Lane splitting appears to be being policed in Wellington

[Paul in NZ]

Not flash is it? I'd normally say toughen up and learn to ride slow, but there's plenty that can't, including most novices, and the left at the bottom of the hill got wrong sees you in real danger from the southbound lot.

All because the villiage didn't rate an overpass.

Shit yes because if there is a LOT of traffic heading south you just can't ride slow enough and you need to stop. Try doing that 2 up on a whale like the ST... Jesus mary wept its scary and had me so out of shape I could barely stay in my lane when I could make the turn..

[yevjenko]

A friend had one late last year and it is honestly the only time I've heard of a bike being written off after a lanesplitting incident.

yet if you don't do it in Blighty on your test, they'll fail you for "not making progress"...

[MarkH]

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.

I'm afraid that anecdote really means nothing.
Someone got injured while lane splitting, someone else got injured while not lane splitting - neither incident shows which is safer.

I've been in a car and when I slowed down because the traffic in front of me slowed down, I got rear ended.
If I'd been on a bike and split between the lanes ahead of me then I would not have been in an accident.

I think drivers get all in a tizzy, pissed off and try blocking riders out because they don't realise we're legally allowed to lane share in stationary/slow moving traffic they just think its a sneaky move to cheat traffic queues. Educated drivers see riders lane sharing and think 'lucky bugger wish I was on 2 wheels'

I did that, stuck in Auckland traffic and thinking "this stupid four wheeled vehicle sucks!" and "I should get back into riding and enjoy moving through traffic like those riders".
After 3 years of commuting in Auckland on a bike I don't really want to buy another car, bikes are just more fun.
Now I'm not even commuting in a city and I'm still glad to be riding, all seasons and all weather I'm happy to be on a bike!

[yevjenko]

I was filtering(?) on Friday once I hit the queue at the end of the SW where the on ramp lights at Manukau are. Saw something funny up ahead (drivers door quickly open then shut, but not all the way) got closer (I don't split very fast) then he flung his door wide open, I stopped with heaps of room to spare and asked him what he was doing. He just yelled at me to wait my turn! What a dork. I just went around him and sped off towards the lights and got too excited, let the clutch out too quick, did a MINI wheelie then sped off, lol.

Love it! you should have said "I pay a lot of money to ACC to be able do this!"

[bounce]

Well here's the update; I wrote in a letter contesting my lane split fine, and they rejected the request for reconsideration via post this afternoon. The shame is that I got done again by the same cop sitting on the flyover at bottom of the gorge this morning, where the road is at it's widest. Traffic was near stopped, so just toddling through at walking pace past the cars.. And yup, same result. Cant reason with the guy, he is utterly convinced it is for our own safety. Despite my having been hit 4 times by cars behind me not stopping when I do..

Ah well - looks like he will be lurking on SH1 in peak hour for the long term, pulling bikes over, snarling up the traffic, making more bikes lane split, which creates more customers for infringements!
... all we can hope is that he becomes employee of the month and they put him onto some real work. I doubt it though.. THis is waay profitable. Probably another 20 bikes split past while he was writing me mine, so many more fish in the sea.

Nothing else can be done huh.

A 30 minute crawl slipping 1st gear isn't my idea of fun though so guess I'll start taking the car and add to the traffic jam.

[swbarnett]

Well here's the update; I wrote in a letter contesting my lane split fine, and they rejected the request for reconsideration via post this afternoon.

Don't give up yet. I got off a ticket for using the 'B' traffic light on the bus lane (before it was legal) by persisting through three letters. Write back and tell them how appalled you are that they would enforce a law that will put riders in danger. And tell them why in detail. If enough riders do this they may even rethink the crap they're spouting.

[Reckless]

I think in the first instance your letter goes to the officer who issued the ticket.
I called in about one I wrote and she said it was with the officer who wrote it?
Could be wrong others here may know the system better?
So they didn't reject it he did. He will know the system and I'd bet the strike rate goes up to 99% once the first letter is rejected?

Take it further for all of us if we can no longer lane split through near stationary traffic not much use in riding IMHO

[MD]

I think in the first instance your letter goes to the officer who issued the ticket.
I called in about one I wrote and she said it was with the officer who wrote it?
Could be wrong others here may know the system better?
So they didn't reflect it he did. He will know the system and I'd bet the strike rate goes up to 99% once the first letter is rejected?

Take it further for all of us if we can no longer lane split through near stationary traffic not much use in riding IMHO

Yip. Totally defeats the point of using a bike.
I was too scared to ride in today after talking to Bounce, so I contributed to the congestion.
Bounce is a courteous lane splitter and doesn't do it at speed.

