To feel really frustrated that so many drivers don't know this?

[SharkiraSharkira]

I am a biker (as in motorcycle).

I'm a member of a few biking related pages on fb and recently my feed is inundated with videos and articles about bikers being assaulted by car drivers or run over/knocked off their bikes due to car drivers not looking or seeing them or even intentionally. Some of them have been really shocking!

One thing that seems to be coming up time and time again is drivers bemoaning bikers 'illegally overtaking' or 'pushing in' or 'riding between the lanes'. All of these things are perfectly legal for bikers and it is called filtering - it is used to make progress through traffic and some believe it is actually safer for bikers, being vulnerable road users. And yet 90% of the drivers comments on these videos are basically saying it is the bikers fault they got run over/maimed/attacked because they 'shouldn't have been between the lanes'. We are allowed to be!

Aibu to find it very frustrating that SO many drivers don't seem to know that this is legal?

Obviously there are always idiots that ride unsafely and I'm not referring to these people, rather those who follow the rules and filter legally and safely and still get abuse for it.

Worth remembering that a motorbike is also relatively small.
Filtering in between two cars means hidden formthe car driver due to dead angel etc... in the mirror. Add some more cars in the middle, a heavy traffic meaning you have to concentrate carefully on all the other vehicles a rich d you and how on earth do you expect car drivers to always spot the moto that has sneaked next to them?
It’s all well and good to ask drivers to always be in control, know who is next to them etc... but they don’t have eyes behind their head and can’t look. At the front, the sides and the back all at the same time.

IMO it’s irrealistic to ask car drivers to be able to always know there is bike filtering. Hence the numer of near accidents or accidents.
It’s then easy to say that the car driver is t fault for not looking. But as other posters have said, how often does it feel that the bike has appeared out of nowhere because they are fast, hidden behind other cars, not visible form the mirror?

I suspect that, if there was a proper investigation of the risk associated iwth filtering, it w9od be deemed unsafe and forbidden (like it is in other countries)

YANBU OP, I move over where I can to make space for bikes - as for "pushing in" I say good luck to anyone with the courage to mix it with all the traffic on a motorbike.

Can't believe some of the selfish dickhead comments on here - well actually, I can, sadly.

Whilst I appriciate what you are saying Raging, I also think that some drivers are really just guilty of not looking properly/being lazy /not being aware of their surroundings on account of their metal cage of protection around them.

It's easier to blame the bikers to being too close/coming up too fast/being in the blind spot etc etc rather than people taking responsibility for their poor driving. Fwiw I've seen a lot of poor driving in the passenger seat of a car when bikes are not a factor and it still happens.

Yep Was, so can I. Quite depressing really

Filtering (done properly) is safe and legal, if all drivers are aware of what is going on around them and drive responsibly rather than aggressively.

Blocking people from getting past, being possessive of a particular space in the road, changing lanes without checking are all fucking selfish, stupid things to do and are what can make filtering dangerous.

Undertaking, speeding etc are all totally different things and are dangerous, but nothing to do with the OP.

Motorcyclists are vulnerable on the road, in the same way as anyone using the road who isn't in a metal box is vulnerable. Somehow though, it seems acceptable, or even amusing, to make jokes about putting those people in danger - it's not funny, it's twatty and it makes you come across as a total arsehole.

It’s all well and good to ask drivers to always be in control, know who is next to them etc... but they don’t have eyes behind their head and can’t look. At the front, the sides and the back all at the same time

Anyone who is not able to be aware of what is going on around them when they are driving has no business being on the road. It's not rocket science, before you drive off, check your mirrors and your blind spot, when you're sitting in traffic, be aware of what's going on around you rather than checking make up, phone, staring into space etc. If you stay aware at all times rather than only when you're moving, you will be perfectly aware of anything coming towards you, in front of you, behind you or whatever.

Absolutely right in my opinion daily!

I was aware of this, and have never had a problem with it. My commute has a couple of traffic jam prone areas, and that's usually where bikes filter, so I've come to expect it.

However, I really, truly asked DH, shortly after I passed my driving test, if motorbikes had a different speed limit to cars. Honestly. Because they just seem to speed everywhere, all the time. Outside of stationary traffic, I can't say I often see bikers riding within the speed limit. Why is this, bikers on the thread?

Honestly, I don't know. I always keep to the speed limit because in all honesty I am too scared to go too fast. I feel out of control if I go above 70 mph and that isn't fun for me. Obviously it is different for others, some just really enjoy the speed but I personally don't.

What a depressing thread.
WaitrosePigeon Fuck off and grow up. You are a dangerous driver and a risk to all bikers. I hope you never knock my DD off.
Ex-biker speaking... I spent several hours in a ditch once, a farmer found me. Not sure if high vis would have helped.

Silver, I hope that this thread will be an education to those who genuinely didn't know it wasn't illegal and maybe make others who get the rage at bikers perfectly legally 'pushing in' because they are jealous they can't do the same think about what they are doing.

I hope you have recovered ok Silver. My Ds will hopefully ride one day and I can only hope that people are compassionate and thoughtful towards him in kind.

I can't say I often see bikers riding within the speed limit. Why is this, bikers on the thread?

