Lane splitting - Accidents

[XP@]

Inspired from speedmedics thread
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=21668

Have you had an accident whilst lane splitting?
If so what happened?

[NC]

Inspired from speedmedics thread
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=21668

Have you had an accident whilst lane splitting?
If so what happened?
NO!


:eyepoke:

[sAsLEX]

I ocassionally nick an elbow on mirrors or c**nts that move over with out indicating, but nothing to class as an injury as such.

I split at a fair pace most days to uni rain hail or shine at all times of the day. Only major incident I had on the motorway was when not splitting and traffic stopped all of a sudden, had I been splitting would not of even blinked.

[Test Pilot]

nah i have been splitting everyday from the shore to newmarket for the last 18months and havnt even had a slightly close call. I find that if you pay attention to drivers and regognise danger zones like on ramp sections and lanes moving faster than others you can split safely without any problems, I also feel safer being between the cars rather than having some idiot on his cell behind me, a least when your between two they are less likley to hit each other. The only dangerous part is where there is gaps and cars could suddenly jump lanes, but you need to recognise those situations. I have also found alot of cages move over a let me through, always give the thanks wave to those who do as it will encourage them to keep doing it

[placidfemme]

I split every morning up/down Onewa Road, and I've only ever clipped one cages mirror... I felt really bad about it (theres a thread on here somewhere about it).

I misjudged the distance between two cages and thought I could do a weave in and out thingy and clipped the right hand cages mirror... no damage to my bike or the car... needless so say I'm more careful now... if I'm unsure I slow down... more... lol

[Grizz]

I split every morning up/down Onewa Road, and I've only ever clipped one cages mirror... I felt really bad about it (theres a thread on here somewhere about it).

I misjudged the distance between two cages and thought I could do a weave in and out thingy and clipped the right hand cages mirror... no damage to my bike or the car... needless so say I'm more careful now... if I'm unsure I slow down... more... lol

Same, only did it once, in my defense it was on a bike I had only had for 2 weeks (GSX1200), it was a dark foggyish sort of morning on the NW motorway, I said sorry, knowing he couldn't hear me, felt like a right twat, and kept on shaking my head for a few k's on. Never had, seen or heard of anyone else have anyhting more serious than that.

Would be real nice to have a bike lane, narrower than for a car and hard up against the barrier (centre median) to be used when the traffic is congested only.

[Macktheknife]

I have hit 2 mirrors while filtering/splitting, both times they moved into my line and I stopped and re-aligned them for them. I noticed it did scare the crap out of the cagers tho! lol
And there was one occasion when I smashed one off deliberately but that isnt really relevant to this thread....

[SARGE]

hell man.. i split every day down the NW.. never had a problem in between cars..

got my shit scuffed last week acting like a responsible citizen..


never again... i still cant walk right..

[RiderInBlack]

Only ever clipped one mirror, cause the asre-hole was too close to the centre-line:whistle:

[Ixion]

30 and odd years, only knocked a couple of mirrors that I recall. Just moved them, not broken. And walloped one of those big rubber splash protector things trucks have on their wheel arches with my crashbars.

[Highlander]

Not touched a car yet while lane spliting.

If the trafic is moving I stay in line, if stopped I'll slip through the gaps a little over walking pace.

[Mattyc]

Nope ive never made contact with anything, if you treat everyone like they are a complete fuckwit (which is true for a large number) then u will be sweet

[Goblin]

Looong time ago I was splitting the lanes at a red light. Was a red commodore at the front of the left lane and a ute towing a tandem trailer in the right. As I got to the front, the lights turned green when the dipshit in the commordore opened his door right into me.:slap:. The force pushed me and my bike onto the wheels of the tandem trailer that had just taken off at the lights, and we were stuck there being dragged down the road. My leg fit perfectly between the two wheels. Luckily the driver felt the impact and realised what was happening, pulled over and stopped. some friendly people helped pull my bike off the side of the trailer but as they did the radiator popped open and there was a huge dent in the tank, but didn't puncture it. The only damage to the commodore was two fingernail size paint chips on the edge of the door! And he was a panelbeater!
I was gutted to say the least, but I had just taken the fairings off to be painted so at least they were saved. I was 5 months pregnant and that was the only thing that kept me off my bike til after my girl was born.
Put me off splitting lanes at the lightsfor a while anyway

