Riding Style Questions (lane splitting/filtering and speeding) | GTAMotorcycle.com

Riding Style Questions (lane splitting/filtering and speeding)

jonpurdy

jonpurdy

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I've been riding in Korea for three years and just got back to Toronto a few days ago. In Korea, everyone lane splits (and is expected to) because it's safer to be at the front of a pack of cars when the light turns green. And I never had to watch my speed; just went as fast as I was comfortable with and according to weather and road conditions.

I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to riding here. My father and the guys at my bike dealership suggested not lane splitting. Not because of tickets but because of insane drivers who will purposely try and block you or get annoyed that you're jumping the queue. Does anyone here lane split (when traffic is stopped)? Any tips or advice or should I just forget about it?

How far above the limit should I be riding on a regular basis? When I drove here years ago I wouldn't do more than 15-20 over the limit; is this still a good compromise between safe riding (keeping up with the flow of traffic or getting to the front of the pack) and avoiding a ticket?

Much thanks for your advice.
 
Yea I'd love to know more about lane splitting too. I just started riding about 3 months ago and I've always wondered what the standard protocol is here.
 
The rules exist so that everyone knows what's going on and what's expected. We may not like the rules, but there they are. In India, people make their own lanes up as they go..I suspect if you tried that here you would have some difficulty with other drivers. There's nothing I hate more than cyclists who complain when they cruise up between the curb and the vehicles in the right lane then complain when a car turns into them.
 
Lucusice said:
Yea I'd love to know more about lane splitting too. I just started riding about 3 months ago and I've always wondered what the standard protocol is here.
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The standard protocol is it's illegal and can be dangerous. Learn to ride safely, survive a couple of years then maybe you can start thinking about pulling illegal riding moves.
 
The problem with lane splitting here is it's not expected. In places where it's done frequently, that's what drivers are used to. Since that's not the case here, regardless of legality it's dangerous. As far as I've been told, lines/queues are not the norm in Asia and it's pretty much do as you please. This is the exact behaviour I see from little old chinese ladies getting on the Spadina street car at the station :lol: In Canada though, lines are part of our culture, so butting in front of people usually irks them.
 
In stopped traffic, you can get away with splitting a few cars. I will do it if I know that the vehicles 2 cars up are side by side speed matchers, split to get by them, BUT this will get you pulled over if a cop see's it, so its at your own risk (tickets and safety). I can't stand speed matchers, I pass or split them as soon as I can (I really don't care if half the people on the site will freak out and wet their diapers at that statement).

15 over is pretty safe, 20 over will get the cops looking at you, 20+ over is almost guaranteeing a stop, unless traffic is doing the same, or someone else is going quicker. at about 20+ over it can be a little crazy, because people around here will just change lanes for no reason, and if you flying past them they probably won't see you. So pay attention, don't get mad if they cut you off, probably your fault.

have fun, be relatively safe.
 
I filter like a mother****er! Lane split once in a while... depending on how I feel
 
espro said:
The problem with lane splitting here is it's not expected. In places where it's done frequently, that's what drivers are used to. Since that's not the case here, regardless of legality it's dangerous. As far as I've been told, lines/queues are not the norm in Asia and it's pretty much do as you please. This is the exact behaviour I see from little old chinese ladies getting on the Spadina street car at the station :lol: In Canada though, lines are part of our culture, so butting in front of people usually irks them.
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hahaha... yes!
 
thowe said:
In stopped traffic, you can get away with splitting a few cars. I will do it if I know that the vehicles 2 cars up are side by side speed matchers, split to get by them, BUT this will get you pulled over if a cop see's it, so its at your own risk (tickets and safety). I can't stand speed matchers, I pass or split them as soon as I can (I really don't care if half the people on the site will freak out and wet their diapers at that statement).

15 over is pretty safe, 20 over will get the cops looking at you, 20+ over is almost guaranteeing a stop, unless traffic is doing the same, or someone else is going quicker. at about 20+ over it can be a little crazy, because people around here will just change lanes for no reason, and if you flying past them they probably won't see you. So pay attention, don't get mad if they cut you off, probably your fault.

have fun, be relatively safe.
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+1 ill also split lanes if im stuck behind a truck in traffic
 
If you don't want to risk tickets at all, go 9 over on city streets (for a lot of cops, their magic number is 10 on a bad night). On highways, you can get away with 20+ or quicker if everyone else is going faster than that.

I haven't gotten cut off splitting in a while, but I don't do it for long periods of time. I'll split and find a gap to get in and thank the driver behind me. But it DOES piss off people - the point about lines being part of our culture is true. Filtering's pretty common downtown...everyone's pretty used to it. If you're gonna do it, then do it last-second so you're inching up on the yellow and out of there by the green so no one gets inconvenienced.

But I'd follow invictus43's advice first. There are general behavioral patterns that drivers here will have (and they'll be a lot more different than the ones in Korea). Let your mind get used to them before you start trying to split/filter.
 
Good advice from everybody; much appreciated.

A few points that I've learned from this thread and from other riders (including an off-duty OPP officer):
-Keep the speed down in the cities (between 10 and 15 over) and keep up with the pace of traffic on the highways. Don't worry about speeding out in the country too much, just keep eyes open for patrol cars in front or behind you.
-Filtering is not a great idea. Not because of the tickets but becasue of insane car drivers who don't want you to go ahead of the queue (despite not affecting them in any way). So try not to filter too much. That's definitely a cultural shock that I'll just have to get used to.
-Your bike will often determine whether you get pulled over for either. The OPP officer I talked to mentioned that SS bikes with aftermarket stuff will get pulled over a lot whereas my BMW, despite being a sporty bike, might get overlooked).
 
I filter all the time, but I try to make sure the cars are stopped around me and I'll have enough time to get to the front of the line. When I do, I go at a pretty slow speed, around 5-10km/h. This way, there's not much chance for an angry driver to do something stupid.
 
You can also legally drive in the parking lane if you have enough space, just watch out for idiots that walk out or open their car door without looking first.
 
i dont usually lane split, I do however filter when the coast is clear, as for speed on the street im usually 10-15 over on the hwy 20-25 over
 
Are the cops still charging people splitting/filtering under hta172? I know the guy on here that got nailed that way had the charges reduced or dropped, but that was after getting hit with the towing & impound fee's and having to sell his bike.
 
Serious question, I don't know the answer, is using the right lane when it is full of parked cars "lane splitting" ?

I wouldn't weave in stopped traffic in between lanes, but this one seems fair game.
 
^ no that is not lane splitting, that one is legal
 
Lane splitting and filtering can lose you both your vehicle, and license, for a week under the racing and stunting law. Not worth it, in my opinion. How far over the limit is 'safe' depends on what the limit is, the conditions, and the area. There's no hard and fast answer. You'll just have to watch other road users and act accordingly.
 
My father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate has done the 401 parking lot kennedy->kipling a couple of times yrs ago. If she had to do it again, she'd probably take the 407 or chill till traffic dies down.
 
vrus said:
My father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate has done the 401 parking lot kennedy->kipling a couple of times yrs ago. If she had to do it again, she'd probably take the 407 or chill till traffic dies down.
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oh I know her! lol
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