Unfortunately today I witnessed two of our brothers piss me off and give us all a bad name - not that it's good in the first place in the public's eye.

A yellow car a bit ahead of me in far right lane starts indicating he wants to move left to middle lane. Plenty of advance indication and he had a gap to go. Two bikes splitting up behind him MUST have seen his indication but just aimed at him so he had to take evasive swerve back to his right to avoid impact with first bike. Second bike close behind MUST have seen this but does he hold back and be polite. No, he aims for this car as it starts to move left, again the poor driver had to sweve back a second time.

What were you two Riders thinking? Your bike could shunt him out of your way? He was in the right, he could have not taken evasive action and guess who would have been hurt AND in the wrong. I felt like following the driver to apologise for these two ignorant riders and thank him for sparing their bodies from certain self inflicted injury. Common road courtesy goes a long way people. If I see a car ahead indicate a lane change when I'm splitting I slow, hold my position or pull into lane and if I can give the driver a wave to proceed. This rude behaviour I saw is just what this prick of a cop wants to justify his personal hate campaign against bikes.

[yevjenko]

(lots of stuff)

Couldn't agree more, with pretty much everything you said.

if people split like that overseas they will get themselves killed. no doubt

[Kendoll]

That really sucks to hear! What I've found with police (the really unreasonable ones at least) is that what it comes down to is your word against theirs, and there's nothing you can damn well do about it. This guy sounds like one of the unreasonable ones, damnit!

Thanks for at least making others aware of it on here though...

[swbarnett]

not that it's good in the first place in the public's eye.

Not on Auckland's southern motorway if the number of people that make way for me is anything to go by.

A yellow car a bit ahead of me in far right lane starts indicating he wants to move left to middle lane. Plenty of advance indication and he had a gap to go. Two bikes splitting up behind him MUST have seen his indication but just aimed at him so he had to take evasive swerve back to his right to avoid impact with first bike. Second bike close behind MUST have seen this but does he hold back and be polite. No, he aims for this car as it starts to move left, again the poor driver had to sweve back a second time.

What were you two Riders thinking?

Yeah, this is stupid and self defeating.

Your bike could shunt him out of your way?

Well... If they hit them fast enough. Wouldn't like to give odds for their survival though.

[bounce]

Common road courtesy goes a long way people. If I see a car ahead indicate a lane change when I'm splitting I slow, hold my position or pull into lane and if I can give the driver a wave to proceed. This rude behaviour I saw is just what this prick of a cop wants to justify his personal hate campaign against bikes.

pretty much MD. I was thinking that for years. that it would be the guys that use the morning commute to get their thrills that screw it for everyone. weaving through at speed, pulling in on cars, tailgating, tooting at cars who don't make room.. no wonder enough motorists got annoyed enough to complain. and yup, this guy will probably hand out the $150's until nobody does it anymore.. makes you weep to think of how much money he is going to take off motorcyclists.. but yeah he loves it eh, absolutely can't reason with him. 100% strike rate, he will give you the ticket and enjoy telling you off about it too.

The ONLY positive is that he did concede that splitting stopped traffic was not an offence. Only catch is that the cars likely won't give you a gap once they start moving again.

[MarkH]

A yellow car a bit ahead of me in far right lane starts indicating he wants to move left to middle lane. Plenty of advance indication and he had a gap to go. Two bikes splitting up behind him MUST have seen his indication but just aimed at him so he had to take evasive swerve back to his right to avoid impact with first bike. Second bike close behind MUST have seen this but does he hold back and be polite. No, he aims for this car as it starts to move left, again the poor driver had to sweve back a second time.

Common sense & a sense of self preservation says to slow down and let the indicating car complete his manoeuvre and then resume passing traffic.
What the hell were these morons thinking?
Riding in heavy traffic while lacking a sense of self preservation, haven't we read about enough riders being killed already?

[rainman]

Common sense & a sense of self preservation says to slow down and let the indicating car complete his manoeuvre and then resume passing traffic.

Agree entirely, if the car ahead has the decency to indicate, I'll stop if necessary and let them go through, even give them a thumbs up maybe as encouragement to keep doing it.

[yevjenko]

Agree entirely, if the car ahead has the decency to indicate, I'll stop if necessary and let them go through, even give them a thumbs up maybe as encouragement to keep doing it.

Nice. If only more bikers were like this

sent from my phone (so scuze auto correct typos)