Filtering question

[Tristan.]

Hi all, got cbt'd about 2 months ago and since then have clocked up 900 miles, which is sod all as experience, but it's no like I'm on a bike for the first time, aaaanyway had a situation occur today that was a tad unpleasent, would appreciate guidence on what to do should it happen again.

was filtering towards a traffic lighted T junction from the straight roady bit, it split into two lanes, straight on and right. The lights were red and there was traffic, I was going straight on so I went between the two rows towards the front, a half dozen cars from the front and I see a learner car straddling the two lanes, presumably moved from the straight on (left hand) lane into the right turn lane at the last second, the picture below illustrates:

https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/tristanthe/mentalistyarisguy.jpg

The blue car is the learner one, I'm the... thing that's meant to represent a bike (cg125) and the bright red car is a toyota yaris, heading straight on. It's a bad pic but for an idea of scale I was about a car doors distance from the car on my left and about a bike length from the learner car.

So anyway that's the problem, when filtering I usually pull to the front of a traffic queue and accelerate faster than the car on my left, but I couldn't in this case, I looked over at the driver, aiming to indicate my intentions but he was looking down at his lap, when the lights went green I cut through the gap as the learner car moved forward but before the red car had started moving and I had cleared the junction as he was just entering it, given that gap I'd think that was fairly safe, though assuming he didnt notice me he probably got a bit of a shock.

So anyway, my question, what should I do in that situation, should I wait for him to go first then try and cut into the queue of moving traffic, or should I try harder to let him know I'm there and show my intentions.

Just as an aside, about two-hundred yards down the road I slowed down for some oncoming traffic, and he shot up on my right and cut round me, very nearly hitting me and making me slam on the brakes, next junction I pulled up next to him and we had a bit of a chat, culminated in him saying that if I went in front of him again he'd knock me over, the lady in the car behind pulled me over, asked if I was alright and gave me his reg, she was amazed he hadn't knocked me.

[st3v3]

to the lady.

I never pull up at the junctions as first vehicle(used to, but it's illegal) so try to pull in 1 or 2 cars form the front, in your case, nothing much else to do as you let one go, the rest follow so you gotta piss one of to get around safely. Ride safe
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[spadge]

hey man,

my advice with that situation would have been to stick your left indicator on and try to make eye contact with the driver in the yaris, which as you said you couldn't do because they were not paying attention. As you couldn't make contact with the yaris driver i would personally not have nipped in the small gap but have waited to see if the yaris let me go and if not then waited till someone did. not often us bikes have to wait but sometimes it is worth it.

What that car driver did afterwards was stupid but unfortunately you get some like that. You also mention that you usually get to the front of the queue and out accellerate the car on your left say. Most of the time this is alright but don't rely on this method all the time because you will get some cars who want to race you and will not let you in or even beat you (presuming you are on a 125)

Does that make sense?
Hope it was of use. be interested in other peoples view of your situation as well

[Paivi]

A couple of points to think about:

1. What if the learner driver had swerved, realising s/he needs to go straigth after all?

2. What if the Yaris driver had done what a lot of car drivers seem to do: accelerate before checking the road ahead is clear? Combine that with the possibility of your stalling your bike or not getting a clean start after all, and you'd be a pancake.

Just indicate to join that lane and go after the Yaris, unless he sees you and lets you go first. If he doesn't, the next car probably will. You'll overtake the Yaris by the next set of lights anyway.

Try not to surprise car drivers, their brains cannot cope with that.
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My other bike's a Monster...

[iooi]

Possibly, Should have pulled up past the learner.... You would have been away faster.
You are dammed lucky that the yaris did not take you out when you cut in front of him.
If you are not in front of them, drop in behind them... Never go for a small gap as they can quickly disapear and leave you looking at the floor......

Never really like filtering between lanes of traffic, always someone who wants to switch lanes or edges out to have a better look down the road. Would rather go round the outside.
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[timjim]

i agree with both train of thoughts there..dont try and filter into small gaps..when filtering always look a long way ahead and cover your brakes as ive had several cases of car drivers who dont like the idea of bikes getting past them when theyre stuck in traffic.Dont try and push your way ahead of traffic,just make sure your intentions are being understood and dont EVER try and race between traffic.Tim

[m0l0t0v]

Would have waited for the Yaris to go TBH. If the learner driver wasn't straddling the two lanes then I myself would go to the front and accelerate faster bu in that situation I'd let the car go first, especially since you'd come worse off in any situation.
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'99 Hornet 600 , VFR 400 NC30 '92 , Kasawamasaki GT 550 , '98 Hornet 600
**\Tarmacsurfer/** said: It's that immaculately manly coiffure of yours isn't it. One glimpse of your virile locks and the punters can't wait to buy whatever it is you suggest, as it might let them be just a little bit like the Adonis that is our very own Molly Doovydoo said: Its not my fault I can't get it up properly, I just wasn't blessed

[Stiffler]

I definitely think you made the wrong decision... But you managed to get away and you've learned a free lesson without getting hurt.

As others have said there was a big risk of you getting squished by the Yarris driver. Filtering is one of the great privileges of riding a motorbike, but it doesn't mean you have to be first from every set of lights and you always have to be at the front of the que! How much time did this maneuver save you... do you think it would it have been worth it if you'd ended up sandwiched between two cars. Car drivers are often just zombies who follow the green light or the car in front. I've lost count the number of times I've stayed put at the lights because I've seen there are still 3 cars from the previous cycle sat in the middle of the junction waiting to complete their right turn, and the car I'm alongside has set off straight away on the green light, only for them to brake dangerously late as they wake from their daydream. It always make me wince how brain dead some people can be... That could have been me or any other biker sat in the middle of the junction. Only actually seen one collision occur this way when I was there. But I think it illustrates the danger.

