Filtering speed and tehnique.

[Rookie]

On crowded town roads I'll filter at whatever speed I feel safe. If I think I'm crossing over that danger line or just being something of a tit, I'll rein myself in and just have a pootle.

Never had to filter on a motorway fortunately, but the same rules would apply I think.

Considerably more careful in the rain - when you're filtering you're having more interaction with those white lines than you should really, and when it's raining they're just lethal.

[G]

Filtering.

The following on motorway style filtering:

First, erm, remember it’s not supposed to be a way to enjoy yourself – it’s a system to help you get from A to B quicker (yes, I’m a hypocrite).
Don’t filter above the level you’re happy with. If you find you’re holding people behind you up, do pull in and let them past when it’s safe for you to do so. If someone you're riding with goes faster than you; let them. They should slow before the next junction you have to turn off at; if they're the sort that doesn't, either find someone that does to ride with or make sure you know your own way!


When you can, make clear moves and decisive moves.
For instance, if I’m moving from the outside lane to the middle lane to make use of an empty gap, I will often flick the indicators on; despite the fact I have made sure it is safe to move regardless of other vehicles, this may give other vehicles ahead more of an idea of where you are and are intending to be.


Put yourself as far away from danger as possible.
Danger generally refers to other larger vehicles in this case. So, if you’re weaving due to alternately placed cars, try and exaggerate it a bit, so that you spend more time further away from the vehicle you're next to. This way if a vehicle starts to move into your lane, you’ve got a bit of time to take avoiding action. This also means that while you’re at the back of the vehicle, you’re moving away from them and it’s only when you’re at the front of a vehicle, with a higher chance of being seen, that you’re moving back towards them.

When driving in a lane at a higher speed than a lane next to you; consider your positioning. If you’re on the outside or the inside, it’s usually worth moving a bit further over, away from other vehicles. Though do consider things like vehicles on the hard shoulder - are they likely to pull out into your lane?
With vehicles on either side, which is likely to present the most danger? Generally, the middle of the lane is best in these cases however.

I often prefer to filter between two vehicles than alternately placed vehicles. Generally cars seem to have a better awareness of the car next to them, so are usually less likely to pull into that space through you. Don't presume that's always the case though; in my barge of a £115 Passat estate I still had people not seeing me when I was right next to them!

If you really need to get out of the way of a vehicle, remember you can lean your bike! Obviously this only gives you a little bit of grace until you have to work out where you want your now turning bike to end up. A lot of the time though a second is all that's needed to pass the car that your shoulder or arm might have clipped if you hadn't been leant over. Do remember that as you start to lean your wheels are still in the same place; however it's usually higher up parts of the vehicle that are the problem.
Of course, the idea is to avoid situations like this.

If you need to brake harshly, remember your conditions' cat's eyes and white paint are not ideal braking surfaces, so try and ensure you tyres aren't on these at the time.


Know what's going to happen, before it happens.
One of the things I do seem to enjoy is the almost zen-like state you can achieve where the mind is totally focused on the surroundings. Good peripheral vision is important, but generally not as much as looking ahead.
If something starts to move into your lane while you're next to it and doing a decent speed, you'll have probably passed by the time it poses a danger.

Looking down a line there's lots of general things to consider. For instance, how wide is the space between the traffic? In slow traffic; Is there spaces on either side of your path that cars may decide to pull into? Are there cars ahead that are closer together across your path (even anyone obviously talking to their mates across the lanes)?
Is there a junction ahead, cars changing lanes or moving to one side of a lane, a wide or erratic looking vehicle ahead? This sort of thing can suggest that there's more likely to be people randomly changing lanes.
These and more can be used to set your speed and to plan ahead where you need to take more care.
For instance, trucks often may pull out quite suddenly after slipstreaming another truck; this could result in, say, the van just behind in the middle lane suddenly flicking over to the outside lane to avoid losing momentum.

Closer to vehicles, there's some tell tale signs that someone's about to move. A flashing indicator is the obvious one, but the car's angle to you changing slightly, or wheels starting to turn are slightly more subtle ones.
Note that just because an indicator's on, doesn't mean anyone's at home (groan, sorry). It maybe they've left it on, or are waiting for you to pass before they move though the latter is unlikely. Similarly, someone may be swerving about in their lane while digging around in their pocket for a mobile, but not actually move into your path.
If I do see someone moving, I will usually try and stop in plenty of time; giving them a flash and a wave if they have seen me and pulled back into their lane; suggesting that at least I knew what was going on and was riding safely, even if they didn't!

