Lane splitting/filtering: the legal and commonsense answers

[Jonno.]

Auckland CBD riders:

After splitting to the front of say, Queen/Victoria St lights, when there's one of those oh-so-frequent 30 second pedestrian gaps - does anyone else hop off the bike and push it across, provided it's not swarming with people? I've done it a couple of times now, and it generally saves about 90 seconds of fucking around. A policeman saw me once and didn't seem to mind, either...

I'd rather wait 90 seconds then deal with that shame

[Spazman727]

This has probably been said already but surely a bike going up the emergency lane or bus laen etc, would be better for traffic than having them sit in the lanes and taking up space that could be used by a car, therefore making the traffic a little better?

[Swoop]

This has probably been said already but surely a bike going up the emergency lane or bus laen etc, would be better for traffic than having them sit in the lanes and taking up space that could be used by a car, therefore making the traffic a little better?

Possibly. With the amount of road-crap and puncture inducing pieces of shit in that (motorway) lane though, perhaps not.

[Cayman911]

Auckland CBD riders:

After splitting to the front of say, Queen/Victoria St lights, when there's one of those oh-so-frequent 30 second pedestrian gaps - does anyone else hop off the bike and push it across, provided it's not swarming with people? I've done it a couple of times now, and it generally saves about 90 seconds of fucking around. A policeman saw me once and didn't seem to mind, either...

I was waitin in queen street today by the lights to turn right, it was just me. and i dont think i set off the thingy to tell it im there so it turns the right light green.

so after it went red again without letting me pass, i got so annoyed i got off the bike and did that exact thing . people were looking at me like "wtf ?" but ohwell...i got to the other side and gassed it.

[Cayman911]

Possibly. With the amount of road-crap and puncture inducing pieces of shit in that (motorway) lane though, perhaps not.

its not just the motorway, pretty much everysingle street there is. mostly by the intersections , full of crap, glass, bolts, shredded metal, you name it. becareful when you split.

outside the lanes is a whole new dangerous world of sharp objects

something needs to be done about it. need more of those sweeper trucks.

[bkker]

It's cheaper to be fined for Overtaking Where Prohibited than Careless Driving.

haha, cheers for the advice

[R-Soul]

I was waitin in queen street today by the lights to turn right, it was just me. and i dont think i set off the thingy to tell it im there so it turns the right light green.

so after it went red again without letting me pass, i got so annoyed i got off the bike and did that exact thing . people were looking at me like "wtf ?" but ohwell...i got to the other side and gassed it.

hehe yeah thats happened a couple of times with me too in Otahuhu- the damned thing just didn't bother turning green for me at all!?? So eventually I just gassed it through the red at the change...

[scooute]

some cops just hate bikes , it`s a fact and he`s one of them, most of the people who hate bikes can`t ride em and thats a fact as well , does anyone disagree.

I agree with the later part of your comment in that those that dont ride do not understand that it is not good for you or your bike to attempt to roll along at a couple of kph or stop and start. + learner riders have restrictions ( after being one I totaly agree with them) and also are more easily startled by people pulling out at them in retaliation to lane splitting. I agree with all who have commented "if it dont feel right dont do it" do not attempt if your a less experienced rider ( I tend to travel rurally to avoid traffic, its the long way around but is afer and a nicer ride for myself and my bike!!! Ride safe every one!!!

[scooute]

That's because most Kiwi riders are paranoid about getting done for careless or reckless riding because the legislators can't tidy up there act and tell us in plain English what we can and can't do.

Filtering would be safer if we could concentrate on filtering and not looking madly about for any bike hating cop, lurking on overbridges to up their ticket quotas.


We are long overdue on the legislators recognising that motorbikes are saving the environment and making it easier for all motorists to get to work quicker.
There would be a lot more motorcyclists commuting if the shoulders were dedicated to them at certain speed limits etc.

Aha here is a person with a point, there is so much mumbo jumbo with the road rules that people either worry greatly about what will happen to them because the law is so unclear and unreseptive to motorcyclists or give up and go back to the safety of a car (where is the fun and freedom in that?) come on NZ law makers just make it clear please we want to live and save the planet at the same time (plus its more fun!!!)

Thanks to all those who have shared there experiences and opionions in this thread most informative (and occasionaly entertaining)
Ride safe all

[Neshi]

I agree with the later part of your comment in that those that dont ride do not understand that it is not good for you or your bike to attempt to roll along at a couple of kph or stop and start. + learner riders have restrictions ( after being one I totaly agree with them) and also are more easily startled by people pulling out at them in retaliation to lane splitting. I agree with all who have commented "if it dont feel right dont do it" do not attempt if your a less experienced rider ( I tend to travel rurally to avoid traffic, its the long way around but is afer and a nicer ride for myself and my bike!!! Ride safe every one!!!

I kind of disagree. I've been riding for just 3-4 months now so I'm still on my learners. My L plate fell off in my 2nd week of riding and didn't bother to put another one on. I've been splitting lanes from the very beginning and never had problems. But then, for me it does feel right to split. Maybe I'm just a natural Never had a runin with police either, even though I do 100-120 on the motorway. I guess it's a lot to do with your own attitude on the bike. If you look confident and it seems like you know what you're doing, I think most police will let you pass (splitting that is, speeding is another story). But if you look anxious and don't seem like you could keep the bike upright... well, you could as well wear a sign on your back that says: 'Fine Me'

[Blinkwing]

I kind of disagree. I've been riding for just 3-4 months now so I'm still on my learners. My L plate fell off in my 2nd week of riding and didn't bother to put another one on. I've been splitting lanes from the very beginning and never had problems. But then, for me it does feel right to split. Maybe I'm just a natural Never had a runin with police either, even though I do 100-120 on the motorway. I guess it's a lot to do with your own attitude on the bike. If you look confident and it seems like you know what you're doing, I think most police will let you pass (splitting that is, speeding is another story). But if you look anxious and don't seem like you could keep the bike upright... well, you could as well wear a sign on your back that says: 'Fine Me'

Basically if you're under the speed limit, look comfortable and NOT passing cars too fast (can be considered 'dangerous driving' to them), it's all good.

