Lane splitting

[royjacobs]

I also ride /commute daily when necessary.
Respect to ALL motorists is the key.

Big difference to traffic 'lane splitting' and highway/freeway driving/riding.
The suicide lane is a BIG NO NO. if highways is jammed up then I lane split in the fast lane ie between the fast lane and the middle lane in a 3 lane highway. As a biker it is always wise to either pass or stay behind vehicles. Sitting at the same speed as cars is altogether dangerous for all parties as you inevitably get 'forgotten' and then cars change lanes forgetting where you are. Pass or stay behind.

Lane splitting in normal, William Nicol type, traffic is basically the same. Stay between the cars and get past them so you are either ahead or behind. Always edge ahead of the cars at a robot so that you are the 1st to take off when green. If you stay level with cars then the GTi brigade will try to dice you to the next robot when in actual fact you are not interested. If you stay level with these idiots then taking off together with the GTi trying to get ahead is a recipe for an accident. Some motorists get a bit agitated with me being a 1 - 2m ahead at the robot, but as stated above I do this with good reason. They can hereby ALWAYS see me as I am ahead of them when the lights turn Green.
In my opinion the most dangerous practice which I also witness daily is, biker in the extreme left or even in the yellow line pull off and then cut right across all the lanes to end up in the fast lane slower lanes are for motorists who want to drive slowly and are prone to sudden stops or pulling off the road completely.
200km plus is dangerous but it does happen. As stated in a previous post if you are a vehicle in the fast lane on a free way, and 'a weekend warrior' is in your rear view mirror, either stay where you are or move left to a slower lane. Make a deliberate move with an indicator so the biker knows what is taking place.
My 2cw.

Roy

[Dungbeetle]

Not riding bikes any more but used to do that a lot

I never passed a vehicle on it's left, nowhere - nor did any of my mates I know of

I bet you, in moving over to the right, he thought you were trying to prevent him from passing....

[mikeml]

the whole lane splitting issue is a massive grey area, basically there are a few unrelated rules/regs that are taken together to show that it is allowed, but there is no definitive ruleset for it.

That being said, it is illegal to ride on the shoulder, you should be passing between the cars, and the gap between the RH lane and the 2nd lane is referred to as the biker lane. The road shoulder, on the other hand , as mentioned before, is referred to as the suicide lane.

This thread is in reality an extension of the inconsiderate drivers thread, the numpties cant ride properly or ride bikes that are sooo wide because of their panniers etc that they actually cannot lane split. I have seen it all to often, the guys dont go between cars, they basically zigzag around cars

Thanks, I learnt something.

Agree that there are some butterflies amongst them who fall in the same category as those who travel 2 or more abreast on the other slow bikes with thin wheels. The best harmony I've seen in town driving between bikers and cars is along the M3 to and from the Southern Suburbs in CT. Many drivers keep an eye out for bikers making way for them to easily lane split.

As an aside, the previous Saturday, on the way to Dbn from Pmb, we had some sports car club on an outing traveling in the same direction along the N3. Most of them drove as though they were on sports bikes with a death wish - not sure if they had a bet on who could reach their destination first?

[heyyahhey]

I’m a lifelong motorcyclist - but will not ride in SA.

I grew up riding in US - lane splitting is illegal there (except California) and you will get big fines for doing it.

Rode for 3 years in Japan - lane splitting is expected. No specific protocol as to left/right but it’s only “acceptable” when traffic is below speed limit or coming up to lights/robots. If traffic flow is at speed, then you are to pass like any other vehicle. Safest is between lanes of traffic, and not on left or right shoulder.

I used the same approach riding in UK for a few years.

In my opinion you have no business lane splitting exceeding the speed limit. I always move out of the way to the opposite side of what the bike is approaching on - makes no difference to me - but I will not move left or right to facilitate lane splitting during normal traffic flow at the posted speed. Pass properly.

I will not ride in SA due to the poor quality of driving.

Driving on the shoulder is asking for a flat tyre. Dumb.

[Musashi]

This is not a lane splitting argument - whether it is allowed or not.

I am just wondering what the lane splitting "rules" are. I consider myself sensitive to bikes on the road - I move over to the right so that they can pass me on the left (between the two lines on a highway) as most riders does it that way. Yesterday I am doing 140 on the R59 and I see two bikes approach - FAST! I am in the right lane and move onto the right hand white line to make space for him to pass me on the left. Sure as hell -this guy passes me on the right - less than 1m of tar - then throws me a sign - at close to 200 km/h

SO - what is the rules/preferences?

You were 100% correct and actually quite courteous to give them space. They were clearly going too fast and must be inexperienced or dof to think it is ok to pass on the right hand shoulder (you'll be amazed at the amount and type of debris on the shoulder of the road).

As for throwing a sign, that is just an indication that they are not really comfortable with the amount of risk they are exposed to and can't deal with the fact that they are exposing themselves to that risk. So they would rather pretend it is someone else's fault if something goes wrong. (You must not ride bikes if you have too big or too small an ego.)

[IcePick88]

Most people are half asleep on the roads and sometimes blitzing them at 200km/h with the sound of two boeties wakes them up.

By the time they realize whats going on, the bike is 500m down the road.

[royjacobs]

So they would rather pretend it is someone else's fault if something goes wrong. (You must not ride bikes if you have too big or too small an ego.)

Excellent observation

Roy

[Jouko]

Lane splitting was allowed
Lane splitting was made illegal
Lane splitting was made legal shortly after it was illegal

I would say bike riders who exceed the car speed more than 20 km/h are playing Russian roulette with 2 or 3 live rounds out of six chambers.

I try not to make unexpected moves when I see bikes behind. Problem riders are these high speed idiots.