From my experience as an ex-biker, trying to do the speed limit and sit in a normal road position generally results in a BMW/Audi/White Van driving right up your exhaust. If you think being tailgated in car is no fun, try it on a bike - so I used to get fed up and race past everyone. In those days even a modest bike was way faster accelerating than most cars so even not speeding, I'd be "beating" most cars away from the lights and that really really seems to upset a certain breed.

We're not all 'brothers in arms'.
Some of my biker friends riding has actively put me off riding with them altogether, they hoon about like they have a point to prove.
Good riders get sick of that shit too, it gives us a bad name, where most of us are conscientious, highly aware, considerate road users.

Couldn’t agree more!!!

So if you choose to ride a motor bike you can speed illegally, because you dislike riding at a safe speed? Have fun explaining that to the police when they hopefully catch you. The entitlement is staggering.

I could be wrong but I thought it’s only legal in free flowing traffic where they can easily cut back into a line of traffic. It’s not legal if the traffic is stopped at a junction or something has caused the traffic to stop.

So if you choose to ride a motor bike you can speed illegally, because you dislike riding at a safe speed?

Where did anyone say that?

A lot of people can't bear someone (in this case bikers) using a perk (manoeverability, acceleration) that they can't.

You said it in your own post "I used to get fed up and race past everyone" in response to being "tailgated" when driving at the speed limit. If that's not what you meant then you've worded it very strangely.

Sharkira, the depression was in no way directed at you, I'm really glad you are raising the awareness of bikers.
I always say that when you get on your bike every other road user is out to kill you. Holds true. So always ride as defensively as possible.
I genuinely think that people don't see bikes. It's as if it's not on their radar.
Perhaps car drivers need flash cards of a helmet or two. They just don't seem to compute!

What wason means is that bikes can accelerate so much quicker than other vehicles. It gives the impression of speeding but actually keeps the morons away from them. Hence 'not even speeding' hth

grimeofthecentury

Exactly - I didn't say I dislike riding at a safe speed

Driving at the speed limit isn't always safe and driving above it (whilst I accept is always illegal) isn't always dangerous. If you don't believe me, try being tailgated on a motorbike for a bit.

As for the Police, if I ever saw any maybe I'd also see less tailgating, inattentive, aggressive and plain dangerous driving , and fewer people trying to "police" rules they don't understand or don't exist.

I never said I (or anyone else) was "entitled" to speed - just that it sometimes seems like a safer option not being sandwiched between two 2 tonne lumps of metal if I can be safely past them, is all.

I knew it was legal. And tbh I don't really care if a biker wants to get past me - I drive to the conditions of the road/the speed limit, it's up to other people what they want to do as long as they're not endangering me or themselves.

Given that, though, I have a question. If I see a biker who looks like they want to go past, whatever the speed of the traffic, I maintain my speed (or slow down if the traffic does, obviously, or appropriately on a corner) but if there's space on my left and it's safe to do so I check my mirrors then move my road position a bit so there's more space on the right. I am pretty sure I was taught this by a driving instructor. Is that helpful? Or is it better to just stay in the middle of the lane and let the motorcyclist do their thing?

@JonnaSilvie
Asking the bike riders on this thread why some bikers seem to ride above the speed limit is the same as me stating that i've noticed some car drivers drive above the speed limit and asking you personally to account for them. Its nonsensical to do so.
I am also a car driver btw.

What IS true, is that when it comes to power to weight ratio, a bike clearly has the advantage and therefore achieves speed quicker, so a bike shooting off from a set of lights quicker than a car does not mean a biker is speeding, it simply means it reaches the speed limit faster than your car, and therefore appears, to you maybe to be 'speeding'. I'm absolutely sure bikers speed, as do drivers.

Regardless, whether in a car or on a bike, people break speed limits, not machines.

Silver, I saw a video today of a car drive literally drive head on right into a biker who was completely stationary waiting at a junction. He was on a bright red bike! The driver was right over the while line onto his side of the road, how the driver did not see him I have no idea!

Yet to some people bikers will always be in the wrong because they are not cars and can do things that cars can't

Grime, personally I find the entitlement that car drivers have far outweighs that of any other user. Some of them think that just because they are in a car they automatically have right of way over a horse/bicycle/motorcycle. Obviously not all car drivers are like this though.

Dancing, afaik bikes are allowed to filter in slow moving and stationary traffic but not when not safe to do so ie; approching a junction or roundabout etc. Basically if you can't see down the road to know what the traffic is doing, don't filter!

I'm not sure I'm buying the black clothing can be more visible that high vis clothing. . How can wearing something that's tarmac coloured be the safe option ..... that's bonkers!

I think the general consensus on this thread is that safe filtering is ok and unsafe filtering is not ok and that filtering is mostly just another name for overtaking 🤷🏻‍♀️

It doesn't really matter who is right and wrong and whether things are legal or not if you are dead or seriously injured.

^Injuries to motorcyclists are out of proportion to their presence on our roads. Motorcyclists are just 1% of total road traffic, but account for 19% of all road user deaths.
Copy and pasted from Think! (motorcycles) website