Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Here's a much discussed topic, however having been on the receiving end of an abusive tirade from a disgruntled Highway Patrol officer last week I decided to look into the matter a little further...

It looks like lane filtering (not splitting through moving traffic) IS in fact legal in NSW when done properly. Motorbikes are allowed to pass stationary traffic on the right of said vehicles; this is the same as passing a parked car in a street with no lines.

You must stay within the line, pass on the right and only do so when traffic is stationary.

Just don't give the cranky cops stuck in traffic some other reason to book you, like having an illegal fender eliminator or something

Yeah right,

You cant pass on the left, so unless you are "filtering" up the centre line you are fucked.

I have a ticket to prove it, and from a bike copper as well. Fuck the lecture was hard to stomach just quietly.

Maybe we should send some of the dinosaurs that enforce this crap, to the south-east asian countries where they filter through moving and stationary traffic, on both left and right sides of lanes. It seems to work fine, without the agro you get here.

I got done for splitting stationary traffic at lights in peak hour on way to work. Infringement was for changing lanes without indicating, because I was weaving lane to lane.

I had no idea he was after me and he must have had to work pretty hard to catch up to me so I think he just wanted to do me with something. We're all just lucky he's keeping the serious criminals off the streets.

Cop was a bike rider in a Highway Patrol Car. Tried to be a bike mate with me while handing out the fine, thanks buddy.

S'funny, only this morning I passed a bike-cop on a bike in traffic. He was quite intently looking into cars to find people texting/putting lippy on etc. I filtered past him, making a more pronounced move around him than I might have, gave him a bit of a wave, and continued on...

Done it a couple of times. I think the cops here in WA just want to see that you are taking care - not steaming through...

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I thought it was legal in WA Brett?

Dunno? Maybe that explains it?

*Awards WA a Noddy badge!*

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I was under the impression in WA it wasn't legal. However everyone just does it and the lanes are a lot wider over here too.

Passing on the rightis legal as long as you dontcross the line

I don't know if I agree that lane splitting (as shown in that video) is safer. I've been rear-ended twice when stationary and that could have been avoided by passing when the traffic was stationary, but I think I would have been knocked off more times than that by over zealous lane changers if I was splitting moving traffic.