07-06-2016, 09:41 AM
Maybe we are overthinking this. In Oz there was similar lane filtering discussion on motorcycle and motorist forums, State parliaments, the press, shock jock radio and "down the pub". Opinions ranged from all sweetness and light to predictions of bloody carnage on the roads. One thing was apparent though. Motorcyclists were already doing it. In large numbers. Some were getting booked. Not many, as road policing here relies heavily on fixed and mobile speed camera revenue raising. Some motorists were enraged by this illegal activity; lane filtering and splitting I mean, as all are enraged by speed cameras. This encouraged tut tutting by some motorists, other motorists to actively block lane filtering and formed a good basis for good old road rage.
It is often said that if enough good citizens disobey the law then maybe the law should be looked at. Well sanity prevailed and the filtering law was looked at and the law, finally, changed to legalise filtering. It was a long and slow process and lined the pockets of many academic producers of "authoritative studies" with much tax payers gold, kept shock jocks in subject matter, parliamentarians in front of press cameras and the latté sippers hearts a-fluttering. In short everyone was happily occupied. But it was done. Bloody carnage? No. Insurance battles? No. Increase in road rage? No, because filtering was now legal and that kind of tends to undermine the basis of a good rage. Motorists and motorcyclists have come, in the main, to realise filtering actually works to benefit both parties. With time greasing the wheels of change most motorists now actively give a little room when they are aware that there is a bike in the rear view mirror. And I am grateful to them for that and the milk of human kindness washes the tension from my forearms as I filter with gay (in the traditional sense) abandon.
The filtering laws vary slightly from State to State but are essentially the same in that filtering is defined as the act of manoeuvring, at speeds of up to 30kph, between lines of traffic when the traffic is either stationary or moving at low speed. There are rules which I won't bother to post here. Just Google if you are interested. Anything resembling, but outside of that, is defined as lane splitting and is specifically outlawed. Fines and worse may be applied. Of course a small minority of motorcyclists still split. They often make the news.
So, what's my point? Basically that we, being the Australian road using community, did surely find a compromise on this issue and guess what? It works. The idea of 30kph was earlier scoffed at. Maybe that was part of the compromise.
Cheers
It is often said that if enough good citizens disobey the law then maybe the law should be looked at. Well sanity prevailed and the filtering law was looked at and the law, finally, changed to legalise filtering. It was a long and slow process and lined the pockets of many academic producers of "authoritative studies" with much tax payers gold, kept shock jocks in subject matter, parliamentarians in front of press cameras and the latté sippers hearts a-fluttering. In short everyone was happily occupied. But it was done. Bloody carnage? No. Insurance battles? No. Increase in road rage? No, because filtering was now legal and that kind of tends to undermine the basis of a good rage. Motorists and motorcyclists have come, in the main, to realise filtering actually works to benefit both parties. With time greasing the wheels of change most motorists now actively give a little room when they are aware that there is a bike in the rear view mirror. And I am grateful to them for that and the milk of human kindness washes the tension from my forearms as I filter with gay (in the traditional sense) abandon.
The filtering laws vary slightly from State to State but are essentially the same in that filtering is defined as the act of manoeuvring, at speeds of up to 30kph, between lines of traffic when the traffic is either stationary or moving at low speed. There are rules which I won't bother to post here. Just Google if you are interested. Anything resembling, but outside of that, is defined as lane splitting and is specifically outlawed. Fines and worse may be applied. Of course a small minority of motorcyclists still split. They often make the news.
So, what's my point? Basically that we, being the Australian road using community, did surely find a compromise on this issue and guess what? It works. The idea of 30kph was earlier scoffed at. Maybe that was part of the compromise.
Cheers