Motorcycles and Lane Splitting

[Kevin Lancaster]

Those bikers, lane splitting! Is it even legal?

Yes, it is quite legal for a biker to share a lane with another vehicle.
The national road traffic act, paragraph 309, states that a motorcycle may, where a public road is divided into traffic lanes, regard each such lane as a separate public road. We (motorists and motorcyclists alike) should take note that, although a motorcycle may share a lane with another vehicle, this rule does not apply to other vehicles. A bike may share with a car, but not vice versa. It is important to remember that all other overtaking regulations (paragraph 298 of the act) are still applicable, i.e. Indicating your intentions, making safe overtaking possible, which side to overtake on in certain instances and so on.

Go to the Think Bike Web Page for more information:

http://forum.thinkbike.co.za/forum.php

[bubblesharp]

I have absolutely no problem with a bike sharing my lane, or passing by. I DO however have a HUGE problem with the IDIOT on the bike with his think bike jacket on that passes at 90km/h in a 60km/h section when my indicators have been on and when I want to change lanes suddenly there is a bike that you need to watch out for and loose the chance to change lanes.

Wearing a think bike jacket does not make you safe when you travel through almost still standing traffic at 60/70km/h where the cars have to change lanes in order to travel FORWARD, NO ONE WILL SEE YOU IN TIME YOU FREAKIN IDIOT!!! You are endangering your life and those around you.

My neighbors' brother is still in ICU after a week because he was riding so fast around a "blind" corner that when the driver of the car that was turning saw him, it was TOO LATE!!! even at around 90km/h both drivers would have had enough time to react in time.

So by all means ride your bike, I will always when possible make space for you too pass, but be responsible us car drivers also have to get to work and when the traffic is slow don't come chasing through the cars at 4/5 times the speed of what the cars are driving at.

What you need to realize when riding a bike, whether you or the car driver is at fault, YOU (on the bike) ARE the one that is gonna be hurt the most, so respect the guy in the car and maybe you will also get the respect. (Maybe, because we still live in SA and seems that people here doesn't always know what it means to respect other people) And take responsibility for your self!!!

[Kevin Lancaster]

Hey Bubblesharp, I hear you and many car driver too. There are rules by which lanesharing should be done. The basic one is that the bike should travel no more than 20 - 25km's faster than surrounding traffic. This being said, it is often tempting to push the envelope and I myself am guilty of this too. I try, always to calculate the risk to myself and see if it is reasonable. Still however it is an almost daily occurrence where some 'cage' driver tries to block my progress, not becaue he/she can change lanes and move on, but simply to frustrate my advance. This gets our goat big time and leads to bikers smashing mirrors or kicking doors in.

None of this is very nice or even needed. Calling people idiots also doesn't help the cause of all road users. I think you hit the nail on the head when you speak of mutual respect, but let's do it with understanding. A lot of bikers, and I include myself in this group, know the risks all too well, and still ride. We enjoy the thrill, that element of danger that makes one FEEL alive. All we ask for at the end of the day is a chance to get home to our families in one piece. To the other road users, cars, taxis, trucks and busses, be aware of us, look twice before changing lanes, understand lane sharing/splitting IS LEGAL and please spare us that one inch that can make a difference between life and death.

Kevin Lancaster

[Rodwraylva]

Radio talk: Had a question on bikes and lane splitting, they are not allowed to drive faster than the traffic around them, or that is what u understood.

[Boadicea]

The bikers I have had some unpleasant experiences with have shown themselves to be rude arrogant bulllies. They knock my side mirror so I can't see to change lanes properly on the highway and on one occasion on a Sunday morning they even decided to try and bully me because I was riding in the fast lane and they wanted it all to themselves. They are a hazard of note, especially on the highway. One guy drove past my sister and brother in law when they were on a family outing with the kids. They said they did not know what they did to offend him but he came screaming up behind them and as he went past he punched the mirror. They said it looked like he broke his hand because he evidenced signs of extreme pain and turned off the road at the next side road to examine his hand. My brother in law saw him nursing his hand as he drove up tot the guy to try and get his details regarding the smashed mirror (they are hellishly expensive in many cases). We all felt that this was poetic justice. I hate bikers with an unmitigated passion because of their bad attitude. I don't block them and I don't try to stop them passing me. I don't go looking for trouble on the roads. They seem to find me anyway. As far as I am concerned they should be banned.

