Lane splitting/filtering: the legal and commonsense answers

[skippa1]

were you angry when YOU were clipped? any damage?

meh........nah not really but I guess I could if I had a bad day.Its not like you do damage ( only just moving), might knock the mirror out of the focus area for the driver....

[bosslady]

meh........nah not really but I guess I could if I had a bad day.Its not like you do damage ( only just moving), might knock the mirror out of the focus area for the driver....

here's hoping I didn't clip a Porsche? haha

[Subike]

here's hoping I didn't clip a Porsche? haha

I took the drivers mirror off of a 05 Merc convertable recently, , mind you she did try to push me into the van on the right, and my boot just happened to become suddenly level with her mirror as I accelerated...................opps
Filtering can be wrought with dangers, or fun, depending upon perspective..

[bluninja]

I used to commute 105 kms each way for 3.5 years. I used to lane split on the M3 (6 lanes) and the M25 (6 lanes) at 110-130...often having to get out of the way for faster bikes. It was the done thing on those roads. When I lived in west Auckland I used to lane split the north western and to the front of the traffic lights queue each day.

Never clipped mirrors...but I have had car doors opened on me (big tailback, sunny day ...people get out of their cars for a stretch and don't expect motorbikes), even had a cigarettte stubbed on my arm, and had various arms swing out in front of me. There's also the angry drivers that try and move over and block you from lane splitting. Just swing around the back and go up the big space they leave on the other side.

Don't filter much now as there's no need, but it is a skill in it's own right, where you don't think about balance and braking or how much space you need because all your attention is on the potential hazards all around you.... cars, pedestrians walking between stationary cars, vehicles emerging through a gap in the traffic, sudden changes of lane etc.

[G4L4XY]

Wherever possible preferably on the rear wheel (gots to save front tyre tread)

[MIXONE]

I must confess to having broken two right hand mirrors while splitting in Wellington.Both times cars didn't see me and moved over into the gap I was riding in.Mind you that was on my fat old beema.The duck I ride now is nice and slim and very manouverable.

[swbarnett]

no footpaths on the mway... I need to find someone more experienced to help me with this because although I do try and avoid peak hour traffic when on my bike I'm inevitably going to have this happen again and if I'm unlucky it might be when the Sun is at full blast!

I would've been happy to oblige. Until 3 weeks ago I did Mairangi Bay to CBD every day. My average commute was 15 minutes. It was about an hour in the car.

even had a cigarettte stubbed on my arm

I've been bitten on the elbow by an angry Doberman on the back of a ute. Shit am I glad I was wearing armoured leather; the spot where one tooth missed the armour was pretty saw for a while.

[Damantis]

Around town, it's usually when traffic is stationary at lights or intersections. Try to avoid rush hour anyway. The bike runs pretty hot if I'm sitting in stop-start sort of traffic so I try to get some airflow as much as possible. Sometimes when it is moving slowly ( less than about 60 kph on the motorway etc ) I'll lane split moving traffic but I'm carefull not to come though at such a speed it would be impossible to take evasive action. Having an indidcator on may or may not make you more noticable in a wing mirror? A low gear is good too in case you need to gap it when someone makes a sudden lane change.

We've all been in the car and gotten a fright when a bike flies past lane splitting and thought "What a dick-head" We owe it to ourselves to not be that Dick-head.

[skippa1]

The bike runs pretty hot if I'm sitting in stop-start sort of traffic so I try to get some airflow as much as possible. .

true that.....mine gets bloody hot sitting in traffic and starts cooking my right leg. Gotta keep moving.......peak hour traffic in Auckland is not a place I will sit in a line of traffic for that reason.

[bluninja]

We've all been in the car and gotten a fright when a bike flies past lane splitting and thought "What a dick-head" We owe it to ourselves to not be that Dick-head.

You must have gone in to "cager" mode and nodded off then When the bikes fly past I just smile and think that could have been me, instead of sitting in a queue in a car.

[Glowerss]

Lane Splitting is one of THE single greatest benefits to owning a bike in the city. My commuting time to work is basically the same within 2-3 minutes regardless of what the traffic is doing.

The key is to do it safely/responsibly though, and not let it go to your head.

As a general rule, if the traffic is moving at half the posted limit, ill filter. I also never filter at more then 15-20ish KPH faster then what traffic is moving. People just don't expect bikes to go flying past them at twice the speed.

So long as you use your head and a bit of common sense (IE if you're filteng between lanes and 1 is moving faster, watch for cars darting into the faster lane, watch for gaps people are likely to pull into ect) it's relatively safe. Just gotta make sure you keep your eyes open and your brain engaged going "what if what if what if"

[Cam_NZ]

Sorry whats the difference between filtering and lane splitting?? or are they just different terms for the same thing?

[Tigadee]

Initially you may clip one or two mirrors, just give a little apologetic wave... After a few times, it's easy peasy and you won't hit anything, and you'll appreciate being on a bike even more.

Just don't be moronic and go at 30kph faster than the stopped or slow-moving traffic. Don't do it if the traffic speed goes above 40kph.

[Madness]

If you can't split without hitting the wing mirrors of cars you shouldn't be splitting in the first place. How would you like it if another splitting biker clipped your bike?

[DangerMice]

I've been lane spliting from Kelston to Pt. Chev for 5 years and I'm yet to hit anything. Just got to do it at a sensible speed differential and watch out for things like gaps in the traffic that cars like to quickly lane change into and wankers that swerve into you trying to stop you passing.

I'll always pull out of the way if a faster bike comes up behind me, and up at the front at the lights I always pull across in front of the car instead of sitting between the lanes. It annoys me if I'm following another bike and they sit in the middle as it leaves me with nowhere to go and trying to find a big enough gap between 2 cars further back. At least if you pull across the following bike can move up beside you.