Tim
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Current Bikes - Kawasaki ZX-6R (636) | BMW G650GS

[Kal]

[ilovensr]

i think in this situation i would have edged in front of the yaris, hoping he saw me and if possible trying to get alongside the left of the learner, otherwise you could have gone to the right of the learner and then pulled off realy fast at the lights, although that would be taking the piss just a bit
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Current Bikes:
Honda NSR125 >>> Garaged
Kawasaki ER5 >>> Excellent commuter

[Tristan.]

Cheers guys, seems there were two clear options, make him aware or slip in behind him.

I think I prefer the first, though it depends on the circumstances, if I had indicated and known he'd seen me I think he'd know what I was going to do, plus it leaves me open for option 2 if he puts his foot straight down, or I don't manage to make eye contact.

There was room for me to squeeze between them while they were stationary, but I didn't fancy it since I didn't know when the lights would change.

thing I was worried about with option 2 at the time, is depending on how awake the car drivers behind him where, they could be up to a fair speed by the time they were passing me, and might presume I was turning right, meaning the same situation would occur, though a left indicator would'v solved it, given hindsight.

I could of turned right and u-turned, if I'd thought there was any real danger (if the cars were moving at a real speed.)

One thing I realised today, which has annoyed me, is that when we were arguing at the next lights, he said something along the lines of "I saw you stuck between those two cars back there", at a traffic light before the incident, I had pulled up on the right hand side of the left hand lane, and two cars had pulled either side of me, but I was there first (he assumed I filtered into that position) (I know now to stick in the middle of my lane in that position) so that means he must have had some idea I was there.

[Nicky-Jano]

I've never actually tried this, but I know someone who knocks on car windows/doors when their in your type of situation when filtering .
It would get their attention I guess .

[timjim]

[timjim]

sorry..hit the wrong button..

The rule of filtering can be determined by the police as 2 separate rulings...
1.if the traffic on your right hand side is still moving..even slowly you COULD be ruled as "undertaking"...contradiction of the Highway code..big no-no in the coppers eyes if they want to be difficult!
2.if the traffic on the right of you is stationary,then this manoevre is acceptable.. as long as youre not doing 90 mph..then the undertaking rule is ignored.


Its a VERY thin line,but at the end of the day depends on whether youre riding with your wits about you or just weaving in and out of traffic like a pizza delivery t++t!!

[iooi]

[Kurt]

[T.C]

The absolute offence of undertaking was removed from the statute books in the early 70's, hence the reason why there are so few prosecutions as a result of undertaking particularly on a Motorway where it happens most commonly.

To then prove the section 3 offence of careless driving, it would have to be established that the standard of driving was such that it fell well below the expected standard of an average driver, and if it could be shown that this was not the case, then the case would fail on those grounds.

However, staying with the Motorways, most drivers and riders who undertake do so because of the middle lane hoggers, which is why when prosecuted they get done for the subsection offence under section 3 of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, which is far easier to prove and more substantive,

If undertaking was a specific offence, it would prevent traffic crawling up the inside of lanes 1 or 2 when lane 3 is stationary as is often the case on the M4.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[spooney]

for the sensibe answer see the posts above its all covered and you pretty much said it yourself you weaved through a gap when the driver had not seen you, no lecture required

its the bit after im more concerned with! threatening to knock you off? what an utter c**k

im pretty sure ill get some adverse reaction when i say that my course of action to such a threat would be to open his passenger door, if possible his boot, throw him the finger and leave!

ignorant people like this either have no idea how vunerable we are on bikes or worse dont care

[Pete.]

I think you're lucky the guy in the car never saw you as you nipped through the gap, given his later behaviour . He might have deliberately gone for the block and crushed you.

You'll encounter this type of car driver a bit when filtering. They can't handle that they are stuck in their car every day when you are free to make your way. Don't react to them just move on with a big grin on your face.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[smiler 1]

i think the best course of action would have been to pull in front of the yaris at the next lights drag that fuck wit out of the car and smash his brains all over the floor that way he will think twice next time
i hate smarmy cocky drivers who think there clever untill u gesture them to pull over and all of a sudden they get tunell vision and cant see u lol cowards

[ilovensr]

i had an incident today with a FTO, i was filtering, i stopped about 4 cars from the front of the queue as i needed to turn left and i was on the right of the line of traffic. as the lights changed to green i inched froward to pull in front of the FTO, and he closed the already small gap in between himself and the car in front of him. i was assertive and squeezed in front of him, i saw from my mirrors he had to put his brakes on quite hard. luckily there was no contact, was quite close though

i feel a bit bad for making him slam his brakes on but i still recon any person who put any thought into my positioning would have worked out i was going to pull in front of him, and the fact he tried to close the gap shows he must have seen me.

I know its hard to comment on an incident which you werent at but given what i have said who do you think was in the wrong

EDIT: correcting details
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Current Bikes:
Honda NSR125 >>> Garaged
Kawasaki ER5 >>> Excellent commuter

[iooi]

[tonshar]

I agree that you should have been filtering on the right and not the left, it could have been very dangerous but you were lucky to get away with it this time.

Remember next time to filter on the right

Also aren't you doing your test next month ? If so start practicing to ride like you are in your test as bad habits will appear in your test and then you could fail !

Good luck for your test
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CBT Passed, Theory Passed - Practical Passed 9/6/07
Suzuki Intruder C800 & Suzuki Bandit 650
I am a female biker

[sagalout]

He was flitering on the right

[ilovensr]

yes i was filtering on the right but had to turn left at the traffic lights, and therefore had to get across the lane of traffic
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Current Bikes:
Honda NSR125 >>> Garaged
Kawasaki ER5 >>> Excellent commuter