Two-A-Breast riding and overtaking

[The Old Geeza]

I was biking down a few motorways yesterday with some friends. We were following each other in single file - as you normally do - when I started to wonder about a couple of things...

(1) Is it legal to ride 2 abreast (side-by-side) in a single lane ?

(2) Is it legal to overtake another bike in the same lane ? That is, when you're taking it in turns to 'take the lead', is it obligatory to use the next available right-hand lane, even though there's plenty of room in one lane to do this ?

Motorway lanes are more than wide enough for two bikes to travel like this. But, is it legal ?

Oh, and before you all start taking the piss, yes, I did dare to take my GPX on the motorways. And no, I didn't have to go back and pick up all the bits either



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Horse Power was safer when the Horses had it!

[McGee]

Yes it is legal from what i have heard think i heard it here to.

I suggest doing it staggerd though so just in case .....
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[muddycoffee]

Yes you can overtake in a single lane as long as you are not in a no overtaking zone, Or going over a pedestrian crossing, or on the inside. If there is a single white line, you can overtake if it is safe to do so and you don't go over the single white line.

Obviously not confusing overtaking with filtering..



I understand that it is ok to ride 2 abreast although I would imagine it is only practical at very slow speeds. My preference at speeds over 20mph would be to ride in a staggered formation.
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Suzuki SV650 naked Blue curvy with Givi Screen and G force can.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Dunno if it's legal, I did it once a few years ago riding to Brands Hatch for the WSB. I became part of a 40 plus group circulating the M25 at 7am on a Sunday morning all at 120mph plus, taking all the lanes up. I was sharing a lane with a Hayabusa, him bolt upright, and me flat on the tank on my RGV250 .

Funniest thing ever was when we came up on a rep-driver hogging the fast lane, at least 20 riders undertook him before he knew what was happening, then he got stuck in limbo between the middle and the fast lane as bikes screamed past him on all sides.

[The Old Geeza]

[map]

Yes it is ok.

However, I did read your post as...
"Back in my day....when there wasn't these new fangled motorways we had to follow each other in single file down little roads, aren't asphalt and pneumatic tyres good inventions, and now things have evolved and the roads are a bit wider, or is that my eyesight going and I can't see the sides, and I have a bike that can actually overtake something and I started to wonder....there goes my mind again, what was I talking about"



...just joshing with you there old bean, toodle pip
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[The Old Geeza]

[kal9001]

Rideing inline is a bad idea:

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if the 1st guy brakes, then youre all buggerd!
also imagine form an oncomeing cars point of view, it makes it very difficult to spot how many bikes there are there, and as a wholemakes the group harder to spot as your only one bike wide.

side by side is also a bad idea:
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(unless your going slowley)
as you have the same problem as the 1st, if one of the 2 banks leaders brake the rest follow in. also if any rider on any side decides he needs to move, he cant go forwards, or slow down, or go to one side,soifyoru on the inside your buggerd!

I believe the apropriate way to ride in packs is:
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This way you all have enough brakeing distance if anyone in front decideds to stop, you also have room at both sides to move for debris, cars, pot holes ect...

also i believe the chances of an accident if your on your own at pretty low, BUT for every single bike that is added to the group he has a certan multiplier.
so a 1:100 chance with 10 person becomes 1:50 with two and a 3rd will make it 1:25 ect.
the figures are just made up of cource, and also i mean that per person, i.e. your OWN personal chance of an accident, it goes without saying the chances increce of SOMEONE in the group.

[edt: damn thing removed my spaces ]
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Anyone stupid enough to think we will drag a load of wooden horses full of soldiers into our city is certanley stupid enough to drag all of ours into theirs!

[mr.z]

Even if it is imo its a crap idea, a big advantage of bikes is haveing more manouvering space in lanes

Only time i'd personally i'd be doing this is on a rideout at low speeds through traffic, sometimes you need to keep the group together by leaveing no gaps to split it, this with police escorts and without, so i think they expect it...


A favourite trick of IAM and ROSPA riders rideing in convoy allong motorway is to ride side by side in formation, somebody from another club was doing this not long ago, they were very nearly pulled over, must have spoted one or two of them matching the stereo typical advanced rider and let them carry on their merry way...



Better way of rideing imo is

https://www.elsham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cx500/ridesafe/convoy1.jpg
Pilfered from rob davis' site

Read this for some very usefull tip on group rideing (and the rest, all excelent real world advice)

https://www.survivalskills.clara.net/riding_skills_23.htm
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[The Old Geeza]

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Horse Power was safer when the Horses had it!

[kal9001]

yea thats what iwas trying to show but i couldntbe assed with drawing a picture so i decided to fart about even more with | lines.
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Anyone stupid enough to think we will drag a load of wooden horses full of soldiers into our city is certanley stupid enough to drag all of ours into theirs!

[mr.z]