right behaviour during heavy traffic

[danb]

Well knowing Pakuranga Highway at 7.30 to 8.00am and me on a L plate I think it will be a while yet before I try that. Bad enough in the cage. I still haven’t attempted the highway yet in the Morning. Lets just say it doesn’t look to Learner Rider Inviting - To many crazy people all in such good moods "cough'"cough" to get to work in the morning.
As for the crazy drivers (Especially women in Remura Tractors) doing weird and wonderful unsafe driving skills

[Holy Roller]

Make sure the bike will fit down the gap.
havent been keen to try it on my new one yet. still getting to know her

[Zapf]

Well knowing Pakuranga Highway at 7.30 to 8.00am and me on a L plate I think it will be a while yet before I try that. Bad enough in the cage. I still haven’t attempted the highway yet in the Morning. Lets just say it doesn’t look to Learner Rider Inviting - To many crazy people all in such good moods "cough'"cough" to get to work in the morning.
As for the crazy drivers (Especially women in Remura Tractors) doing weird and wonderful unsafe driving skills

no.... pakuranga hiway has narrow lanes... not good for splitting.

but if traffic is stopped you are technically passing stationary traffic. Must make sure not on median, as that is NOT a passing area.

[Brian d marge]

Its all good till some one opens their door to check a flat tyre etc .then Ouch

Sorry dispatch rider for many years ..fly down the centre between cars ...quite comfortable at 100 k with an inch either side( called the m1 friday nite with a poxy milton kynes,,,,,) ...and yes The guy in front jumped out to chat up the bird in front ...It was a rental , now its a jeep minus a door ...you just bounce off the walls like a small corridor ....

and I know how the original poster feels like ...when I first came back to NZ a few of my european pal and I went for a bit of a ride .....we looked around and the 2 nz people were gone ...we thought they had an accident so panicking we dashed back ...only to find them sitting at the 1 st set of traffic lights .....I think we felt the more stupid of the lot!!!

Mind you that was Christchurch ,,,and the big cities up north ,,I see people riding ,,,,more freely,,,, and where do you split lanes in chch ..no point as in a couple of kms u are in free flowing traffic ...and moving 3 cars ahead doesnt save a lot of time

( Mind you now the car has a dvd player built into the dash ( all standard) ,,,i dont care if the lights change ,,,,I just carry on watching the dvd ..... )

Stephen

[dart1202]

possible in my country at least order as in franc, very is not orderly that which I spell out members, many impinged fringes, but in my town very orderly because of old town of limitation of speed in town only 60km while outside town 120km, but I often impinge because i late to office..

[Lou Girardin]

Make sure the bike will fit down the gap.
havent been keen to try it on my new one yet. still getting to know her

And make sure you don't have panniers on and forget about them (cough, blush)

[pommie girl]

Yeah, lane splitting is a part of every morning for me - cagers on the northern tend to (generally) be more aware in the morning. I always signal when I'm lane splitting as I've been told that it means the police are less likely to ticket you for it. When the traffic starts moving around 40kph I'll just slot back in... as for traffic lights, it depends on whether I can see any advantage in filtering through to the front... problem is with a 250 that I can't guarantee being able to leave the front cars far, far behind especially when Mr Inadequate in the car beside you decides that he wants to race and that there's no way this side of armageddon he's going to let you get in front of him...

[Keeper]

I'm very comfy lane splitting at any speed to be honest, hell if it's a 100 kph zone and the cages are only doing 20 kph, i wont go over 100, but when they get up to 100kph+ i still feel comfy splitting, just keep and eye on the drivers body language, what they are doing (eating, sleeping, talking on a phone) and how bumpy the middle ripple strip is (some times it forces you into a lane which sucks)

in town, bah only place to be is at the front of the traffic

[bugsonteeth]

Used to zip right between cars, never gave it another thought, until one fine day, on my way to Los Angeles airport, right in front of us, a sport bike was doing that in a standing lane and a car door OPENED! Ouch, that guy spanked really hard!
I still do it now, but only slowly enough to STOP if I see a door moving.
Who cares if it's illegal or not, does it HURT you and your bike is the real question here, and that's an unqualified YES, A LOT!

