Lane Splitting - Do you do it ? Ever been caught and charged by Police?

[Ducati Dude]

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never been caught by police? Door? Or person making a lane change just as you are about to pass?

Make no sense to do it where we live. Not with all the idiot drivers on the road.

Yup... some peeps wouldn't think twice about knocking us down... This past summer, some aresehole cut me off and then brake checked me... in the frigg'n rain! Can you imagine lane splitting where you are getting ahead of low lifes like that??? The'll do anything to fack us up. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

 

[Bikerider]

Here is a tip for filtering in the GTA.

Do not stick around after you filtered or passed a bunch of cars for them to get angry at you. Only do it if you can safely make it to the front of the light and then get out of there. Most bikes will out accelerate cars so you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Ducati Dude]

In my younger days, on my Nighthawk, I use to ride the shoulder in gridlock traffic. Eventually got busted. Got a ticket. Didn't ride the shoulder much after that.

 

[vrus]

In my younger days, on my Nighthawk, I use to ride the shoulder in gridlock traffic. Eventually got busted. Got a ticket. Didn't ride the shoulder much after that.

that's a huge flag for the OPP these days, you're less likely to be caught filtering between two live lanes on the freeway!

someone who isn't me once filtered from kennedy to kipling on the 401 through grid lock, lol. These days it's just better to stay to plan your time and commute in the off hours.

I've seen TPS filter, but not split through traffic. I've seen golden helmets do frequent lane changes on the freeway (which could be an hta offense if the public does it). Your mileage might vary!

Interesting fact about california - it's grey area law like here, but relaxed enforcement (if any)

 

[LePhillou]

that's a huge flag for the OPP these days, you're less likely to be caught filtering between two live lanes on the freeway!

someone who isn't me once filtered from kennedy to kipling on the 401 through grid lock, lol. These days it's just better to stay to plan your time and commute in the off hours.

I've seen TPS filter, but not split through traffic. I've seen golden helmets do frequent lane changes on the freeway (which could be an hta offense if the public does it). Your mileage might vary!

Interesting fact about california - it's grey area law like here, but relaxed enforcement (if any)

Grey law, and it was somewhat encouraged as there were guidelines posted for it. And they had to be removed as...well..the law didnt state clearly that it could or could not be done.

 

[PaisaMed]

I'm currently spending a few weeks in Colombia, S.A. And filtering is permitted here. In fact all the motorcycles do it. I'm renting a Pulsar 200 and it's a great way to get around in this traffic clogged city of Medellin. There are more motorcycle registrations than car registrations here and the bikes are 95% small displacement under 250cc. The Yamaha BWS 125 and other 125cc scooters are endemic. All the brands are available here but because of steep import tariffs the bigger bikes are horribly expensive, about 40% more than what we would pay. I was looking at a 2014 Ducati Hyper SP with 2,600 Kim's on it and the price is 49,900,000 pesos which converts to about $21,000 CND. Great riding roads here in the mountains! There is a business out of Cali called Motolombia that offers guided tours with BMW bikes.

 

[cmyk]

Commuted for 4.5 years in Los Angeles on a motorcycle, 50 miles to work and 50 miles back home (!), splitting lanes the entire time. Never went down, had lots of close calls of course. No one EVER opened a door on me (as is commonly thought), or threw anything out the window. Some idiot would shift over to close the gap, but then it would just be a matter of switching over to the next lane and split there and get away from the idiot asap.

I've been tempted NUMEROUS times to split up to the front at a stop light since it would save a ton of time, but have to resist just in case some unmarked cop is somewhere.

The difference between California and Ontario is that people are used to bikes splitting lanes in California, pretty much every bike does it, plus all law enforcement does it as well. I found that being between two cars was actually SAFER than being in a lane on my own where a driver thinks there's a space to move over.

That said, I would never split lanes here in Ontario, way too dangerous. Cars aren't used to it so they won't be expecting it, or you'll get some yahoo who wants to enforce the law and take you out by swerving over. Unfortunately the law would be on the side of the driver.

 

[unL33T]

Yup... some peeps wouldn't think twice about knocking us down... This past summer, some aresehole cut me off and then brake checked me... in the frigg'n rain! Can you imagine lane splitting where you are getting ahead of low lifes like that??? The'll do anything to fack us up. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

I get cut off and/or brake checked in rain, snowstorms, etc more than any other time. Seems the worse the weather gets the worse people need to drive.

 

[Roadghost]

BTW, vehicle lanes in Ontario are a cheapo 1' narrower than they are in the U.S., so less room for lane splitting. Better off using the shoulder. I even use the sidewalk sometimes.

 

[conundrum]

Here is a tip for filtering in the GTA.

Do not stick around after you filtered or passed a bunch of cars for them to get angry at you. Only do it if you can safely make it to the front of the light and then get out of there. Most bikes will out accelerate cars so you have nothing to worry about.

Yup..because rapid acceleration around intersections in the GTA is a completely safe thing to do... </sarcasm>

 

[hedo2002]

Consider, lane splitting from the reverse perspective. How often do we see threads on this board complaining when a "cager invades MY lane while I am occupying it" Yet by lane filtering we are doing the exact same thing to the cager. I was clipped this summer by a cager trying to pass me in my lane on the right. He then complained to police and insurance that it was indeed I who had lane split and hit his car, causing damage. Insurance believed him UNTIL I produced short video clips from both my bike cameras, that showed it was clearly his fault.

So if we as riders get ****** when a car tries to "share" our lane then why do we think it is ok to do the reverse to a car?

I wouldn't do it simply because it is too dangerous in the current climate of Ontario drivers, AND the law and insurance would be on the drivers side if something were to happen. Just not worth the risk. That isn't to say if you do it, stop. Doesn't affect my insurance if you get charged nor if your found at fault in a collision. Each rider should make their own risk/benefits analysis.

 

[Ducati Dude]

Consider, lane splitting from the reverse perspective. How often do we see threads on this board complaining when a "cager invades MY lane while I am occupying it" Yet by lane filtering we are doing the exact same thing to the cager.

Very good point...

 

[PrivatePilot]

Consider, lane splitting from the reverse perspective. How often do we see threads on this board complaining when a "cager invades MY lane while I am occupying it" Yet by lane filtering we are doing the exact same thing to the cager.

Good point indeed... Lane positioning is such a big part of our riding, hell, if you can't do it right you'll fail the road tests. It's all about keeping cagers out of OUR lane when we don't want them there.

Doesn't affect my insurance if you get charged

It's probably does, actually. Statistics. Insurance companies LOVE them, and they are well known to base their rates off them.

We all know that not all SS bike owners road race and generally drive like clowns in a highly risky fashion, so why are the insurance rates do high on them? Because many do, and that changes the statistics which gives the insurance companies plenty of ammunition to jack their rates accordingly.

Home insurance is dirt cheap comparatively (here at least) for what you're getting because statistics prove that major claims (ie, the house burns down or is blown away by a tornado/hurricane) are incredibly rare. Now, the same statistics for a home in a hurricane or tornado prone area shows that the risk of a major claim is very high, so not surprisingly instead of a few hundred dollars a year (here) to insure an average home, they're paying $3000+/year for the same sort of coverage.

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