.

[Ulsterkiwi]

Hi, Got stopped at the base of Ngauranga Gorge this morning by officer number LVBA75. Nice chap, all things considered.

I have never been stopped for lane-splitting before, but I have always taken the opportunity to ask when I got the chance.

Like the 3 other cops before him, he was is and always will be convinced that he is right. However, unlike the other three cops before him, he issued me a ticket. I now have 150 reasons why lane splitting is not a good idea (and they will all be leaving my account within the next 28 days. As per the notice.

His explanation is that it is simple.

If traffic is moving it is illegal to overtake a cage on the left side, unless it is turning right.
So being on the right of the cats eyes, and passing a cage that is on our right, when it is not turning right, is illegal.
If traffic is stationary, it is OK.

If we are on the left of the cats eyes, with a cage on our left, this is not AS illegal, but the thinking goes that we are overtaking, and so we should have 100m of clear road ahead of us and 1m clear gap between us and the cage we are overtaking.

Therefore unless the traffic is stationary, lane splitting is illegal.

Officer LVBA75 says this is the final word.

Hi there, I am sorry to hear of your costly trip to work this morning. That sucks.

If this is what said officer has told you then it strikes me as being a complete crock of shit.

Did he actually cite you for lane-splitting or what is the actual offence you have been written up for?

It is illegal to pass a vehicle on the left except if it is turning right? Ok, fair enough, but this shows the maddeningly inconsistent way in which the law is interpreted and enforced. I and probably 90% of the motoring public should be ticketed every day for passing to the left of f***wits doing 80kph who are in the right hand land lane on two lane roads and who insist on sitting there despite the lines of traffic behind them and clear road ahead of them.

1of6 has already alluded to the 100m clear road ahead being a nonsense. That being the case noone should ever pass anyone on the motorway unless there is a gap of 100m to the vehicle in front. The way some tailgating toss pots drive on our roads a gap of 100mm can be difficult to find.

Where did the 1m clear gap come from? Even pushie riders get 1.5m and its not (to the best of my knowledge) a requirement rather something which is ADVISED.

Its easy to say take it to court. To actually properly test it you would need a very expensive lawyer and be prepared to take a bigger hit than already dispensed with the ticket. To me this is what the motorcycle groups who take a subscription fee should be doing. Getting said expensive lawyer and getting some legal precedent set so that these stupid inconsistencies stop happening. Instead they organise bikeois and protest, very useful

Officer LVBA75 does not actually have the final word, the courts do. The sucky thing is not that we do not have a system to let us challenge stupid enforcement decisions by people with no legal training but that the cost of doing so is beyond the reach of most of the population.

[Devil]

If traffic is moving it is illegal to overtake a cage on the left side, unless it is turning right.
So being on the right of the cats eyes, and passing a cage that is on our right, when it is not turning right, is illegal.

So you got done for overtaking on the left. Which is and always has been the against the law apart from the specific exceptions. You didn't get a ticket for lane splitting, because there is no such offence. Be smarter next time and pass on the right. You'll have to be being a dork, while passing on the right to earn yourself a ticket.

[Tazz]

Hi there, I am sorry to hear of your costly trip to work this morning. That sucks.

If this is what said officer has told you then it strikes me as being a complete crock of shit.

Did he actually cite you for lane-splitting or what is the actual offence you have been written up for?

It is illegal to pass a vehicle on the left except if it is turning right? Ok, fair enough, but this shows the maddeningly inconsistent way in which the law is interpreted and enforced. I and probably 90% of the motoring public should be ticketed every day for passing to the left of f***wits doing 80kph who are in the right hand land lane on two lane roads and who insist on sitting there despite the lines of traffic behind them and clear road ahead of them.

1of6 has already alluded to the 100m clear road ahead being a nonsense. That being the case noone should ever pass anyone on the motorway unless there is a gap of 100m to the vehicle in front. The way some tailgating toss pots drive on our roads a gap of 100mm can be difficult to find.