[CookMySock]

I kind of disagree. I've been riding for just 3-4 months now so I'm still on my learners. My L plate fell off in my 2nd week of riding and didn't bother to put another one on. I've been splitting lanes from the very beginning and never had problems. But then, for me it does feel right to split. Maybe I'm just a natural Never had a runin with police either, even though I do 100-120 on the motorway. I guess it's a lot to do with your own attitude on the bike. If you look confident and it seems like you know what you're doing, I think most police will let you pass (splitting that is, speeding is another story). But if you look anxious and don't seem like you could keep the bike upright... well, you could as well wear a sign on your back that says: 'Fine Me'

If you already have some roadcraft skills, you should be fine lane sharing on the open road. Things seem to somehow work in slow motion at open road speeds.

Steve

[Rogue Rider]

Bloody marvelous, well documented and good insight. I am thinking similar. What do you call the verge inside the white line thats not a bus lane? I have used that and it's been fine.
Also, I was reading on the LTSA website that it is permissible to use bus lanes for motorcycles. Being LTSA they surely can't be wrong, and also it didn't say particular types of bus lanes.
I would love a KB Policemans perspective on this. I questioned a Police Biker and he was unaware of the protocols. I refered him to the ltsa site and he subsequently didn't issue me a ticket. He did say he would call me back, but didn't so curious to know if he checked and I was right.
I think Bikes using bus lanes or verges is fine, safer, keeps bikes out of traffic and fumes, as well as prevents congestion. My only comment is that road sweepers should still be sweeping old bus lanes.

Motorcycles should have an independent lane anyway.

Four years as a courier, a couple of hours reading the regulations at the public library and a court case taught me this (plain English version):

It is OK to overtake on the RIGHT of a MOVING or STATIONARY vehicle within the same lane (unless it's indicating to turn right).

It is OK to overtake on the LEFT of a STATIONARY vehicle within the same lane (unless it's indicating to turn left).

It is AN OFFENCE to overtake on the LEFT of a MOVING vehicle in the same lane (unless it's indicating to turn right).

So, to sum up, because the laws to be concerned with relate to the vehicles in the same lane as you - the other lanes are other roads, effectively - if you're travelling down the right hand side of the cars within their lane, you're OK. If you're between the lane markers and left side of moving cars, you're committing an offence. If you're on the left and they're stationary, you're OK. Until they start moving. HOWEVER...

The court case taught me that if you're overtaking safely and legally on the right and one of those vehicles being overtaken is a Constable on a police motorcycle and he offers you a ticket for Overtaking Where Prohibited and you assert that you were in fact not overtaking where prohibted, he will advise you that he "will make it Careless Driving then, and sort it out in court" where two JPs will decide that your experience and admitted unlikelihood of having an accident are irrelevant because of the louder than standard aftermarket silencers your bike was fitted with, mentioned in passing by the prosecution, which might give the drivers of the cars you were passing a fright at the moment of passing, potentially resulting in a crash and that you were, therefore, guilty of Careless Driving and should pay $480 plus costs which is more than the unlicensed 16 yr old at the same hearing who 'borrowed' his uncle's car and at 1 am on a rainy Sunday morning with 3 passengers on board, travelled the wrong way up the one way part of Crummer Rd at more than twice the speed limit and rolled the car into several parked cars would have to pay [$400 plus costs]. Or the truck driver with only a car licence who rolled his fruit and veg delivery truck at the end of Waipuna Bridge taking out a set of traffic lights, covering the local landscape with oranges and causing a road closure for 3 hours should have to pay [$450 plus costs]. And further...

As Clockwork rightly points out in previous post http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10838 every time you overtake a car on the left, that driver has firstly committed the offence of 'Failing to drive as near as practicable to the left side of the roadway', but I would be stunned if anyone in NZ has ever been issued a ticket for that.

Practical advice? It's cheaper to be fined for Overtaking Where Prohibited than Careless Driving. In stop-start traffic, it's safer between the sides of 2 cars than between the bumpers. The less time spent amongst the fumes of near-stationary traffic the better. And your time's worth money - if lane-splitting saves you an hour every work day for doing something you like, as it does me, that's 245 hours a year. Your annual leave only totals 120 hours. So, until the 'keep left' law starts being enforced, or the 'no overtaking on the left' law is repealed to allow the least-guilty motorway users unimpeded passage, for safety, mental and physical health, and timesaving I recommend...

Don't get me started.

[FROSTY:Me]

RR--a long time ago this was well and truely covered off. The short version is that you cannot legally ride in the motorway bus lanes.
Also I strongly advise that you DONT ride in that part of the road. It may seem safer but its a certain way to ruin a set of tyres.
All the nails and glass and bits of other sharp stuff end up over there.

[Spearfish]

RR--a long time ago this was well and truely covered off. The short version is that you cannot legally ride in the motorway bus lanes.
Also I strongly advise that you DONT ride in that part of the road. It may seem safer but its a certain way to ruin a set of tyres.
All the nails and glass and bits of other sharp stuff end up over there.

There is sometimes a big step down in surface level from the road to the bus lane, on the north western anyway.
Just a caution if you break down and have to use it one day.