[ajturbo]

this one time, on the way to band practice, i tangled with a transhit's mirror.. i don't know if you know how big they are... they are big!! but i still managed to hit it with my mirror!!:banana:

[Jog-Insanity]

Never had any sorta clip yet but it dose worry me when cage drivers start to edge into my path just have to slow down then and give them a heap of room

[madmal64]

Havent touched a thing..... yet! I wanted to last week at the Terrace tunnel. The traffic was at a stop and I was making my way through as usual and a tosser decided to just block my way through. Moved over from the right hand lane and straddled the white lines. I ended up stopping and waiting for a gap and went around him, as I went past down came the passenger window and he gave me his thoughts on my going up the middle while he is stuck in traffic:bash: . I now wish I had re adjusted his mirror:headbang:

[terbang]

Lanesplit most days and just recently clipped my left elbo on a mirror, He moved right I misjudged and bang. No damage and I caught his eye and he was cool about it so I moved on. :doh:
Got shouted at a few times in Aussie by cage drivers during lane splitting but not seen it here in Kiwi .

[Karma]

this one time, on the way to band practice, i tangled with a transhit's mirror.. i don't know if you know how big they are... they are big!! but i still managed to hit it with my mirror!!:banana:

Is that deliberate? Someone watching too much American Pie :yes:

[Lou Girardin]

I've clipped a mirror on stationary cars, but nothing in moving traffic.

[raster]

Nope haven't hit anything, mind you only been splitting car sized gaps since getting new bike(my choice), don't want to add to the scratches.

As long as I'm moving most of the time I'm happy.

Most of my near calls have been while taking up a lane, people tend to be apoligetic once they see(hear) you.

[In The Breeze]

Have hit several mirrors in the past. A couple of near bad ones but been "lucky" enuff to get away with it. I don't do it these days so much,mostly at the lights.

[warewolf]

Forgot I put the side panniers on to go to work one morning, on the Tiger 900 which had wide mounts out past the high-level exhausts. Zapping between the cars, the pair at the front of the queue were a lot closer together. I dragged the panniers along the length of the car to the right, touching the car on the left at several points. I didn't come off but the initial contact sure moved the bike around.

The lady in the car on the right was really snotty about it. There was a black mark the entire length of her grubby white car; it was a smudge that disappeared when touched. The guy in the car on the left couldn't stop laughing.

[riffer]

I'm an incorrigible splitter. I would probably bang mirrors at least once or twice a week. I've had cagers pull in front of me on many occasions, and had to slam on the anchors often to avoid collisions.

Only one bad one, a couple of years back on the FZR, when a blind idiot in an SUV with boat trailer changed lanes as I was going through, clipped the bike, sent me flying through 3 lanes of rush hour traffic and completely rooted the front end of the bike. My damage sprained ankle and heamatoma on thigh, new front end for the FZR. And lots of scratches on both me and the bike.

[Bend-it]

I'm a nana lane-splitter... about 15km/h quicker than the cars, never above 60, and make sure the gap's nice and wide, otherwise I merge back into traffic.

[Bend-it]

I'm an incorrigible splitter. I would probably bang mirrors at least once or twice a week. I've had cagers pull in front of me on many occasions, and had to slam on the anchors often to avoid collisions.

Only one bad one, a couple of years back on the FZR, when a blind idiot in an SUV with boat trailer changed lanes as I was going through, clipped the bike, sent me flying through 3 lanes of rush hour traffic and completely rooted the front end of the bike. My damage sprained ankle and heamatoma on thigh, new front end for the FZR. And lots of scratches on both me and the bike.

