I feel compelled to express my opinion and seek feedback regarding the art of lanesplitting in relation to other bikers around you at the time. I don't care about the moral/legal implications of splitting, nor how to do it without dying. I just want to know whether my thoughts are in the right place for me.
I travel approx 15k of motorways each way commuting. Since I live south of Auckland, it's not all lanesplitting. But a fair bit of it is. Now I doubt I'm the quickest lane splitter out there, but I sure ain't the slowest. That said I obviously catch up to a fair few bikes as I cruise the ghost lane. And many of these bikes are either splitting, or flowing with the traffic but sitting either hard right or hard left (depending on what lane they're in) effectively blocking the ghost lane. None of this I disagree with.
Most bikers I come up on will move over as soon as they see me in their mirrors, or as soon as practical anyway, making it both obvious they they've seen me, and leaving me with space to safely pass them. Because their attention may be focused ahead (and quite rightly so if they're splitting or following close), sometimes this can take a minute or so until they notice you there. Of course, sometimes they're really quick and have moved before you've even got there, waving you through. Thanks to those guys/girls.
But quite a few don't. I don't know whether it's because they aren't checking their mirrors that often, or whether they just don't want to let me through. I would have thought not checking your mirrors at least every 30s or so was bloody dangerous. I would also think that not letting faster moving traffic through put you in the same category as cage drivers - ignorant and discourteous. I believe bikers should be above that.
Unfortunately with me striking this day in, day out, my patience is not what it used to be. The reason I write today is because I literally cut up a bike that was the 2nd chicane I struck this morning. I sat behind for a minute or so, no sign of this bike moving over despite a clear left lane toward the end. I had the option of undertaking them in the left hand lane (which they were in the RH wheel track of), or through the ghost lane, which would leave about a foot or two of clearance between my bike and theirs, side to side. I don't mind cutting into the space of cages, but not bikes. I thought it would be rude to invade their space. So I invaded their space and took the ghost lane. I have no idea whether they saw me behind them, were expecting it, or not. I didn't really care.
So can someone enlighten me on whether there is a proper etiquette for passing bikes/lanesplitting bikes? I don't want to get labelled as that mad f***er on the green bike with no plate that just pushes past - he nearly took me out today! I think I have a reasonable expectation that if a faster moving bike appears behind you that you display it the courtesy of allowing it through as soon as practicable. That's what I'd do.
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Originally Posted by madboy
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