So went out today and it's bumper to bumper and I'm happy as a pig in mud (slowly and off the throttle as much as possible) riding past the poor, trapped buggers in their cages.   A few times, however, some cars werer over to far so I had to slow, or stop completely, which was fines, since most people were happy to scoot over a bit when they got a chance...

...except the old people.  Nearly every old person I went by yelled, or turned their cars inwards to block me.  One geriatric (I was stopped behind a large vehicle) wound down the window and started hurling abuse about how I'm meant to "lane split" on the left - which I pointed out was both next to pedestians and in a bicycle lane.  This drives her nuts so she's reving her car and lurching foward - I presume trying to get enough room to give my bike a "tap"  I did think about following the old bitch and her fuckwit friends until she stopped and having a real chat, but I try to avoid jail as much as possible   It's really unusual that I'm the one keeping my cool btw.  I'm kicking myself for not getting her number, so at least I can watch out for her.

Anyways, does this happen to everyone?  Is it the new norm for Vic riders who filter?  Is it mainly old people?  And will the road ragers die off over time as people learn how it all works?  From now on I'm thinking I might roll with a gopro.

Hi Bonkerz,
Have had similar incidents myself. I'm not a huge lane filtering fan anyway cause you just don't know when some goose is gunna duck out of their lane at the last minute and clean both the bike and rider up. But have found that people get pissed off cause I'm making headway and their not, so they creep across in the lane to try and block the path. Gunna be an issue forever I think but hey the law is the law and if they don't like it then maybe they should go buy a bike too.
I do see a lot of solos lane splitting on the Princes Hwy Geelong to Melbourne and back at horrific speeds tho. Recipe for disaster me thinks. Great new road rule but just cause its law doesn't mean its that safe, and those not on bikes don't give a shit about us most of the time anyway. Gotta have eyes in the back of your head.

it's been in Qld for awhile or did you get it there in Vic at the same time? I sometimes do but seriously your still dealing with the same drivers that want to kill you every other day. I mean you see a good gap and the traffic moves of slowly and they wonder around and close the gap? txting or whatever they do? Freeways are different I suppose but you end up with the same result? pic your time and ride safe.

I do think that most cars etc have no idea that it's now legal and they get the shits because your getting one over them.

cheers Jimmy.

I'm from NSW and was in Melbourne over the easter weekend. The amount of bikes that were lane filtering was good to see but I saw many fuckwit drivers that are unaware that it is legal now. A few horn blasts and saw a finger fly up faster than an american flag on independence day. I live in Wagga. Lane filtering is great here, 95% of drivers go out of their way to make space yet in the city everyone thinks they own the 5 metre radius of bitumen around them. And i'm told people in the city are 'more aware and educated'. Like fuck they are.

Having almost been rear ended twice (I saved myself) I'm filtering whenever it's safe enough to do. Even if I move up a couple of car spots that's less chance of becoming the jam in a metal sandwich. And I'll start taking vids of the fuckwit road ragers.

Had that happen the other day during the wine and food festival in Melbourne. Crazy bitch (not an old bitch may I add, middle aged false sense of entitlement type. You know, the peroxide blonde, pouting Botox cock sucking lips, plastic tits and an attitude of a gnat, sharp as bowling ball type) in a black Range Rover turned left and blocked the lane to prevent me from filtering through congested traffic. Stopped behind her as she was yelling in her rear view mirror. My wife was pillion and commented on "whats her problem?" Obviously pissed at the fact that we were making headway and she was up to her C&%T for a long wait. The guy in left was abusing her for closing the distance on him which opened up a left passage on his side, clear opening for me, took the chance and sailed on past and laughed at her as we went past. If she could have shit bricks I am sure she would have. Some people just think the road is for their personal use and give fuck all regard to us motorcyclists. I bade her farewell as she probably proceeded to rear ended the poor sucker ahead in her irrational rage (ok, I cant back that up, but never let a facts get in the way of a good story hey)

So not all "pricks and prickesses" are old!

