Are motorcycles allowed to drive between lanes?

Strider590

Norman_Castle wrote: »

On the very rare occasions I see drivers react in this way to an overtaking car its when the overtake was poorly judged, pushy or just wrong.

I think the honking/flashing is usually because they think the limit is 40mph and don't know what the NSL sign actually means. They therefore think it's their job to point out that your speeding (when your actually not). The BBC did a survey, or reported on a survey that said 60%+ of drivers don't know what the NSL sign means. There was another survey that suggests 1/3rd of drivers don't know the NSL sign.

In my kitcar I find I get more of this behaviour, usually because they're half asleep and the side mounted exhaust wakes them up as I pass. A lot of people think that loud=fast too.

brat

Mercdriver wrote: »

So as a driver you don't think that you should do all you possibly can to avoid an accident, wherever the fault lies?

Of course not, but i didn't say that. You made it up.

almillar

When in traffic queues look out for pedestrians crossing between vehicles and vehicles emerging from junctions or changing lanes. Position yourself so that drivers in front can see you in their mirrors. Additionally, when filtering in slow-moving traffic, take care and keep your speed low.

But that just says take care when you are doing it, not that it is legal.

If it talks about doing it, does that not imply that it's legal? Highway code isn't the law remember. It doesn't advise you to look out for speed cameras whilst speeding, does it?!

I mentioned before that I don't mind bikers filtering in congestion (as per post #3), but it is not a right.

It is, in stationery traffic. In moving traffic I've no problem at all with it, but the biker is certainly taking more risk, literally with other road users, as well as in the eyes of the law.

it may not even be clear what filtering is, in particular at what speed is it appropriate? It's not defined in the Highway Code, is it?

Agreed. It's not defined. Just like 'too slow for a motorway' isn't defined. You're looking for absolutes where they don't exist. If you swerve and hit a motorcyclist who was filtering, you would have to go to court or something to decide who's fault it was. All you can do as a motorist is be aware of what is around you, and as a motorcyclist, use caution and treat every car driver as an idiot until they prove otherwise.

Retrogamer

I had a numpty doing a risky filtering manoeuvre today.
Rush hour traffic on motorway. 3 lanes congested. I'm in the outside lane doing approx 25mph. All other lanes around the same.

Biker comes up the gap between lanes 2 & 3 about 40ish mph....

Seemed a bit risky.

AdrianC

Seems perfectly safe and sensible to me.

15mph speed difference. L2/3 is the most common space for filtering, so drivers should be expecting it.

spadoosh

Retrogamer wrote: »

I had a numpty doing a risky filtering manoeuvre today.
Rush hour traffic on motorway. 3 lanes congested. I'm in the outside lane doing approx 25mph. All other lanes around the same.

Biker comes up the gap between lanes 2 & 3 about 40ish mph....

Seemed a bit risky.

Thats like me going past a pedestrian in the cycle lane. Or like when a car overtakes me on my pushbike. Worth thinking about.

Its not hard to see why their is animosity between road users.

Seems like your calling them a numpty because they caught you off guard?

Quite a lot of respect for most bikermice from mars. Its scary when you get a wobble on a bike at 20mph never mind 50+. The majority are actually sensible and would guess they dont want to die or get hurt. Think im quite an observant driver so never have issues spotting someone trying to filter and offering a courteous amount of room.

Too many road users just arent considerate (goes for all the road users) enough. And i feel like too many people are on the roads who dont fully understand or have been taught the 'rules'. In the majority of my learning to drive i never got told how a motorbike or a cyclist should react in certain situations so when you first come across them you fully expect them to do as a car, they dont and theirs valid reasons for that. Yes it was in the highyway code book i was given but for the most part you could never look at it and sit your theory and would reckon 20% would still pass. Same with HGVs see soo many people reacting stupidly around them when in reality theres quite a lot of difference between a 44 ton lorry and ford ka.

Oh yes im the perfect driver! Only had two crashes!

bigjl

A lot of the Rush Hour commuter motorcyclists and scooter riders on the A13 seem to have a death wish.

I suspect some are experienced drivers but inexperienced bikers. Or those that have returned to motorbikes due to the increased congestion on the A13.

Retrogamer

spadoosh wrote: »

Thats like me going past a pedestrian in the cycle lane. Or like when a car overtakes me on my pushbike. Worth thinking about.

Its not hard to see why their is animosity between road users.

Seems like your calling them a numpty because they caught you off guard?

Quite a lot of respect for most bikermice from mars. Its scary when you get a wobble on a bike at 20mph never mind 50+. The majority are actually sensible and would guess they dont want to die or get hurt. Think im quite an observant driver so never have issues spotting someone trying to filter and offering a courteous amount of room.

Too many road users just arent considerate (goes for all the road users) enough. And i feel like too many people are on the roads who dont fully understand or have been taught the 'rules'. In the majority of my learning to drive i never got told how a motorbike or a cyclist should react in certain situations so when you first come across them you fully expect them to do as a car, they dont and theirs valid reasons for that. Yes it was in the highyway code book i was given but for the most part you could never look at it and sit your theory and would reckon 20% would still pass. Same with HGVs see soo many people reacting stupidly around them when in reality theres quite a lot of difference between a 44 ton lorry and ford ka.

Oh yes im the perfect driver! Only had two crashes!

I'd called them a numpty because in the event a car changes lanes without checking for filtering bikes or swerves to avoid a pothole (whilst staying in lane) then the biker is the one that's going to end up hurt and likely determined to be liable in the result of an insurance claim.

Devils advocate here...but if the traffic was doing 55mph and the biker was filtering at 65+ mph would that be deemed as ok? If not, at what point does the filtering become unreasonable?

When i done my DAS lessons we were taught if the traffic is going faster than a light jogging pace, not to do it and when we were doing it not to exceed 10mph because it comes with some risk.

prowla

I had one go between me an the outside car on the M4 when I was doing 70 this morning.