Lane splitting appears to be being policed in Wellington

[mrchips]

Sorry to hear & thanks for the heads up.

Pitty they aren't policing the keep left & use left lane unless passing rules.

I've been witness to so many 'nose to tails' on my welly commutes to know sensable filtering / splitting WILL save you a whole lot of hurt... FACT

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[James Deuce]

I've been witness to so many 'nose to tails' on my welly commutes to know sensable filtering / splitting WILL save you a whole lot of hurt... FACT

I tend to agree with that analysis and the let's just remember that the cop in question is actually a dick and there won't be any special instruction. He just believes that motorcyclists deserve special instruction. A mate at work who rides a black VTR has come under special scrutiny from time to time from this chap and it never ends well.

[rastuscat]

Does anyone have any statistics on lane-splitting accidents?

Anecdotally, we attend shit loads of crashes where a motorbike, moped or cycle are overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

Doing it legally doesn't make it safe. The cars from cpnflicting direction just aren't looking for a cycle, moped or motorcycle coming through a gap like that.

It's okay though, last thing the rider gets to post on KB as he gets loaded into the ambulance is that it was the drivers fault.

[Ocean1]

Anecdotally, we attend shit loads of crashes where a motorbike, moped or cycle are overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

Doing it legally doesn't make it safe. The cars from cpnflicting direction just aren't looking for a cycle, moped or motorcycle coming through a gap like that.

It's okay though, last thing the rider gets to post on KB as he gets loaded into the ambulance is that it was the drivers fault.

Then perhaps it's time for some wee adds on the telly, rather than banging on about the inherent evels of some magic velocity.

And perhaps we should break that "shit loads" down into locations, eh? I suspect most car drivers in Wgtn are well used to bikes trundling past them every morning. In fact it's the sole reason most bike owners ride to work.

Maybe it's time to look at the traffic flow data and admit that commuting bikes relieve a great deal of congestion at peak traffic times, and that more of them would have an exponentially beneficial effect. And to perhaps begin asking ourselves what we can do to encourage that.

Dedicated motorcycle lanes, maybe?

[Scuba_Steve]

Anecdotally, we attend shit loads of crashes where a motorbike, moped or cycle are overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

Doing it legally doesn't make it safe. The cars from cpnflicting direction just aren't looking for a cycle, moped or motorcycle coming through a gap like that.

It's okay though, last thing the rider gets to post on KB as he gets loaded into the ambulance is that it was the drivers fault.

I've never been hit lane splitting in the many years I've done it, I have however been sideswiped while wholly in a lane. The vehicle next to me saw only a car sized gap but thanks to his massive oversized "safety enhanced" pillars never saw the bike in it.
Not to say this could not have happened if lane splitting at the time, but I do pay extra attention to gaps for this reason.
I lane split more than I ride with traffic so given the distance travelled vs outcomes using both methods I'm probably sitting around 100x safer lane splitting.

I know the risks of lane splitting, I know the risks of staying with traffic, most the time staying with traffic is more dangerous than splitting. This is my risk, I'm the one feeling the pain if shit happens so it should be my choice & my choice alone! Not Govt's, not some cops, but mine.
In-fact if anyone makes that choice for me & shit goes wrong I should then have the right to smack them in the face with a 4x2 so they can join me in feeling the result of their decision

[rastuscat]

Lane splitting and overtaking are closely related but not the same thing.

I just wanted to highlight the dangers.

Smack me in the face with a hundred by fifty for giving a shit.

[caspernz]

Mmmm, lane splitting on the whole seems to run quite smoothly in Wellington traffic. Ironically while some car drivers seem dense...a few bikers come across as plain retarded

The problems can be minimised if bikers travel at a sensible differential speed, all travel down the centre, stay the fuck off the shoulder or breakdown lane, don't try to squeeze thru once the lanes narrow in some pinch points...to mention just the main items that come to mind

I just chuckle though when thinking of advocating to a group of individual thinkers that a common approach to lane splitting might help...

[buggerit]

Anecdotally, we attend shit loads of crashes where a motorbike, moped or cycle are overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

Doing it legally doesn't make it safe. The cars from cpnflicting direction just aren't looking for a cycle, moped or motorcycle coming through a gap like that.

It's okay though, last thing the rider gets to post on KB as he gets loaded into the ambulance is that it was the drivers fault.

I agree that lane splitting where there is opposing traffic adds another danger to be aware of compared to motorway lane splitting and
approach any gap in the lane to the right or left of me with a high degree of caution.

[swbarnett]

overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

I like the term "undertaking". Fits quite well with it's other meaning.

[pzkpfw]

Anecdotally, we attend shit loads of crashes where a motorbike, moped or cycle are overtaking stationary traffic on the left.

Doing it legally doesn't make it safe. The cars from cpnflicting direction just aren't looking for a cycle, moped or motorcycle coming through a gap like that.

Thank you.

That brings to mind more the situation of two-wheelers going down the left of cars, in a situation where there is not another lane there. It doesn't surprise me at all that a car will go left into a park or intersection (maybe (realistically) without 3 seconds indicating) and collect some bike coming up on the left. I figure this (when the traffic isn't at a stand-still) is the situation that makes passing on the left (unless in a different lane) the traffic offence it is, and as both a driver and rider I don't put anywhere near 100% of any "blame" on the car in this kind of event.