Yikes!! Did that turn out to be the driver's fault and covered your damage etc?

[Squeak the Rat]

Clipped mirror on a stationary car. Was high on drugs at the time, shouldn't have been riding..... No damage, but I exited dodge pretty quick.


(recovering from the flu - was taking some coldrex type stuff)

[aff-man]

Inspired from speedmedics thread
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=21668

Have you had an accident whilst lane splitting?
If so what happened?

never clipped nobody.... came withing mm a few times while going about 30k *looks for puckering moment smilie)

[madboy]

Clipped a couple of wing mirrors with my own, all at low low speed on the Terrace offramp in Wgtn. And I ain't no nana-splitter.

My boot and/or gloves have "clipped" a fair few mirrors, doors and guards though. By the way, the most easily deformable part of a car is the area between front wheel and headlight.

[riffer]

Yikes!! Did that turn out to be the driver's fault and covered your damage etc?

Well it would have if he'd stopped.

Oh well, live and learn. I don't give them the opportunity anymore. Best form of defence and all that ...


By the way, the most easily deformable part of a car is the area between front wheel and headlight.

I had some moron come out of Reading Cinema carpark a couple weeks back and drive right into the side of me. Luckily I saw him and nailed it but the footpeg caught the side of the bumper and pulled it off by about a foot. I stopped and went back to abuse hime for it. For some odd reason he decided to hi-tail it out of there.

Funny that ... he must have had an appointment or something he had to keep ...

[madboy]

For some odd reason he decided to hi-tail it out of there. How do you fight a man already wearing body armour? I'd get the hell outta there too!

[Finn]

I've just clipped the mirros of a car but it wasn't my fault. I was lighting a ciggy and I got a text...

[Str8 Jacket]

The only time Ive hit a car was when I was leaving for work one morning and hit my mans car wing mirror. Damn thing was in the way..... Hope he doesnt read this! :innocent:

[sAsLEX]

I'm a nana lane-splitter... about 15km/h quicker than the cars, never above 60,


I seldom look at the speedo when splitting so wouldn't know, it takes your eyes off the enemy for too long, though I know I prob go a touch quicker than that from the gears and revs


How do you fight a man already wearing body armour? I'd get the hell outta there too!

Go for the helmet its a big disadvantage to the wearer once you have that in your grasp

[madboy]

I seldom look at the speedo when splitting ...I usually don't either, but I did one day... it was pointing just over 250. Just as well the commodore with the funny flashing lights that wanted a chat with me a minute earlier didn't see it. Boy would I have been in trouble! Illegally passing on the left. $150 fine. I woulda been a gonner for sure.

[Bend-it]

I seldom look at the speedo when splitting so wouldn't know, it takes your eyes off the enemy for too long, though I know I prob go a touch quicker than that from the gears and revs



Yeah neither... just judging except once when I'd been splitting and traffic gradually got faster, and I was still splitting till I looked down and was over 100kph... :innocent: Oops

[Brett]

I have been splitting for about a year, had a couple of close calls such as cars not checking mirrors and pulling out with me in traffic adjacent, but other than that, i have never had any issues.

[paturoa]

I'm a nana splitter, and will only do it when the cages are going slow, the same speed, or at lights - so I haven't even had any "moments" when splitting

[jrandom]

I chucked my bike down the motorway more than once while splitting. The cumulative effect of my head injuries eventually drove me mad, so I sold it, and now I split on a pushie, which I've chucked down the road more than once while splitting. The cumulative effect of my nadgers getting crushed on the top tube may yet drive me infertile.

[Badger8]

I'm just a noob, and as a result a nana-splitter. i'll mainly only split at lights, and only if there's plenty of room to the front of the queue. if i cant see to where i wanna finish up, i tend not to do it, had too many cagers get agressive when i have to duck back in front of them. Have hit my flatmates mirrors with the clutch/brake lever a couple of times, spoon keeps parking too close to the middle of the drive.