[BM-GS]

Lane-splitting used to be almost compulsory in the UK, but here it depends on several factors. In rough order:

How wide is the gap to the front of the q? ( I ride a BM boxer, so it's got to be w i d e )
Am I in a rush?
Will I get through on the next change of lights if I sit at the back?
Is the trafffic moving, or likely to move before I get to the front?
What else is going on besides the obvious? (ie: junctions, people indicating in funny places, ped crossings, bicycles, etc)

I'll go if I feel the need and there's space, but I hate being beside moving traffic - stopped traffic can't run you over. Moving = ~40km/h on the motorway, ~20km/h off it.

Since I moved here, either the Force is weaker or my 6th sense is decaying, so best stay in one piece to enjoy the beach next summer, eh?

[Waylander]

Used to zip right between cars, never gave it another thought, until one fine day, on my way to Los Angeles airport, right in front of us, a sport bike was doing that in a standing lane and a car door OPENED! Ouch, that guy spanked really hard!
I still do it now, but only slowly enough to STOP if I see a door moving.
Who cares if it's illegal or not, does it HURT you and your bike is the real question here, and that's an unqualified YES, A LOT!

Actually it is legal n Calfornia up to 15mph. Wich is just right for seeing a car door open and beng able to stop in time. Anyway the reason for t is becouse bikers told the council that sittng n traffc on a bike with aircooled engines coul run them. And snce it was mostly the big rich actors and stuff that brought it to thier attention the council actually listend.

[Keeper]

Actually it is legal n Calfornia up to 15mph. Wich is just right for seeing a car door open and beng able to stop in time. Anyway the reason for t is becouse bikers told the council that sittng n traffc on a bike with aircooled engines coul run them. And snce it was mostly the big rich actors and stuff that brought it to thier attention the council actually listend.

Hmm... California,

wouldn't that make it therefore legal to lanesplit on a Y2K while not wearing a helmet, as long as you stay under 15kph???

[Coldkiwi]

hey, there's something I want to know. I come from France and there we (bikers) use to go ahead between cars (slowly and carefully) while the traffic light is red and the cars are stopped or almost... But here, most of the bikers stay quiet in the queue and wait untill the light turns green.

lolo, I'm with you mate! I've got no idea why so many bikers in Auckland stuff around waiting for cars to move. If I was going to wait in a queue, I'd rather have a comfy seat and some nice music (ie a CAR).

My tips for lane splitters new to Auckland are:
1) it isn't really legal when the traffic is still moving so your best defence mechanisms are to keep an indicator on (means they can't book you for no indicating when overtaking) and leave the lights on full beam when splitting
2) spot the cops before they spot you! On the Mway network they always hide in the same spots so just find out where they might be and have a quick glance before proceeding to go!
3) Plainclothes cops (normally detectives but sometimes Hwy Patrol) are around and may bother you if lane splitting (or at least phone one of their mates ahead). They'll be in Ford Falcons or Holden Commodores and will never have a tow bar (95% of civvy falcons and commodores here do) but will often have a big rear aerial, white LPG sticker on the bumper and of course the plain disco lights inside the rear window
4) Don't be tempted by the emergency lanes though because they're filled with tyre puncturing bits of debris and mean you can land a $600 fine. Some are also marked as bus lanes on the Mway but you still can't use them legally (but go for it on surface streets)

So providing you don't get done for careless driving, the max fine you'd get is $150! Which frankly, despite all the arguements about legality, is a fee I'd be quite happy to pay every few years or so for the enjoyment I get from passing so many lemmings everyday!

(I should add I've only got done once for splitting in my 1st year of riding due to a very silly assumption about a cop being too busy issuing a ticket to get me.. so I reckon the above rules aren't too bad when I've riding the mwy pretty much every working day since 2000)

ENJOY!

[Coldkiwi]

Actually it is legal n Calfornia up to 15mph. Wich is just right for seeing a car door open and beng able to stop in time.

here's an interesting thought though... surely when a bike is splitting between moving cars, the risk of doors opening as the bike goes past must tend towards zero?? is it therefore not a bit safer to let bikes split between moving cars!? (supports my philosophy!)

[Waylander]

here's an interesting thought though... surely when a bike is splitting between moving cars, the risk of doors opening as the bike goes past must tend towards zero?? is it therefore not a bit safer to let bikes split between moving cars!? (supports my philosophy!)

You have to understand Callifornia traffic though. When LA gets locked down it pretty much is standstill even on the freeway. And when LA gets locked down pretty much most of southern Cali is the same. But no one gets out of thier cars there cause they are for the most part to self involved. Talkng on thier phones, reading thier papers drinking thier coffee and so on.


And Keeper yea t would be legal f you could actually manage to keep a bike powerd by a helicopter jet engine below 15mph.