Overtaking a line of stationary vehicles

[rastuscat]

............is one of the most dangerous things you can do on two wheels.

The guys in our office attend crashes. I supervise them just now.

They all think motorcycles are the victims of our civilization. Them and cyclists. So many riders of 2 wheels get smoked by cars turning across stationary lines of cars, hitting the bikes coming down the outside or inside of the queue.

I did a search through our crash analyst looking for the most dangerous place for a motorcyclist, expecting it to be a location. It was.........any road where there is a traffic queue.


Then yesterday I saw a motorcycle turn through a line of cars and almost get smoked by a car coming down the outside of the queue.

Seems its just a bloody dangerous interaction, regardless of the parties involved.

What can we do about it?

[theseekerfinds]

are you referring to lane splitting here or to riders who are riding alongside a single row of vehicles?

[pzkpfw]

Funnily enough, getting through the queues is half the good thing about bikes.

(Having said that, I personally lane split lots, but tend to avoid filtering. Never feels as "safe".)

[Asher]

Alot of the time its the person at the front waving the turning vehicle through. People should never blindly follow the instructions of others.

[Asher]

Is this the situation you mean?

Where the left hand lane is queued and the cyclist gets taken out by the turning car?

[Ocean1]

What can we do about it?

Spend less time passing stationary cars?

I'd be interested in your analysyts definition of stationary, I think passing a queue of slow cars is more dangerous. They move quicker laterally than a stationary car.

[Berries]

Funnily enough, getting through the queues is half the good thing about bikes.

Exactly. If I was going to sit in traffic I would get a car.

The answer, obviously, is to not get knocked off. The tricky bit is preempting it but there are generally lots of clues if you are looking for them. If you get knocked off in the situation shown in post 5 then you really shouldn't be riding.

[mossy1200]

I sit in traffic. I only ride in the weekend so guess it doesnt effect me as im not in a hurry and its not rush hour stuff.

[rastuscat]

Is this the situation you mean?

Where the left hand lane is queued and the cyclist gets taken out by the turning car?

Normally it's cars turning in or out of driveways, when the biker wouldn't expect traffic to be crossing his/her path.

The illustration is really good though, as it's also a risky position. Lots of cycle crashes happen like that.

[rastuscat]

Funnily enough, getting through the queues is half the good thing about bikes.

(Having said that, I personally lane split lots, but tend to avoid filtering. Never feels as "safe".)

It's not just the splitting or filtering. It's riding up the left hand side of a line of cars. Which you are allowed to do if the cars are stationary.

I do it too, when it's legal, though I do it with great caution and an eye on what might be passing through gaps in the traffic.

Even if I'm doing it legally, I'll still be the one with the broken leg if I get nailed. Self preservation is the key.

Donuts.

[davebullet]

Trains have the answer:

[The End]

It's not just the splitting or filtering. It's riding up the left hand side of a line of cars. Which you are allowed to do if the cars are stationary.

I do it too, when it's legal, though I do it with great caution and an eye on what might be passing through gaps in the traffic.

Even if I'm doing it legally, I'll still be the one with the broken leg if I get nailed. Self preservation is the key.

Donuts.

From a legal/Police point of view, given the diagram above if you replace the cyclist with a motorbike, and there is an accident, would the turning car be at fault?

[Rhys]

From a legal/Police point of view, given the diagram above if you replace the cyclist with a motorbike, and there is an accident, would the turning car be at fault?

Doesn't mater who is at fault if your dead!

I think it is more about being aware of what other might do

[Hellzie]

Solution = enforce the rule about keeping to the left of your lane. So if the stationary / slow moving vehicles are to the left, then the bikes can overtake on the right. Easier to see oncoming traffic that might cross your path.

Somewhat off topic but, I commute down onewa road (north shore) T3 lane every morning. It's the most stupid road design ever, with queued traffic on the right and the t3 / bus lane on the left. So many cross roads, driveways, etc. I have cars try and t-bone me almost on a daily basis. Would be much better if the T3 lane was on the right.

[Berries]

Normally it's cars turning in or out of driveways, when the biker wouldn't expect traffic to be crossing his/her path.

There's your answer right there. They/us/we should be expecting that to happen. It's part of Get Home In One Piece 101.