Lane splitting/filtering: the legal and commonsense answers

[James Deuce]

*sigh* why hasn't anybody told me this before?! I've been doing it wrong all this time still, to be honest, I find it hard to think about other irrelevant things when riding... which I reckon is a good thing!

It's the whole point and nothing but the point. It's a brain defrag.

[Tigadee]

*sigh* why hasn't anybody told me this before?! I've been doing it wrong all this time

I never believed it myself: If flipping a burger on the barbie while drinking a beer while looking at a nice bike passing by isn't multi-tasking, I must be Superman then I reckon...

[Maha]

I never believed it myself: Flipping a burger on the barbie while drinking a beer while looking at a nice bike passing by is multi-tasking, I reckon...

You would have to be using the part of the brain that's not used for riding... to achieve that.

[Tigadee]

You have to using that part of the brain that's not used for riding to achieve that.

My life has been a lie!

[Kendoll]

My life has been a lie!

Hehe...technically if only women can multitask then it's a good thing you can't...there now, buddy

[Juniper]

Glad the traffic wasent too bad this morning. Was sitting behind/next to/ in front of a bike cop most of the way in. Tbh still find them unnerving.

[f2dz]

Glad the traffic wasent too bad this morning. Was sitting behind/next to/ in front of a bike cop most of the way in. Tbh still find them unnerving.

I've only split past a couple of motorcycle cops and they never seem to pay me any mind. Also had a chat to one during a rider training course I did last year. They seem like a good sort.

[newbie2012]

Met one in the a bike shop once and had a chat - Birmingham bloke who encouraged me to lane split as long as I stayed sensible and under 40kph. Said that he a few other police riders convinced some higher powers that alghough splitting is illegal, that it is safe at low speeds. Seems to hold true as coming in on the north western everyday, been past plenty of police vehicles and never had an issue. Also met some at rider training and they seem a good bunch. Hell, why wouldn't they be good guys, they get paid to ride bikes all day.

[Juniper]

Oooooo now that was creepy.

Splitting down my local motorway at probably 50-60km and glimpse a white helmet on the side if the road. Thought "Oh I just passed my first bike cop while splitting" and keep going.

Glance behind me and there he is. Splitting behind me. Boy did that slow me down to 40-50k!! Stayed behind me for a while then pulled into traffic when the spaces opened up and I just kept going.

Man that was unnerving!!

[Bald Eagle]

Well its simple really. There are two types of "lane splitters"
Type 1 filter considerately with minimal speed differential unlikely to incur caged wrath or revenue collector attention.
Type 2 Ride the lane line like Rossi wannabes with no consideration, likely to get cageer wrath, revenue attention and free Ambo ride in their inevitable future.
Easy choice.

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[James Deuce]

Well its simple really. There are two types of "lane splitters"
Type 1 filter considerately with minimal speed differential unlikely to incur caged wrath or revenue collector attention.
Type 2 Ride the lane line like Rossi wannabes with no consideration, likely to get cageer wrath, revenue attention and free Ambo ride in their inevitable future.
Easy choice.

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Type 2 get away with everything.
Type 1 end up wearing the fallout from Type 2's behaviour, getting tickets and rides in ambulances in exchange for being considerate road users. Type 2 spends a lot of time and energy laughing at Type 1's pathetic weeny-ness and can't understand what all the fuss about lane-splitting is.

[jms698]

(sorry to bring up yet another lane splitting thread, but this is a question I don't think has been covered yet)

When lane splitting on a motorway are you supposed to indicate continuously while riding between the lanes? Or, are you supposed to only indicate when moving out of and merging back into traffic? I've seen fellow riders do both. Some seem to indicate the continuously, others only indicate when moving between lanes. Which is the correct way to do it?

If you do continuously indicate, which direction do you indicate?
For example: riding the southern motorway in Auckland. 3 lanes: 1,2,3.

Example 1: you are in lane 2 and pull into the space between 2 and 3. You indicate right to move into that space. Do you keep indicating right the whole way down the gap?
Example 1: you are in lane 2 and pull into the space between 1 and 2. You indicate left to move into that space. Do you switch to indicating right while going down the gap?

[ptroy]

I don't indicate

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[Juniper]

(sorry to bring up yet another lane splitting thread, but this is a question I don't think has been covered yet)

When lane splitting on a motorway are you supposed to indicate continuously while riding between the lanes? Or, are you supposed to only indicate when moving out of and merging back into traffic? I've seen fellow riders do both. Some seem to indicate the continuously, others only indicate when moving between lanes. Which is the correct way to do it?

If you do continuously indicate, which direction do you indicate?
For example: riding the southern motorway in Auckland. 3 lanes: 1,2,3.

Example 1: you are in lane 2 and pull into the space between 2 and 3. You indicate right to move into that space. Do you keep indicating right the whole way down the gap?
Example 1: you are in lane 2 and pull into the space between 1 and 2. You indicate left to move into that space. Do you switch to indicating right while going down the gap?

I think people say indicate so you are not looking to be overtaking on the left.

[f2dz]

I usually split between the middle lane and the fast lane and indicate right the entire time to show that I'm overtaking the people in the middle lane, which is legal. Sometimes you have to cross over onto the left side of people in the fast lane which is technically illegal unless they're stopped but not much you can do about it unless you want to stop splitting.

If I'm merging back into a lane I indicate into that lane then cancel my indicator, eg. moving into the middle lane I change to indicating left then cancel it once I'm in the centre of the lane.