Riding in between cars in traffic

ah yes, the old lane splitting debate, when I did my Qride course for my RE license  I asked the same questions, my trainer was the president of Motorcycle Riders Association of Qld (http://www.mraqld.org/)  and his take on it was that there is lane splitting and lane filtering. Lane filtering is where you ride down the centre line when traffic is stopped and is legal in Qld, however Lane Splitting is similar except when traffic is moving and is considored more dangerous and while there is no specific law against this, you can be booked for Dangerous riding etc.

his all seemed a tad grey for me, so I actully went into a police station a few years ago and asked about lane splitting. Their reply - there is no specific law against it, but condoned only when traffic is stopped. If a car opens a door & you hit it, you are at fault. If you put your wheel over the solid front line they can ticket for running a red light. I was also told, if I rider chooses to split down either side of traffic instead of the centre lane , then you can be booked as well.

Personally, if the traffic has stopped the gap is wide enought and I deem it safe to do it, then I will lane filter, if the traffic is moving then I stay in my lane, I dont lane split. I have seen a couple of accidents whereby riders have clipped mirrors or hit loose gravel on the side of the road and have crashed.  I saw a scooter rider hit the mirror of a ute which turned his wheel int the car, lots of damage.

It seems that our respective law makers need to communicate whats legal and not, I have filtered though traffic when its stopped and coppped a mounthfull from drivers who are stationary, yet its a legal manouver.

Better to be safe than sorry.

http://www.mraqld.org/

 

This was a question asked when I did my ride it right course for nsw licence and we were told that it is illegal to ride down the center or on the outside on the left and the instructor told us what they will book you for. It also has a tendency to piss pepole off & bike V's 1tonne of car the car will win every time.

 

A most interesting subject and one that will not please everyone. If traffic is stopped at lights and room is available then my opinion is move forward. Generally speaking motorcycles tend to get away quicker than most cars, so let them go. Car drivers probably won't be as receptive as they are stuck in traffic and can't move forward.
Bicycle riders tend to break the rules, crossing on red lights and so on.( NOT ALL BICYCLE RIDERS). Car driver who pull into another lane after having passed a truck, thereby diminishing the distance the truck driver has to stop in, it's happened to me so many times.
And the list goes on and on. Being considerate of others is probably not a bad start, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. As I said, a most interesting subject but one that will not deliver concensus of opinion until we all accept that we have a right to be on the road.
                                                                                    Phil

 

When I was working as a Q-Ride instructor this was a common question, to which the answer at the time was that it is not illegal, there are interpretations however where if not done safely through statinary traffic you can be prosecuted for the following offences.
1. Lane splitting (riding along the white lines)
2. Passing a vehicle in the same lane within 1.5m
3. Failing to indicate.
4. Changing lanes without indicating.........(in Queensland....do me a favour)
5. Undertaking.  (Passing a vehicle in the same lane on the left side)
6. Driving without Due Care and Attention. (?)
7. Dangerous driving/riding

It has since been made illegal to filter through traffic, sometime in the middle of last year I believe, it was only a little article in the Courier Mail, but it definately used the expression filtering as opposed to Lane Splitting.

Using the emergency lane to the left of the marked carriage way is definately a no no.

As an Advance Instructor I do filter through traffic as it is a way of making progress, one of the reasons why I choose to ride the bike in the first place, but keep an open eye open for police cars in traffic and don't pass them.

If there is space in front of a vehicle at the lights or junction by all means use it, just remeber to leave that 1.5m gap. (I am not aware of how a police officer in a car is going to measure this so err on the side of caution).

Most other states already have this ruling, but unless you are being particularly stupid about it there shouldn't be an issure.

I spoke to several police officer in Adelaide when I was working there and they all said they would let a bike pass through traffic as long as it was being done safely.

Point of interest here in Queensland, police officers here do not have original authority, they can not and will not give you a warning, they MUST issue an infringement notice....the money you understand.

Hope this has muddied the waters even further.

Mark

 

Found this helpful video on lane splitting/ filtering explaining the law. It's for WA but assume its relevant to other states

 

Sadly each state has it's own separate laws on this and other traffic rules. I.E hook turns.

 

This is for a certain state only but I'm sure if you are not riding dangerously and drawing a lot of attention to yourself then you should be relatively fine in any state

 

Can't do it on your L's or P's when the law comes into effect in NSW... for unrestricted license holders only and only through stationary traffic.

As for other laws like crossing the line, inidcating etc, not sure.