[Bodhi]

Scenic drive to epsom everyday. I have brushed mirrors a couple of times when filtering, once with a soft roader and once with a breeder mover, not enough to move my mirrors but enough to make a wee noise. If you filter you'll know how badly people who are attracted to these kind of vehicles drive and understand why I don't feel bad about giving them a little fright.

[chasio]

Early adventures in filtering at bottom of Onewa Road on the Vespa a couple of years ago... Traffic was stopped but tight, I edged through with my feet just off the ground. Traffic started to move, I slowed to drop in behind and the Mercedes SUV on my left (which was angled to merge right) ran over my foot, pinning it to the deck. I tried pulling it away and succeeded only in tweaking the throttle. Pinned foot plus a touch of gas and no clutch = quick pull to the left and a scape down the door. Oh shit. Stayed upright though. Zero damage to the Vespa but chose Option 2 on the poll (more like 2.5 I guess).

It must have looked hilarious but my foot and pride were both less than amused.

I did the decent thing and was glad I had insurance. I reckon it paid to repair damage that was absolutely nothing to do with me, the cheeky cow :Oi:

[knightc130]

Have been doing this for close to a month now no problems except for today. This afternoon on the way home I filtered between two lanes while everyone was stopped. I got to the front and as i took off and was in my lane a big Maori fella sped past and pulled in front of me, and started spraying his window washer so I got sprayed with it. The guy thought it was pretty hilarious but the joke was on him. I was wearing a waterproof jacket and visor down so didnt affect me at all.

[caseye]

Shoot him anyway. fuck it, we're all big bad bikers so whats one less cage driver?
Talk about a deep thread dredge, wow.

[mossy1200]

Be careful.
Just saying there is some bad accidents on youboob and a lot are splitting at the time.

I don't commute so I only jump the stationary queue when there is plenty of room.

[biketimus_prime]

Clipped mirrors a couple of times. My friend wrote his bike off in the rain after locking up his front wheel on white lines while splitting, when the gap between two cars closed up on him.

[bazil.]

I split lanes all the time, only once it became a bit hairy because the car saw me and closed the gap. Every other time was sweet, the police are good with it :niceone:. If i'm late to work the bike comes out

[Akzle]

never 'fell'. Been pushed over though. :angry2:

[dumkunt]

havent touched cars but booted occasional cars and punched a few windows. had cunts approach me saying i damaged their cars. theycan fuck off

[Kickaha]

havent touched cars but booted occasional cars and punched a few windows. had cunts approach me saying i damaged their cars. theycan fuck off

Looks like you're well suited to your user name

[Katman]

Looks like you're well suited to your user name

What he said. ^

[Monsterbishi]

I've 'adjusted' a mirror before when filtering, using a empty container truck trailer locking lever that had been left pointing out.

[haydes55]

I lane split this arvo.... At nearly 100km/h fucking 3 lanes wide on the motorway of cars going 80km/h, no one overtaking anyone else, just 3 cunts wide. Still never touched a car splitting.

[Akzle]

I lane split this arvo.... At nearly 100km/h fucking 3 lanes wide on the motorway of cars going 80km/h, no one overtaking anyone else, just 3 cunts wide. Still never touched a car splitting.

basically moses

[pritch]

These dredges are cool, seeing the names of former KBers no longer posting for various reasons is somewhat nostalgic.

[samgab]

Interested in thoughts on this chap's filtering in London.
Does he have good skills or is he endangering himself?
I don't know if it is the camera lens angle width, but several of these maneuvers, especially between pairs of London busses had me biting my nails a bit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EFMJg1bxmU

[Berries]

Interested in thoughts on this chap's filtering in London.
Does he have good skills or is he endangering himself?
I stumbled across this guy when I was considering getting a Nuda myself. I would probably have sat in the traffic a bit more than him, I don't mind filtering and splitting but all that weaving is a bit much. But then if you want to get around the congested parts of London that's what you have to do. Not sure about endangering himself, on a bike in London that's a given really.