Pulling out to start filtering? Definitely make sure you've had a good look behind to make sure there's not another bike coming at high speed between the vehicles. Similar if you're swapping

When exiting from two larger vehicles, act on the knowledge you have; so if you can't see what's happening in a lane due to a truck cabin blocking in your view, don't move into that lane, however clear it looks further ahead, until you can be sure there isn't another car trying to be in the same bit of road from the other lane.

While I list lots of things to think about, that Zen-like state I like usually has a lot less conscious thought; and getting to this point is going take experience rather than listening to other people on the net.


Filtering in towns is another skill set again.
For instance, I think it's a bit ridiculous to say "don't filter past junctions" - in some places this means don't filter at all, especially when there's a line of people's houses down the road. However, they should be taken into account as another hazard to consider and a particularly serious one.

Think I've waffled on enough however, so I'll leave it at that.



I, of course, wouldn't filter in any way I'd consider to be adding danger. However I asked someone at work and this is what they said:

To start with, it depends massively on the conditions, there is no hard and fast rule; you just have to go with what you're comfortable with. Trying to follow 'guidelines' is going to cause you more problems than it solves; you can't just say 'oh the traffic's doing 'Xmph', so I'll do 'X+20mph' - in a similar manner, you can't drive at the speed limit all the time and be safe; sometimes it's only safe doing under it, sometimes you can be safe doing double it.

Stationary traffic: Up to about 60 in the best conditions if I'm in a serious hurry, but more realistically a maximum of 50 in good conditions if I'm in a bit of a hurry with tightly packed (front to back) traffic unlikely to move and decent space between lanes.

20-30: Maybe a maximum of 70-80mph or so. At moderate low speeds people have more chance to change lanes etc.

70-90: Up to about 130/140mph; depends on the situation as ever.


Wet: Depends massively on the conditions; very light drizzle; maybe similar to the above. Moderate to heavy rain, probably 100-110mph or so.

[edd]

1) What speed do you filter at through stationary motorway traffic?
15-25mph maybe up to 30 ish if theres a big gap.

2) What speed do you filter at through slow moving traffic (10-30mph)? usually I pass the slow moving traffic at about 40, because they are sometimes stopped and sometimes doign up to 30.

3) What speed, if any, do you filter at through normal moving motorway traffic(70-90mph)? Very rarely do this, chance of death is quite high

4) Do you reduce your speed when it's raining, if so by how much, or do you stop filtering altogther? I reduce my speed generally but dont stop filtering.
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[Itchy]

if you want a lesson lie in wait in Central london and follow a courier for a bit , a middle distance courier who isn't on a 125 (which implies that he is a short distance courier IMO) , a Bros/NTV ought to be a good clue.

if you are hardcore look for pans and other bigger bikes with fairings on them, and follow them , you might end up in Scotland.

if you want a Manchester lesson look for a guy in a ROOF green helmet on a naked street fighter'd Yam IL4 which is yellow has a Isle of man plate ,this is TT man , who is a crazy filtering bastard , who will end up dead banned or both sooner or later , since he mounts pavements and stuff.

EDIT

As said Sickpup this is a fantastic opportunity to open a school , for fast filtering £50/h teaching n00bs how to filter must be better than the 65p/mile you get no?.
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[T1z3R]

[G]

[Itchy]

[alone]

I'm agree with what G said about passing at high speed on the motorway. I actually much prefer to pass two cars that're side by side.

Something not to forget when filtering at speed. Larger vehicles will push and pull you. As you approach from behind you can sometimes feel yourself being dragged in if you're too close. and when passing the front at speed, you'll get a sudden push away from them.
Which can be highly amusing when passing a coach at 80 down the M4 Bus/Bike lane, and soon finding yourself half in a different lane to where you started...

[G]

I have wondered about sticking my bullet cam and HDD corder onto the front of me bike at some point. Though I so know that will be the day I have a crash and the police turn up before I can do 'owt about it .
It has been done before, but not as exciting footage as it might seem "on it's own".

