Filtering On The Left.

[T5R+]

Increasingly find myself passing static traffic on the nearside when on the motorcycle, partly because so many car drivers seem to want to hog the white line - which naturally creates a large gap on the nearside, PLUS, avoids me having to cross the white line when traffic is flowing towards me and force drivers to accommodate my selfishness.

Anyone aware of hard and fast rules over this approach? Or in general have an opinion.

[R0G]

Bicycles do it all the time but being on a motorcycle who have a greater responsibility.

Drivers are ulikely to expect a motorcyle to be passing on the inside and any passengers are likely not to consider it at all so if they open a car door just as you are passing ...... guess who is going to get the blame?

[SVS]

Hiya,

I'm a biker too. I filter whenever it's safe to do so. Who buys a bike to just plod along? However, I generally avoid filtering on the nearside (for the reasons ROG mentioned).

Also, I think of the Pain vs. Gain when filtering. If the gain is small, but the potential pain is high, then I don't bother filtering. It's a philosophy I picked up from Kevin Williams (of www.survivalskills.co.uk fame), who was a motorcycle courier for years.

If I had to force oncoming traffic to move over, then I wouldn't bother filtering. The gain might be a minute's shorter journey, but the potential for pain is very high

Obviously you see people pulling all sorts of crazy filtering stunts, but even fellow bikers sometimes can be muppets

ETA that David Jones' Not the Blue Book gives the best filtering tips and advice I've come across:
www.amazon.co.uk/Not-Blue-Book-David-Jones/dp/0714...

Edited by SVS on Friday 18th November 21:43

[SVS]

Hi TR5+

MCN has published some handy filtering tips and advice:
www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/Genera...

HTH

[7db]

SVS said:

I think of the Pain vs. Gain when filtering

I don't that's as well known a case among bikers as Davis vs Shrogin... :-)

[T5R+]

SVS said:

Hi TR5+

MCN has published some handy filtering tips and advice:
www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/Genera...

HTH

Thanks

There seem to be a number of threads running across PH on filtering. Couple of things that I struggle with:

1. riding on the "wrong" side of the road and "forcing" others to oblige me.
2. motorcyclists who "split" traffic i.e ride between multiple lanes of free flowing vehicles travelling in the same direction and call it filtering.

Ironically, if a car driver "blocks" my progress by moving across, it seldom bothers me in the slightest.

[SVS]

Hiya,

Even though I filter quite a lot, I don't bother filtering in the two situations you mentioned.

"Forcing" oncoming car drivers to move over is way too high risk for me. It relies on them being awake, alert and giving a monkey about you. There are just too many mums with screaming kids in the car, foreign drivers, texting teenage drivers. I'm hardly going to rely on them getting out of the way every time

Ditto with lane splitting at speed. One day a sleep deprived shift worker or sales rep on the phone is going to drift across their lane.

If other bikers rely on drivers being alert and staying in lane, that's their look out

7db said:

I don't that's as well known a case among bikers as Davis vs Shrogin... :-)

LOL Are you a lawyer then?

Edited by SVS on Friday 25th November 21:41

[shovelheadrob]

When I'm on the bike I like to make progress, if that involves filtering then so be it. However on a personal level I think that as a rule of thumb filtering becomes lane splitting once the speed of the traffic in the direction of travel reaches beyond around 40% of the posted speed limit, so on a congested motorway 70mph limit, 40% = 28mph. As I drive all kinds of vehicle on a regular basis I think I am more aware than some of the limits/restrictions in visibility & awareness that some vehicles provide
I once nearly took out an impatient rider who had snuck into the blind spot immediately behind my trailer, whilst I was overtaking a lorry, he then went for the undertake as I was returning to the left hand lane, his reactions were good & he lived to ride another day, but I can only surmise on his ignorance of how invisible he had been. I tend to try & mentally assess whether another road user has seen me before I commit to something which could go wrong if they haven't, but then I have a strong sense of self preservation.

[road_rager]

Gutter running is not the greatest idea, but I'll do it if no other route available. There is more risk of picking up a puncture, getting held up by cyclists, getting people opening doors into you, cars turning into side streets and driveways etc without looking, hitting pedestrians, and getting taken out by the few car drivers who go out of their way to make room for the other bikers who'll go down the middle. Plus it just looks untidy, I see a fair few scooter riders do it, but each to their own

[veevee]

T5R+ said:

Thanks

There seem to be a number of threads running across PH on filtering. Couple of things that I struggle with:

1. riding on the "wrong" side of the road and "forcing" others to oblige me.
2. motorcyclists who "split" traffic i.e ride between multiple lanes of free flowing vehicles travelling in the same direction and call it filtering.

Ironically, if a car driver "blocks" my progress by moving across, it seldom bothers me in the slightest.

you're hardly going to overtake on the o/s on a dual carriageway or motorway though are you. lane splitting (responsibly), in non-heavy traffic is completely fine imo.

[SVS]

Hi vee vee. Serious question: what do you mean by "lane splitting (responsibly)" ?

[shovelheadrob]

veevee said:

you're hardly going to overtake on the o/s on a dual carriageway or motorway though are you. lane splitting (responsibly), in non-heavy traffic is completely fine imo.

The problem with this is defining "responsibly" as I would think it will differ greatly, you can never anticipate what someone else may do, as in my post above I have my own opinion on this, & any type of filtering/lane splitting (its the same thing just different speeds) has to be done so as not to endanger yourself & with consideration for others & their likely actions.

[TubbyNorman]

I always thought filtering was between two lanes of slow moving/staionary traffic. ie On a three lane road, bikers are normally between lanes two and three, similarly on a dual carriageway between the two lanes. Don't know that I've ever seen a motorcyclist undertake on the kerb side. Or any other biker come to that ! Sounds abit too fraught with danger to my mind.

[supersport]

Having recently watched a chap lane splitting at speed and appearing to be absolutely determined to kill him self by weaving from the outside to the inside and just catching the closing gap between car/truck car/van car/car I can't possible imagine how it is a good idea. In this instance he was travelling at 75-80 in traffic moving at 70 and was in and out of blind spots, very few drivers stood a chance of seeing him in time.

I can see how this is safe in slow moving traffic but I do like the 40% rule above.

As a driver I find extremely bizzare when bikers come onto the wrong side of the whiteline so that they are head on to oncoming traffic, especially in the dark.

Also as a driver if I am in slow moving traffic I tend to move to the left when bikers come up behind to allow them space to go past and remain on our side of the road, 98% of the time this is met with a little wave which is nice.

[T5R+]

I am no "riding god" but think of it broadly as follows:

1 Filtering
Passing between traffic when other surrounding traffic is stationary.

2 Over(under)taking
Passing another vehicle when traffic is in motion.

3 Splitting
Passing between 2 or more, free flowing moving vehicles, travelling in the same direction.

For me the boundaries start to become blurred between 1 and 2 then 2 and 3 as the speed differential is taken into consideration.