I saw a biker taking car mirror off purposely. They had club clothing. I could not trace the club. Car driver did not do anything wrong.

[gazza1210]

I also used to ride and my take on lane splitting is:

Only lane split to a max speed of 20km/h faster than slow or stationary traffic (so one really shouldn't be be splitting at more that about 50km/h ever)

When the traffic is at normal speed then pass like any other road user would.

As a tin can driver these days I move over in my lane slightly opposite to the side bikers are splitting on (i.e. if they approach from behind on the right I move to the left)

And as for bikers being richard craniums / cowards that purposefully damage vehicles as they go past for some perceived wrongdoing by drivers, it's a-holes like that that cause bikers to be hated and/or ridden off the road. And yes I DO think they are cowards because they never stop and know you can't catch them when you're stuck in traffic. So when you see one of those types it is up to you to educate them about speed, safety, courtesy, malicious damage to private property etc

[JS-V8]

Lane splitting isn't illegal in South Africa, however there are safety precautions motorcyclists should follow to ensure their safety:

• Don't travel more the 20km/h faster than other traffic.
• Don't lane split if traffic is travelling faster than 50km/h.
• It's safer to lane split in lanes 1 and 2.

People dont understand those 2 and have an entitlement problem when on a motorbike. I used to bike, will probably again someday.

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/gener...orcycle-safety

100% correct.

As someone who commutes on a bike, these are the rules I adhere to as well.

As for the original question, just stick to your lane if the is no space to move across. As a biker I will await an opportunity to pass you safely (very easy on a bike).

[Estee]

If I am in the left lane in slow moving traffic I will move left slightly to allow the bike through.

Ditto if I am in the right lane in slow moving traffic I will move slightly right.

If on the highway, plodding at my usual 100kph, I have a tendency to stick in the middle of the lane and not make, for what the rider might consider, an erratic move, giving him or her the option of left or right.

I too have had the situation where I only saw the one bike on the highway and moved slightly left to give the rider space on the right, only to cause concern for the unseen biker approaching from the left.

[Frog]

It's refreshing to have a "lane splitting" topic with only positive input
By now you usually would have had the "we hate bikers and will not move over for them" posts!

[Rhodie]

The article from the Western Cape Government is putting more words to what the Road Traffic Act succinctly states which is lane splitting is allowed but the responsibility is on the motorcyclist to do it safely.

The unfortunate thing is that a lot of motor cyclists feel it is their right and are unaware THEY have the responsibility to do it with safety. This obviously does not absolve the car or truck driver from purposefully closing the space.

However, with the state of our roads motor cyclists must expect cars to move in their lane to avoid potholes.

[Prof]

Reading this I have to say there is different scenarios for a single lane road and multi lane freeways.

On single lane roads one moves to the left to allow biker to pass easily and you can more easily follow the biker in you mirrors. (I would prefer biker to be to my right)

Being a country boy my first reaction on freeways is to give space to my right as I would normally do. When driving in the fast lane I would prefer to move to the LH lane to allow biker to pass.
When in the middle lane then moving to left of lane to make space is same as single lane.

In future I will allow space on the left if in fast lane

[Ooba]

Not riding bikes any more but used to do that a lot

I never passed a vehicle on it's left, nowhere - nor did any of my mates I know of

I bet you, in moving over to the right, he thought you were trying to prevent him from passing....

I'm on the highways all day, always in the fast lane unless on a call. I always move to the right to give bikes space and MOST of them thank me. Have never had a bike pass me on the right when in the fast lane.

[Rebel 4x4]

This is not a lane splitting argument - whether it is allowed or not.

I am just wondering what the lane splitting "rules" are. I consider myself sensitive to bikes on the road - I move over to the right so that they can pass me on the left (between the two lines on a highway) as most riders does it that way. Yesterday I am doing 140 on the R59 and I see two bikes approach - FAST! I am in the right lane and move onto the right hand white line to make space for him to pass me on the left. Sure as hell -this guy passes me on the right - less than 1m of tar - then throws me a sign - at close to 200 km/h

SO - what is the rules/preferences?

I think the best idea in future is move to the left. I think he thinks that you were on purpose (I know you were not)

[Gungets Tuft]

Just as when I ride or run in a group, I hold my line. I don't mind lane splitting, I used to ride bikes before I became a voluntary organ donor (rather than the surprise kind that my lack of skill predicted), but hardly ever lane split, 99% of drivers are unconscious and will kill you. I keep straight and let them choose what they want to do.

[Kemp]

I'm on the highways all day, always in the fast lane unless on a call. I always move to the right to give bikes space and MOST of them thank me. Have never had a bike pass me on the right when in the fast lane.

I see there is a lot of suggestions to move to the right when in the fast lane. Please don’t do that, especially at slightly higher speeds! I have been sprayed with clouds of debris, stones, etc from cars in front of me doing that. Stone chips over the whole front of my car’s front and windscreen.

Rather stay in the middle of the lane.

[JohnnoK]

Lane splitting isn't illegal in South Africa, however there are safety precautions motorcyclists should follow to ensure their safety:

• Don't travel more the 20km/h faster than other traffic.
• Don't lane split if traffic is travelling faster than 50km/h.
• It's safer to lane split in lanes 1 and 2.

People dont understand those 2 and have an entitlement problem when on a motorbike. I used to bike, will probably again someday.

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/gener...orcycle-safety

An ex CT Traffic Officer told me exactly that, back in the mid 90s.

[Jens78]

What's wrong with the good old 'keep left, pass right'? Surely this 'move right so a bike can pass on the left' will just confuse a lot of drivers? If a bike sits on my ass on a busy highway in any lane, I always move to the line on my left so he/she can pass on my right without having to occupy the whole lane to the right. Bikers are usually grateful when I do this and nobody ever seemed nasty about it.