[st3v3]

1) What speed do you filter at through stationary motorway traffic?
20-30
2) What speed do you filter at through slow moving traffic (10-30mph)? 40-55

3) What speed, if any, do you filter at through normal moving motorway traffic(70-90mph)? i OVERTAKE but on normal roads as i'm still on provisional

4) Do you reduce your speed when it's raining, if so by how much, or do you stop filtering altogther? depends on rain fall speed and traffic volume
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[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Thanks for all the reply's, have found them very helpful.

I was just asking a few question's as i already filter every day so have a fair idea of what I'm doing, just looking to improve my safety. A20->M25->M23->A264 mean's that I can filter, or sit getting wet, in which case I should just buy a car.

Just going to pick up on a couple of point's.

[alone]

I think the London thing is in the mind. I've ridden through traffic in London, sprinted home and through rush hour traffic in Reading. It just feels totally different.

Maybe people in the South just have a death wish?

[sickpup]

There seem to be two different styles among fast filterers. Theres the slalom method where you weave from side to side and the smooth method where you know whatever happens you will have enough space regardless.

The Police will often pull a rider using the slalom method but will leave alone a smooth method rider doing the same speed as they appear to be going slower in full control of their vehicle.

As Itchy says the rules are different in London. Here a Police bike will get out of the way of a courier as they know we are faster than them, never seen that happen anywhere else in the country. If stopped on a zebra crossing they will also wave you by to illegally overtake them, again I've never seen that anywhere else in the country.

How fast you go is never dependant upon weather conditions but on your conditions, how you feel at that instant tells you how fast to go.

The only fast and hard rule is get out of the way of someone who is faster than you.

[gavin]

london couriers are fast? nah, they just think they are

amazing how pissy some of them get when you out filter them too......

a bit like some black cabs, thinking they are the best 4 wheel gap pickers. they dont like it up 'em either i spent ten years as a rep driving in london, upset a few.

[G]

While I'd agree the 'slalom' method does look dodgier, in my experience this is one of the more likely times a car is to change lanes without looking.

If both lanes are keeping a fairly constant speed, the car driver is less likely to consider that there might be other vehicles around, apart from the ones they saw two minutes ago.

Obviosuly, a lot of possible factors, as ever.

Sitting in a straight line avoiding the cat's eyes means you're quite close to the cars in one lane with very little time to react if they do move suddenly. Also, if you are near the middle of the car, turning away from it may point you towards the car in front.

The point you are 'turning' you should be nearer the middle of the lane, so be in less danger.

<shrugs> advantages/disadvantages to both.

[Arfdog]

The only time I find myself on the dashed line between cars, is when coming up to a red traffic light and there are queues of more than 10 cars or so in length. Then I go between em and pull infront of the car in the front of the slow lane and wait for the light to change to shoot off in solitude...

Is there anything wrong with this (as regards the [b]Never filter past junctions[\b] rule)?

There is one road on my daily route that ALWAYS has long queues up to a roundabout. its a 2 lane road. 50% of the cars are in the fast lane, and going straight over the roundabout, and 50% in the slow lane, most of which intend to turn left 9but some do straight too). I need to go left as well. So, I always sit in the queue with them, because I figure if I filter and get to the front, by sods law the guy on my inside will decide to go straight instead of turning left. Am I being too careful, or is there a better way of doing it?
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I'm a lover, not a fighter.

[TheShaggyDA]

Filter up, but cut in behind a stationary car 2 or 3 from the front.
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[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[G]

Or pull infront of the car and angle your bike the way you are going. This is technically illegal; but so's doing 71mph on the motorway.

[Psychonaut]

I ride to work everyday so I filter pretty much all the time. Dodgiest bit would be a duel carrageway (1 way street) thats about a mile long. I filter through as fast as I deem safe (never looked at the speedo as im concentraiting on whats ahead but doubt if its over 25mph) Trick is if you see a gap either side thats about a cars width or less then some dick will try to make it. So as soon as I see a gap I slow down and look as the driver opposite the gap, if hes looking straight on Im ok if he's looking at the gap then he could popentially cut me up, saved ma a couple of times that one.
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[0ni]

[Finglonga]

[0ni]

[THCi]

Its just needing the experience not to panic when that situation happens and what course of action to take.
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[Itchy]