Lane Filtering Comes To Arizona. I Have Mixed Feelings. How About You?

I must be a Bad Motorcyclist, but I don't support lane splitting. Don't get me wrong, sitting in traffic SUCKS, but I wouldn't do it if were legal in my state. I certainly don't trust drivers and I'm not sure I trust me.

 

On a motorcycle, if the weathers cold you get cold. If it’s boiling hot you boil. If it’s raining you get soaked.

If you’re not prepared to filter (lane splitting) then you may as well take the car. At least you’ll be comfortable while sat in the jam. The only reason to commute by bike is to beat the traffic.

I also think it’s counter-productive for authorities to ban it. All that achieves is increased jams, increased emissions. If you’re sensible about filtering, it’s no more dangerous than any other motorcycle use.

 

you are not a bad motorcyclist, and I appreciate your point of view. However, if filtering was legal in your state I am positive that there would be some instances where you would split lanes of traffic.

Like riding a motorbike, it’s less dangerous than it seems like it should be.

You know how people hear/see that you have a bike and their first stated thought is, “isn’t that dangerous?” We’ve all heard it. But actually riding a bike is much less dangerous than their perception of it.

Same with filtering. There is quite a bit of room between the lanes of cars, especially in the US where our freeway lanes are pretty dang wide.

 

I've seen a number of riders employ the practice here in Colorado, where it's not legal, and I hold my breath when I see it attempted. Drivers are less aware than ever, it seems, and there's always the vigilant types that don't want to be passed in any fashion! Maybe the noise interupts their phone calls...

 

Ever since I passed my motorcycle test in 1974 I have always filtered & split lanes, I was a post office telegram boy and it was 2nd nature.
I'm a bit more careful nowadays but it's still done almost every ride I take. I've had a couple of frights over the years but can't imagine riding any other way.

 

Still is on mine...

 

As a lot of people have already said here in the UK filtering is legal, however there is legal precedents set in case law, if a collision takes place either involving a vehicle, pedestrian or other road user (including a passenger exiting a vehicle and the open door knocking off the rider), if the rider is travelling above 15 mph then there is contributory negligence (the circumstances are taken from witness statements and any vehicle cam footage, (if a serious collision then the Police enter into a crash scene investigation), there is also other hazards that a rider needs to be aware of when filtering (as an example road junctions), speed is subjective when relying on witness statements, however if a number of statements say the same thing, then the insurance companies and or courts run with those. To add more caution, here in the UK there is now a hierarchy of road users incorporated into a new highway code, both insurance companies and the courts take the code exceptionally serious if broken.

 

Probably me on one of my US trips

 

Isn't it 15mph MORE THAN the traffic is moving or 15mph if traffic is stationary?

 

No I am afraid not, filtering is just that, progressing slow or stationery traffic, if vehicles are moving at 20 mph for example then you are not filtering but overtaking, and that is a recipe for disaster as you are travelling at a greater speed, many roads now have lower speed limits in built up areas, often they are congested at peak times but moving around 15/20 mph, therefore any defence of "I was filtering" would be an aggravating factor.

 

I was overtaking then..

 

Just found this interesting thread via the "Last week's most popular topics" email.
Firstly I'm in the UK and I do filter, but probably with a few more provisos than many (it's not uncommon for another bike to filter past when I've decided to sit in a queue). If I was working and in a daily commute through traffic then I would probably do a lot more but being retired and only leisure riding I will always weigh up the risk vs reward. Example, I would filter a line to traffic lights if going straight on or right - but not if turning left. Holiday traffic jams (occupational hazard here in Cornwall) I'll filter VERY carefully to gain open road, but beware they've all got their holiday head on! And so on....
Interesting that our State side cousins seem less enthusiastic about filtering, I wonder if that's down to a lower percentage of road miles in traffic congestion, or is it fear of aggressive response from car drivers? Here in the UK I would say it has got much better over the past 20-30 years or so, although we still get the odd w@nker trying a lane block, never seems to work for long though and I just ride on feeling smug while they fume and boil over in their box.
While in Europe I've seen bikers using hazard lights while filtering (France dual carriageways I think), can't say I've seen it used here. Seems sensible but I'm not sure what the police response is to that here, is it an admission of being hazardous therefore shouldn't be doing it?
The Triumph bean counters actually stopped equipping our bikes with hazard lights for quite a few years, I've actually modified mine to include them now, largely for use when filtering.

 

Well said, your riding is the core of advanced riding