 

I commute about 60kms on the freeway each day during rush hour and oddly enough find that 99% of motorway drivers in Melbourne seem to be very considerate. Obviously you have to keep a close eye out for the "mobile phone lane drifters" (at least 1 a day), Audi drivers (the new Volvo drivers) and ALL the Asians (who as a race should be banned from driving).

But other than that it cuts 1.5 hours off my daily commute to work when compared to the train, so its a matter of driving defensively and smashing the drivers mirror of the odd fuckwit that truly tries to kill me.

been lane splitting in Vic now since I moved here in 2012 and never had any issues... must be because I'm a nice guy

I think what we need to do in regard to lane filtering is just remind our non-motorcycle friends that lane filtering is a win-win situation. California has lane filtering and they have significantly lower fatalities from bikes being rear-ended than other US States. Bikers know this as common sense of riding. So lane filtering can save riders, and of course we know it reduces ride time for riders. But last year the NSW Government Centre for Road Safety conducted a lane filtering trial. You can read the report below. That study suggested it was "common sense" (see Section 6) that if you reduced motorcycle queuing at intersections, there would be flow on effects to reduced queuing in general. Now, if common sense - increased safety for riders and less congestion for all - can find its way into a government agency, surely ordinary citizens in their cages can find it too?!

http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/motorcyclists/lanefiltering/faqs.html#faq6

Just don't lane filter like Wozza.

With most things, there is a right and wrong way !

Joking ( mostly ) Woz.

Lane filter the wrong way? You mean, like, down the left side bike-lane rather than through the centre?!

Had an unmarked police car follow me about 3km through the city the other day - from just on the edge of Melbourne's CBD to an inner suburb - and the whole way was single lane with the bike lane to my left. Alot of times I'll use that side lane to scoot to the front of a line of cars. This time I stayed in the lane, as I suspected the dash lights would flash if I used the side land! At least they didn't pull me over and give me a notice to visit the EPA test facility!

Darrin ...

Check Wozzas 'lane filtering' vid.

Can you Victorians use the bus lanes?

In NSW it is confusing because "BUS LANES" and "BUS ONLY LANES" have the same markings, you can ride in one but not the other, so my bank account found out a few years ago.

NSW riders can lane filter but cannot cross unbroken lines. On the same day as my "Illegal use of BUS ONLY lane" I also got "Illegal use of breakdown lane".

Vic roads needs to make this stuff clearer.
I'm still not clear on filtering to the right (or left) on a single lane road, especially if there's oncoming traffic?
I think their "when safe to do so" clause seems to be a disclaimer for them and loophole for the cops.

Bonkerz, my understanding is that you cannot filter between two lanes of opposite running traffic. So not to the right on a single lane road. In Melbourne I find most confusing the filtering to the left of cars or between cars and parked cars, but not starting into bike lanes, when sometimes its not always clear you're in a bike lane. For instance, you ach an intersection to see a bike signal painted on the road, and you infer you've been in a bike lane!

Agreed on the giant loophole of "if safe to do so". Technically if you are below 30km/h that should supersede some cops judgment of "not safe", but the law doesn't specify which one takes precedence. So we thus know, given Victoria is a police state when it comes to Harley's and traffic laws, that allows all the wiggle room possible to cops to book you!

So far I've only filtered on the right (single lane road) with a medium strip between traffic, but once there was traffic backed up for a mile at a road a bout and the temptation to just go around was huge. Maybe the "if safe to do so"means it's okay if there are no oncoming cars, just like with normal over taking? I just wish they'd clarify the law, because no doubt some copper has a different view, or a special rule book only for them.

Bonkerz, the law does not mention whether a car is actually in the oncoming lane. It defines filtering as illegal if between two lanes of traffic traveling in opposite directions. So your roundabout example would be illegal.

Bonkerz, I'd put the over-taking example in the category of "do you trust cops not to ping you for the hell of it". The VIC website, when it outlines lane filtering, ends with "does not include over-taking". 

Saw a sport bike zip around traffic in the empty oncoming lane before a railway crossing the other day, and thought I'm loud enough to attract Mr Po Po's attention and he's probably inclined to ping me for whatever he can think of. Cynic or realist?!