Some of his other videos are pretty good if you want to save paying for a topless bus tour. Some nice cars on show as well.

2:49. Would you get that in NZ? And the close call at 10:50 suggests he does probably go a bit too hard at times.

[nerrrd]

Does he have good skills or is he endangering himself?

Too long didn't watch (much), but I'd say both - and endangering any pedestrians silly enough to cross in between any of the many vans/buses/other high sided vehicles he's passing at speed, or anybody else splitting unfortunate enough to be coming along while he's weaving in and out of the splitting 'lanes' (he doesn't seem to do much in the way of checking if there's any else using the lane before he turns into it).

But good luck to him.

[Katman]

Just a standard day for a London courier.

[gjm]

Just a standard day for a London courier.

The cycle couriers are at least as aggressive. When I was working there, it was normal to cut down the bars so you could get through tighter gaps.

[bluninja]

Definitely a case of risking becoming a car or bus sandwich that rider but maybe their anticipation skills are better than the many car and bus drivers.

Takes me back 5 years to when I was commuting up to London and round London every day for 4 years. No dings, no near misses (though I was very near most vehicles), no road rage.

I think you miss the point that in many of the cases anticipation is not needed as the 10 vehicles ahead are nose to tail and can't move...so what is to anticipate? You may also have noticed that many of the drivers (even stationary) were checking their mirrors for bikes and were willing to move over a little to allow the bike through, or acknowledged that he was there and that he could go through. Nicely courteous rider too.

As for the police; they were probably escorting the rolls Royce ahead of them. So signalling the rider behind to go past was just simple courtesy and common sense by them (rather than having a rider sit behind thinking "shall I shan't I?"). Also lane splitting is not illegal in the UK.

Just like here there are drivers that ignore road signs (the 2 van drivers turning into his path and heading for him, the people stationary on the yellow hatchings), and the odd driver that squeezes across their lane to block the bikes progress.

[bluninja]

There is still the potential for the rider to become a sandwich when the lights do change as they will not be able to see the lights change and weave between traffic at the same time if they are 10 vehicles back with their view of the lights blocked by double decker buses. If they allowed that to happen here how quickly to you think traffic would get a way at the lights if we had to check for weaving motorcycles before taking off?
Do you know if many riders became sandwiched while doing this although the fact that drivers must give way to them must have kept the number of sandwiched riders low.

Perhaps you can't see ahead and weave and watch for traffic movements and light changes, and wing mirrors; other people can, and do every, day in large numbers. It's the responsibility of the rider to keep themselves safe during filtering, not the other road users.

Personal experience is that I saw 2 filtering accidents in 4 years; both on 4 lane motorways out of city. 1, a zx9r going between the Armco barrier and the right of a vehicle and hitting some debris and slipping off...no injury. 2 rider and pillion on commuter bike hit a cats eye whilst leant over between 2 cars, slipped and tapped a bumper and fell off. No injuries. During that time I would see 2, or 3, vehicle accidents (or aftermath) every week. So no sandwiched motorbike riders. Quite a few pedestrians clipped by buses, and cyclists stranded, or bumped, when the bus sets off when they are half way along the bus length (the bus being stationary at a bus stop and the rider overtaking, as opposed to lane splitting).

BTW the standard for driving in most countries is "Mirror, signal, manoeuvre". that would cater for all road conditions including lane splitting. Nothing extra required from drivers other than standard practice before any move (start, stop, change lanes, turn).

[gjm]

I've not seen or heard of a cyclist or motorcyclist getting trapped between two vehicles. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but in 9 months as a courier in London you do get to hear about a lot of stuff. Lots of accidents of one sort or another, but not that in particular.

The biggest difference I have found since being here is that in the UK, most drivers appreciate that in a queue of traffic they're going nowhere, but don't begrudge someone else the opportunity. In NZ it is the opposite and many drivers aren't paying attention, don't wish to make a little room, or seem to take offence at a motorcyclist threading (however slowly and carefully) through traffic.