[it_bit_me]

Cars are the real bullies of the road.
Remember to always have a clear idea of where your going and don't drive even mildly drunk , bikers will hate you for it.

[Kevin Lancaster]

I've sparked a small debate here, which is great. How can anyone say bikers should be banned and that they hate them with a passion. I am an ordinary chap, affable, likeable, a husband, a father. If Boadicea meets me and likes me before finding out I ride, will they then instantly dislike me because of the mode of transport I choose?? I can say with conviction, that I do not bully car drivers and extend the kind of respect I would like on the road. I can also say that 9 out 0f 10 times, a mirror is smashed because it wasn't used in the first place. It is a way, that bikers can show drivers, to be more careful. Talking and campaigns only go so far, when more car drivers have to replace their mirrors, then maybe the message will get through to those who "HATE" us. To Boadicea again, in the past 18months of riding, I have come close to being taken out on average once a month. It has been through my alertness and ability that I have survived these incidents. One day I might have a lapse and end up in a wheel-chair or worse and the car will have a scratch or a dent.

[olivierwikus]

The route I drive has a lot of trucks on it and I've noticed that the trucks makes way for me mor than the cars. So how come the big machine can see the small bike but the car drivers cant?
Just asking

[bubblesharp]

Hi Kevin,

Please don't misunderstand, Not ALL bikers are idiots, statistically there would be far more idiots behind the wheel of a car than that of a bike for the simple reason that there are so many more cars than bikes on the road.

The reason I call them idiots, is because that is exactly what they are! a healthy person with a normal functioning brain, that deliberately chooses to do idiotic things. The worse part is that MOST idiots are really intelligent people that somehow fail to act responsible toward #1 them selves and secondly towards those around them. A simple thank you gesture from a biker, whom I have gone out of my way for them to pass goes a long way towards the NEXT biker that passes.

Ever wondered which idiot biker went past the guy in front of you and peed him off, just so that now he can take his frustrations about bikers out on you? Not fair and definitely not cool, but such is the reality we live in. I would go as far as to say that 8 out of 10 times a biker is blocked due to the actions of the last couple of "badass" bikers over the last couple of years of that person driving, and now they "hate" all bikers and will do what they can to make your (the bikers') life miserable.

I have been on the verge of buying a bike of my own, but I feel that the risk is not worth the reward, (for me that is). To go out for that thrill just so that some idiot in a car can cause your death or worse, change you into the thing you hated most as a kid, a vegetable. I honestly would rather dive with sharks, etc. (and yes I do), I get my thrills else where, not that it is safer than driving a bike, but at least my death will not be caused by an inconsiderate idiot. The closest I came to buy a bike, I have always rode some of my friends bikes and the biggest a 750 GSXR, was when I went to Honda in Centurion and took a 954 Fireblade for a test drive. After about 10 minutes I knew that it would be my death. I could NOT full throttle the bike and as much as I enjoyed it, I knew I did not have the discipline to handle the bike.

So yes I understand everything that you say, my problem really lies as I have said with the person who actually wears a think bike jacket and then ride like an idiot. Not to the person that if there is not space to pass slows down and comes in behind me, I promise you this, as soon as I see you behind me, I will go out of my way for you to pass.