But ... what about actual lane splitting? Riding between two lanes of vehicles, all going in the same direction. Technically passing the lane to the left, on the right, within the lane (and trying not to pass the lane to the right, on it's left). Do you have access to any stats on the danger in that? Accidents per year?


In recent times, the only time a car has tried to squash me was when I was riding along, in a lane, at the same speed as the vehicle in front (approaching the 80 k cameras on the Gorge in Welly) with correct following distance, and some guy in a people mover from J-Ville tried to go into my lane on top of me. (Mirror then head check and a quick lane change got me out of his way. No point in fighting for position! Then I beeped. He steadfastly refused to even look.)

The only time I've ever felt in danger while lane splitting it was deliberate. Began passing a truck-and-trailer on a straight bit of road, and his wheels were a good distance away from the lane divider line. By the time I was 75% past him, his wheels were kissing the paint, and I could see him in his mirror, looking at me. I had to squeeze in between some cars on my right. (Thanks, drivers, for having some following distance to let me in to).


I'll keep splitting, when the situation calls for it.

[Hoon]

To put things in perspective, a friend of mine just wrote off his bike lanesplitting. Car changed lane, he swerved and ran into the back of another car at speed. He's off work on ACC. Funny thing about KB is that you never hear about lanesplitting failures with people only ready to admit their successes.

Don't get me wrong - I lane split heavily, love that I'm able to do it do and will continue to promote and do it for as long as I can. The difference is that I am under no illusion about the risks/dangers and benefits/costs to society regarding lane splitting. Saying lane splitting is safer is delusional. The argument "lane split to avoid getting rear ended" is laughable at best. You may have fooled yourself but don't expect others to buy into your fantasy... outside of these forums that is

Maybe it's time to look at the traffic flow data and admit that commuting bikes relieve a great deal of congestion at peak traffic times, and that more of them would have an exponentially beneficial effect. And to perhaps begin asking ourselves what we can do to encourage that.

Dedicated motorcycle lanes, maybe?

Yes great idea.....in a fantasy world where roads are free to build, motorbike accidents and injury rehabilitation costs (and resulting loss of productivity) are acceptable, and car driver re-education is 100% successful. I'd say that someone a lot smarter than you and I has already crunched the numbers and (judging by their response) has concluded that motorcycle uptake is NOT to be encouraged.

[pzkpfw]

To put things in perspective, a friend of mine just wrote off his bike lanesplitting. Car changed lane, he swerved and run into the back of another car at speed. He's off work on ACC. Funny thing about KB is that you never hear about lanesplitting failures with people only ready to admit their successes.

Don't get me wrong - I lane split heavily, love that I'm able to do it do and will continue to promote and do it for as long as I can. The difference is that I am under no illusion about the risks/dangers and benefits/costs to society regarding lane splitting. Saying lane splitting is safer is delusional. The argument "lane split to avoid getting rear ended" is laughable at best. You may have fooled yourself but don't expect others to buy into your fantasy... outside of these forums that is


Yes great idea.....in a fantasy world where roads are free to build, motorbike accidents and injury rehabilitation costs (and resulting loss of productivity) are non-existant, and car driver re-education is 100% successful. I'd say that someone a lot smarter than you and I has already crunched the numbers and (judging by their response) has concluded that motorcycle uptake is NOT to be encouraged.

His mistake was not noticing the gap. Cars use gaps to change lanes. You very seldom see cars on the motorway simply side-swipe each other.

(Relative to myself) I split faster in bumper-to-bumper traffic and slower in gappy traffic. Because in bumper to bumper traffic - the cars are more predictable.

And as several of us have found, not lane splitting can make us look like gaps, and then we get cars changing lanes onto us.

Lane splitting, if done with due caution (and trying to understand driver reaction/behaviour) is safer, in my opinion.

[Hoon]

Who's at fault is irrelevant but I agree. However children playing on the road "with caution", or leaving loaded firearms around the house "with caution" can be safe too but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone that does it WILL be safe as well. You have to account for the entire population, not just your personal experience or ability.

[Ocean1]

Yes great idea.....in a fantasy world where roads are free to build, motorbike accidents and injury rehabilitation costs (and resulting loss of productivity) are acceptable, and car driver re-education is 100% successful.

So in your "real world" we don't currently have dedicate pushbike lanes? They were constructed free of charge? They saved a great deal of ACC's money? What?

I'd say that someone a lot smarter than you and I has already crunched the numbers and (judging by their response) has concluded that motorcycle uptake is NOT to be encouraged.

And these smart people, they're exclusively to be found in charge of transport budgets, eh?
And nobody else is smart enough to have anything to say on the topic?

In fact the numbers were quite nicely crunched for London not that long ago, with quite the opposite result. Dramatically so. As a result of which they're currently working out how to best accommodate an increase in motorcycle commuters in order to reduce congestion that's crippled the city's economy for decades. A city, I might add that already has a massively expensive public transport system.

[grubbytech]

I'm from the London area & ride to work at Heathrow on a regular basis. Most Londoners appreciate that motorcycles will lane split & give way for motorcyclists to do so too.
The only time I get issues on my way to work is when it's foreigners in hire cars using their sat navs instead of their mirrors.


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