Of course, we chose to ride bikes. We just need to be aware of this and ride accordingly.

[bluninja]

I hardly do it at all today but did it a bit years ago when I had lighter more flickable bikes. My perception of being sandwiched comes from seeing that video where it looks like the rider is tapping other vehicles on both sides as they pass. At the very least I bet a few get bills for scratching other vehicles as they pass which they don't appear to care about getting that close.

If you focus on the closeness of the vehicles either side you're not looking far enough ahead. When I watched I was looking ahead of the rider for traffic movement, pinch points, building gaps (may indicate a side road). Your perception has little to do with reality.

You would lose your bet....see any scratches in the video? on the car sides, on the bar ends or wing mirrors of the other bikes? On the buses? They aren't there ...perhaps there is an autopaint shop working flat out repairing each days scratches, or perhaps the everyday motorbike commuter is able to ride without hitting other road users vehicles.

[Katman]

I think you miss the point that in many of the cases anticipation is not needed as the 10 vehicles ahead are nose to tail and can't move...so what is to anticipate?

Pedestrians and people opening car doors for a start.

[samgab]

I've not seen or heard of a cyclist or motorcyclist getting trapped between two vehicles. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but in 9 months as a courier in London you do get to hear about a lot of stuff. Lots of accidents of one sort or another, but not that in particular.

The biggest difference I have found since being here is that in the UK, most drivers appreciate that in a queue of traffic they're going nowhere, but don't begrudge someone else the opportunity. In NZ it is the opposite and many drivers aren't paying attention, don't wish to make a little room, or seem to take offence at a motorcyclist threading (however slowly and carefully) through traffic.

Of course, we chose to ride bikes. We just need to be aware of this and ride accordingly.

You mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6QwaCpkhNQ

Edit, oh, and that London rush hour filterer I posted is nothing compared to this lunatic with a short future lifespan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4KqJYDwxsk

[bluninja]

Pedestrians and people opening car doors for a start.

Pedant!!! :bleh:

I was speaking within the context of anticipating vehicle movement, given that it was a response to that point.

Text, taken out of context is a pretext..and all that.

[PrincessBandit]

Post #69 - video 1 = idiot; video 2 = lucky idiot. With traffic like that I can certainly appreciate the advantages of a nimble bike threading through but I'd have absolutely no sympathy for him when he finally becomes bugspooge.

[TheDemonLord]

I love watching the Royal Jordanian - its pure filtering Porn

and plus he is for the most a super nice guy

[DamianW]

I fold the mirrors in when splitting in slower moving traffic as there's usually one or two drivers on the north shore on-ramps who for whatever reason will decide to close the gap and try to make it more difficult for me to pass. These are the drivers who will look out for bikers with the sole purpose of performing an unnecessary/dangerous manoeuvre but (and I'm guessing their mentality here) these are the same drivers who don't normally perform a 'mshm' when changing lanes in free flowing traffic. It's all wasted effort on their part anyway as I've never come remotely close to clipping a mirror or scraping the bike.

[DamianW]

Eh? I fold my mirrors on my bike not anyone else's vehicle. But thanks for your kind gesture mate.

[jonnyk5614]

Never and no near misses either, which is less than can be said for using the motorway "as a car".

As I see it, use the motorway "as a car" in queuing traffic and someone will vaguely see a gap (guess what - I'm narrower than a car) through their coffee mist in their rear view and pull into me. This has happened more often than I can remember.

If I lane split, for a start they see me miles back in their mirror.

If I'm between two vehicles, who the fuck squeezes their neighbour?

The only unsafe bit is riding on the line, gap to one side, car to the other and I personally either don't do this or do it very quickly.

[Erelyes]

Clipped a mirror once. Never had any other incident, near miss or accident.

There was one occasion when a truck at the lights 'moved across' partially (in a two lane one-way road) as I was filtering between perhaps 20 cars stopped each lane. Not sure if it was intentional or not and they still left just enough room to get through.