AIBU to think motorcyclists shouldn't zoom up the 'middle lane'??

[windygallows]

I spend a lot of time in traffic and slowly getting through the ring road around my town.... and always shocked when a motorcyclist zooms up the lane between the two cars, even if it is legal here.

But why? It's so unsafe and the area between two cars isn't a lane so many car drivers aren't expecting a motorcyclist to race past them. You just need one car driver to switch lanes and it's an accident.

I'm not sure why it's allowed unless the motorbike manufacturers and lobbiests encourage it as being able to speed through traffic is one of the main benefits of having a motorbike.

Also not sure why the govt spends a lot of money to raise driver awareness re motorbikes when those on bikes are allowed to continue such a dangerous practice.

Would love to hear others thoughts/opinions especially those who do drive motorbikes....

DH was filtering once and some twat in a car flung his door open to try to stop him. Then got all pissy when DH crashed into it

I don't like it either. Just seems like an accident waiting to happen. But I hate bikes anyway, for the very reason that they just seem so unsafe! But I saw someone killed on a bike years ago, so appreciate that will colour my judjement somewhat.

*judgement

I do think that some car drivers just hate bikes on principle because bikes can do things that they can't, such as filtering. I have heard car drivers refer to filtering as 'pushing in the queue', which annoys them because they have to sit and wait and see it as unfair. Hence you get the being obstructive, opening doors, moving over in the lane etc. If it was just a safety thing I don't think anyone would drive a car either!

Done properly, filtering is actually safer than stopping at the back of the queue.
Motorbikes can very easily be lost in the outline of a larger vehicle - more than one has been clattered by a car driver as a result. Being rear ended on a bike is a lot more serious than in a car.

Yet another biker bashing thread. Yawn.

We all ride around like irresponsible hooligans, going twice the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic whilst unnecessarily revving our engines, jumping the queue and all bikes should be sent to the crusher of course . (Just thought I'd get all the standard MN anti-biker comments in before others do anyway)

If you don't understand why it is safer for a bike to keep moving through traffic, maybe you should get yourself booked on a CBT course in order to understand the road from the perspective of riding a bike in terms of what is safe or not. Understanding the road from the perspective of a more vulnerable road-user would almost certainly make you a better car driver.

Standing in a queue of traffic is often (even, usually) not the safest move on a bike, though neither is filtering indiscriminately. Its about balance of risk. In some situations, it can be safer to filter than to stay in the queue, whilst in other situations, the least risky move is sitting in the queue (and risk getting rear-ended by the driver behind, which is one of the most common accidents for bikes who wait in the traffic - potentially resulting in a broken pelvis, broken back and/or death). Filtering allows the motorcyclist to keep moving and he/she can often then keep more options open to keep themselves safe than once they stop.

Of course, some bikers don't filter well (or ride well generally), just as some car drivers don't drive well or observantly etc but when it becomes particularly dangerous is when cars decide to helpfully "block" a rider from filtering. Car drivers too often decide they know better than experienced, trained motorcyclists as to what is safe or not, despite never having ridden themselves!

^Agree Better

and the speed differential between the filtering bike and the traffic should be no more than 15-20 mph above that of the traffic the bike is filtering past. As a PP said, this can look a lot faster than it is if you are sat in a stationary car. If you are worried about biker safety, keep a good eye out for filtering bikes, give them space (it is appreciated) and try not to do anything unpredictable.

YABU - the responsibility is on car drivers to drive decently, check their mirrors and blind spot and signal before manoeuvring, rather than slate other road users for doing something perfectly legitimate.

husband failed his bike test for not doing this he thought it was illegal,should have got instructor.

I think if you choose to pass a car on the inside it has to be very much at your own risk, and therefore motorcyclists who don't filter extremely slowly and carefully are not entitled to complain if they are inconvenienced in any way. I once had someone shouting the odds after I had indicated left, checked, slowed down, checked again and turned left - he had never at any point been in any danger but seemed to think that if he was in the act of filtering then no-one was allowed to cross his path. He was most taken aback when I pointed out that my action could only have been of any concern to him if he intended to break the law.

The ones that worry me are bikers that don't seem to understand car drivers. I drive a large 4WD (yes, I actually do need to own a 4WD) and have some blind spots in my car. Cyclists/motorcyclists who filter through and then sit in those blind spots before accelerating and taking off when the lights change are a big bug bear of mine as they can cause you quite a fright when they appear from seemingly nowhere. If they sat in the correct spot in the front of the car, then I'd see them. But they like to sit on my shoulder then accelerate wildly when the lights change.

Motorcyclists shouldn't be filtering on the left (inside) Dobson, that's undertaking. You should only be passing on the right.

What Fedup just said. Filtering is classed as a special case of overtaking and should be done on the right of the traffic (unless on a motorway/dual carriageway when it should be done between lanes 2 and 3 if there are 3 lanes and between lanes 1 and 2 where there are 2 lanes).

Also, to add to the comment from Midnite, most motorcyclists (at least those with full licences, not learners, who should be given extra consideration from other road users because they are learning) will also drive a car as well. Most will therefore understand the traffic from the perspective of car drivers, but most car drivers have never ridden a bike, but still think they understand better than motorcyclists how to ride one. It seems to me to be rather analogous to the fact that everybody knows how to teach better than qualified teachers, even if their only experience is having attended school.

As I say, learners are a different matter entirely. They should be given plenty of space (even more so than bikes should be given anyway) and drivers should expect that they may be less predictable, their road positioning may be sub-optimal etc. That's why they are still learning. You wouldn't expect a learner car driver to know absolutely everything straight away, either.