To Boadicea's point of bikers being rude and arrogant bullies, I have also had this experience once on the N1 just past the Atturbury off ramp on way to Centurion. I was driving more than the speed limit already in the right hand lane, when this biker came behind me, I made way for him to pass on my left hand side, IN MY LANE, as there was a truck a couple of hundred meters ahead and I did not want to be stuck behind it. He came driving up my ass and tried to force me into another lane so he could use the whole lane to pass me. What an idiot, you cannot intimidate something bigger than your self. by the time we passed the truck we were both doing speeds that would get us locked up, still he insisted I leave the lane so he can pass, there were no cars anymore all lanes were open. He eventually came next to me and tried to knock my mirror, What an idiot I saw you coming, and you leave your steering to try and knock a mirror at that speed. Well he missed and almost lost his balance too, then came in front of me and slowed down and forced me to pull over. He came running at my car to hit me with his helmet, I would say he was about 22/23 had a late night and a hangover maybe. He did not anticipate me to jump out and being quite a bit bigger that what he thought I was and then charge back at him with an electric baton. He turn around in his tracks and if his leathers was not that thick he would have had quite a shock. WHY WAS THIS NECESSARY??? All he had to do was pass when I went out of my way for him to pass.

So yes there are allot of "badass" bikers out there that are doing far worse for the think bike campaign than me calling them idiots! I must also say that there are a lot more responsible bikers that I have encountered the past year or so than I have before.

In my book the only idiots out there, are those who choose to be!

PS Kevin not to fight and definately not aimed at you personally, but being an ordinary chap, affable, likeable, a husband, a father does not say anything about a persons character. Character is shown in a persons behavior when they think no one is watching or they cannot be recognized. That said, bringing up the topic and your answer to Boadicea does show a small part of your character as you did not once give reason to provoke a further argument and so on. I think this is still gonna be a very interesting topic and I will be getting my popcorn as I don't think there is a lot of people that is gonna be in the middle like my self, (driving a car, but would actually ride a bike too, if it wasn't for how cars drive) Yes I can see and yes I too would've broken of mirrors a few times if I was on a bike.

[fastback]

Wow I only thought it was taxi and cyclist that people Hate!! very interesting.(I hate people who flash lights at me to move when I'm driven on the highway at 120km to 130km and I can't go anywhere!(blood boils and brakes apply))

I got no issue with bikers (I had 2 Bikes myself) but what gets to me is sometimes there plan silliness for speed, there is a time and a place for speed!
But Last night was not the case, on my way home driven through Henley-on-Klip where the speed limit is 40km up iffley, there wore lights coming from the front at distance so I went around a bit of ditch/pothole fairly fast I had hardly got back to my side of the road and a guy came screaming past with a Slit speed on a bike, what an idiot!
This road often has people walking in the road and they don't move!! There are also houses down this street sometimes stray dogs, people’s dogs, rabbits and often you get people that just drive out their drive ways, also on the odd occasion you get some one that does a break and go from the side streets.
You also get car drivers that treat the roads as a drag strip.

I been considering getting myself a Suzuki GSXR 750 love them! The speed is very much appealing to me and the traffic surfing.
I had 250 Suzuki and in the year of riding the bike had 3 near misses and all three near misses wore against SUVS.
But I know there are people out there that don't look or see a bike at speed so it’s up to biker to drive on he’s toes!
The one thing I do look for when I'm in traffic or on the highway is bikes, I keep my eye in my re-view mirror for the odd guy gunning it at 160km down the high and if I got enough time I'll move but often I just stay in the fast lane and move abit to give space, by the time I move over the bike is already on top of me causing a cr@p driven experience for me and the biker!
And in traffic if I see you in time I'll move to the right/left just to make it easy for you to pass me.

I think everyone should ride on a bike and in a truck just to get a bit of insight what the relevant vehicle drivers go through, I can guarantee you will change your ways a bit, to see what the other road uses go through. Also ride a bicycle.
Otherwise everyone has got the right to use the roads in a safe considerate manner with other road uses in mind But it all depends to what degree you think the road belongs to you and your vehicle!

[Kevin Lancaster]

Nice comments okes. I think the point of the campaign is to start of by letting other road users know that lane splitting is legal and then spark a debate on how best it can be practiced. I know I am not perfect on the road, and there are times I do the idiotic as well. For the most part however I try and show the respect deserved by other road users.