Lane filtering and other new laws .

[griffo]

From the 1st February the new lane filtering laws kick in in Qld , you'll be able to filter legally , I think they are starting a trial on it in the ACT as well now , I don't do it myself as I think it's another way of creating a risk to myself but some like it , other rules kicking in up here including being able to stretch your leg if its cramped whilst riding and turning your head right round to check before changing lanes and putting both feet down to back the bike into a gutter while parking ( yep that's right all that was illegal believe it or not ) .

Click here for a vid on filtering .

[1wd]

1st Feb eh?
Whoops!

[colinlinz]

I love it. QLD is also allowing you to use the breakdown lane as well. It will improve my commute to work heaps. I used to do it all the time, but then they started policing it aggressively, and after two fines in about a month, I stoped doing it. I then stoped using the bike, as I thought if I'm going to sit in traffic jams, I may as well have aircon and music. Until then I had lane split for decades without any fines.

[vtrstormer]

Jan 30, 2015 17:28:19 GMT 10 griffo said:

From the 1st February the new lane filtering laws kick in in Qld , you'll be able to filter legally , I think they are starting a trial on it in the ACT as well now , I don't do it myself as I think it's another way of creating a risk to myself but some like it , other rules kicking in up here including being able to stretch your leg if its cramped whilst riding and turning your head right round to check before changing lanes and putting both feet down to back the bike into a gutter while parking ( yep that's right all that was illegal believe it or not ) .

Click here for a vid on filtering .

Hang on! What are the last two you mentioned. Turning your head and both feet down? These were illegal?

[griffo]

Yep some people had been booked by cops taking the law literally to the point of stupidity by saying it stated you had to be seated facing forwards with both feet on the pegs at all time and they had got some people for both looking over there shoulder to change lanes , saying they weren't facing forwards and putting their feet down while backing into a gutter stating that while the bike was running they had to have 2 feet on the pegs at all times , these laws would never had to have been lobbyed and changed at all if the cops had just been given a dose of common sense in the first place .

[vtrstormer]

Feb 4, 2015 16:33:21 GMT 10 griffo said:

Yep some people had been booked by cops taking the law literally to the point of stupidity by saying it stated you had to be seated facing forwards with both feet on the pegs at all time and they had got some people for both looking over there shoulder to change lanes , saying they weren't facing forwards and putting their feet down while backing into a gutter stating that while the bike was running they had to have 2 feet on the pegs at all times , these laws would never had to have been lobbyed and changed at all if the cops had just been given a dose of common sense in the first place .

Really? Wow. That's crazy. When the law or paperwork and red tape get in the way of safety and common sense. I hope people challenged these chargers as they must have been thrown out of court......

[jk]

Legalising filtering is a step in the right direction in my opinion, however without a safe area for bikes to gather at the front of the triffic it won't be a great help. I'm not going to filter up the middle only to be stuck behind other bikes in no mans land between cars. I only filter if I'm the first bike to the front, cause once you arrive there your technically not supposed to cross the line. Some other countries have a box out in front of where the cars stop where multiple bikes can pull up in front of the cars - much better option

[vtrstormer]

Feb 5, 2015 21:03:28 GMT 10 jk said:

Legalising filtering is a step in the right direction in my opinion, however without a safe area for bikes to gather at the front of the triffic it won't be a great help. I'm not going to filter up the middle only to be stuck behind other bikes in no mans land between cars. I only filter if I'm the first bike to the front, cause once you arrive there your technically not supposed to cross the line. Some other countries have a box out in front of where the cars stop where multiple bikes can pull up in front of the cars - much better option

You are very right JK, they say it's a safer option but with cars right up on the line it sort of puts you in that position where you need to gas it off the lights to get into a safe zone. I'm new to it so I rarely do it anyway but if there us plenty of room and no one else up there I will do it but that's the only time for me

[colinlinz]

Well after a couple of weeks using the filtering I can say it halves my commute to work at times. A few of the guys live in my area, a couple of times it took them 1.5 hours to get to work, but me, just 40 minutes.

[kenmoore]

I still worry about filtering,

I still do it sometimes" you can almost feel the concentrated aggression from the tin tops.

The other thing is that you have to gas it to get away and there is always some idiot in a car who wants to race you.

There should be a box for bikes at the front of the que and then I would be happy to do it all the time.

[vtrstormer]

I dont ride in traffic enough to be confident enough to filter.I have seen so many people get cut off by cars but also put themselves in positions that I never want to be in.

[colinlinz]

I've never yet been cut off by a car when filtering. Even when it wasn't legal. About the most extreme event I had was a guy saw me coming down the breakdown lane, and moved his car into the lane to block me. That just left a big gap on the other side of him, so I went that way instead. I did have someone change lanes on top of me on Friday, but that was during normal road use. I just had to move out of their way while accelerating past them.
I'm still in love with it. I probably do nearly 10klm of filtering every morning. It takes me half the time to get to work than the other guys that drive from around my area. I'm not sure what has happened, but the traffic into Brisbane from the north this year is just unbelievable.

[vtrstormer]

in sydney and surrounding areas we still have people that just either oppose the filtering of bikes or they just dont know the laws as they are fairly aggressive in not just cutting you off but the lectures you cope after the fact.....I choose not to do it..

[colinlinz]

They aren't that fond of cyclist there either. I used to do a morning ride from Penrith into St Mary's and back. I would get fruit, cans, or whatever tossed at me from passing cars. When I lived in Raymond Terrace near Newcastle, a mate and myself had a car driver repeatedly try and run us down. In the end, on his third high speed attempt, my mate jumped off his bike and threw it at the approaching car. It was only his old training bike, mine was my race bike, there was no way I was throwing that at a car

[vtrstormer]

My wife has be taunted while on her push bike....wasn't allowed to cross a driveway by a car in her way moving forward and back to stop her. She crossed the road only for it to happen again down the street by the same guy and car....was then followed down the road and forced more and more into the gutter until she had to stop.....he then drove off but she still sees him while out....

[colinlinz]

Yes, there are some wankers out there.
My other son raced too. He used to work at St Mary's and used the ride as a bit of extra training. A car ran him off the road. Apart from causing him to injure his shoulder, they caused a lot of damage to his bike, and the rough terrain off the road smashed an expensive Wolber racing wheel.