Where did the 1m clear gap come from? Even pushie riders get 1.5m and its not (to the best of my knowledge) a requirement rather something which is ADVISED.

Its easy to say take it to court. To actually properly test it you would need a very expensive lawyer and be prepared to take a bigger hit than already dispensed with the ticket. To me this is what the motorcycle groups who take a subscription fee should be doing. Getting said expensive lawyer and getting some legal precedent set so that these stupid inconsistencies stop happening. Instead they organise bikeois and protest, very useful

Officer LVBA75 does not actually have the final word, the courts do. The sucky thing is not that we do not have a system to let us challenge stupid enforcement decisions by people with no legal training but that the cost of doing so is beyond the reach of most of the population.

Left of the yellow cats eyes man. Yellows be tricky bastards that make it dangerous, unlike legal passing on the left of those safe white cats eyes.

[Welly-Ray]

Therefore unless the traffic is stationary, lane splitting is illegal.

According to NZTA, lane splitting actually means overtaking traffic that's "in motion".

CBTA Guide on NZTA website
Lane splitting - relates to moving through the traffic travelling in the same direction (that is in motion) by travelling between the lanes.

[NZIrish]

http://www.gizmag.com/motorcycle-lan...esearch/34425/

[octanepwr]

You guys probably already saw the thread I made after I saw him get someone doing it slowly when the traffic was slow as, the day after I got done when the traffic was faster.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...lane-splitting

[Zapf]

If we are on the left of the cats eyes, with a cage on our left, this is not AS illegal, but the thinking goes that we are overtaking, and so we should have 100m of clear road ahead of us and 1m clear gap between us and the cage we are overtaking.

How may cars keep to left of the lane? good luck...

And if Auckland was to get congestion tolls like London. Will it be legal to lane split too? Cause its legal to split in UK.

[awayatc]

Its easy to say take it to court. To actually properly test it you would need a very expensive lawyer and be prepared to take a bigger hit than already dispensed with the ticket. To me this is what the motorcycle groups who take a subscription fee should be doing. Getting said expensive lawyer and getting some legal precedent set so that these stupid inconsistencies stop happening. Instead they organise bikeois and protest, very useful

Officer LVBA75 does not actually have the final word, the courts do. The sucky thing is not that we do not have a system to let us challenge stupid enforcement decisions by people with no legal training but that the cost of doing so is beyond the reach of most of the population.

Who could indeed challenge this?
I would happily subscribe to a group that does this sort of thing......
anybody out there.....?

[Welly-Ray]

Can court hearing resolve this? We only need one ruling to clarify this.

[yevjenko]

Can court hearing resolve this? We only need one ruling to clarify this.

No you don't.

But you can set a precedent if its in front of a judge (a lot of traffic lists are in front of justices of the peace, who tend to be retired bank managers and old biddies).

And then there's always the appeal process. Added to the fact each case has to be judged on its merits and will have it's own set of circumstances, levels of proof etc.

(Firking autocorrect)

[DougieNZ]

No you don't.

But you can set a precedent if its in front of a judge (a lot of traffic lists are in front of justices of the peace, who tend to be retired bank managers and old biddies).

And then there's always the appeal process. Added to the fact each case has to be judged on its merits and will have it's own set of circumstances, levels of proof etc.

(Firking autocorrect)

Now we are starting to get somewhere...

we can either write another 9263 pages saying "splitting is illegal" - "no it's not", "the officer is wrong" - "no he's not", "I do it safely" - "no you don't", "the officer hates motorcyclists" - "no he doesn'tt" etc etc ec etc etc etc

Or we can all put in $20, hire a good lawyer so that the case be heard (and appealed if necessary) through the court system. Then we can actually have some legal precedent so that we ALL know where we stand on this issue.

I won't add to the arguments on whether this is legal or not. Personally I have no doubt that the officer has been told or decided to enforce this because on the idiotic behaviour of the small miniority I have seen spitting at 70-100km +. You reap what you sew.

[DougieNZ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slMhgcwSqeM