Filtering

At what point/speed do you filter ? Mainly "A" road & Motorway Users

  • At any speed up to legal speed limit.

    Votes: 71 15.4%
  • If traffic is traveling at 0 - 30 mph

    Votes: 275 59.7%
  • If traffic is traveling at 30 - 50 mph

    Votes: 41 8.9%
  • Never filter - unless traffic at standstill

    Votes: 74 16.1%

  • Total voters
    461

Jed

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Mainly for the "A" road and Motorway riders.

Also interesting to see how much faster than the traffic you filter at ?
I was on M4 couple of weeks ago and filtering at about 10mph faster than the traffic and had to pull in to let a guy "fly" past - he was filtering very slow moving traffic (20mph) at about 50mph
 
If I can "safely" squeeze through I will, I try to switch in and out of the best lanes to avoid being between two vehicles as much as possible, but obviously when traffic is very slow / nose to tail / at a standstill this is not possible.

Tend to not go much faster than traffic, maybe 5-15mph more, it really depends on the situation.

I sometimes find you get a nice gap between two lanes and it is "safe" and easy to trickle down the middle, other times it seems like every car is conspiring to slow your progress.
 
I'll filter at anything up to 50 mph, can't see the point in anything more than that. I keep the differential down to about 10 mph. But it all depends on the road, traffic, weather, etc.
 
I was told by my RoSPA instructor to apply the 20/20 rule.

Only filter at 20mph more than the traffic is moving, and only up to your own speed of 40mph.

Even then it's down to personal judgement , 6th sense, etc.
 
Hard work filtering, lots of concentration required but very satisfying- ESP without the panniers
 
I never filter unless in very slow or stationary traffic. If at speed when does filtering become undertaking?
 
I actually think filtering between stationary/slow moving traffic is more dangerous than when cars are moving at 40-50mph on mways and A roads. A frustrated driver is far more likely to suddenly lurch into another lane when travelling slowly

Also time and day of the week affects how fast/what risks I'll take, regular commuters will be used to bikes zipping by, the old cliche of Sunday drivers is never truer than when filtering on one of our congested motorways at the weekend, most feel very threatened by passing bikes and often react haphazardly.

At the end of the day there's little point in having a bike in this country if you don't filter, we all know it's potentially dangerous and we all have our own perceptions on what we feel safe doing. I often cringe when I see bikes squeezing between huge lorries in some of londons tunnels but I'll happily filter between evenly spaced cars during commuting hours at up to the speed limit. The trick is 100% concentration and never get blasé and you should be fine.
 
Make progress

Cars spoil my day. Make progress and get them behind you.When you get a nice 5 car overtake executed correctly its very satisfying. Filter everywhere, use the "right" hand side of the road on left handers. I always filter to the front of a que at traffic lights, pull in front of the car and give eye contact. Its not a request, I am here and making progress. :)
 
Maybe it's a geographical thing?

If you live within the M25 it's probably a fact of life.

Elsewhere in the country the requirement to filter may be much less frequent?

:beerjug:
 
What kind of a nancy survey is this? :confused:

The whole point of a bike is to avoid sitting in the same queue as the cage drivers, whether that queue is stationary or travelling.

I filter if I consider it's safe. That may be at 10 mph, it may be at 90 mph :nenau

If there's the option to white line I will do that as well :aidan
 
I filter at all speeds within the limits of the road but normally no more than 15mph above the speed of the other users.

Legally though (as you all probably know), Filtering is deemed at overtaking and as a sufferer of a low speed filtering accident a couple of years ago with witnesses in my favour, I still only got a 50/50 ruling because its legally viewed as a high risk manouvre.

Just keep that in mind!
 
What kind of a nancy survey is this? :confused:

Not intended to be a nancy survey - just a relatively inexperienced rider asking for the opinions of the more experienced. Ultimately I'll do what I feel comfortable with but as far as i'm concerned you never stop learning. :thumb2
 
well if you do, don't blame car drivers if you get mashed up....car drivers are asleep most of the time, they won't really be looking for you if they themselves are stationary.

I filter but only in the path of least resistence, and slow up if I can see gaps opening up. Just incase one of cars thinks it wants to jump lanes

best of luck....
 
leaving aside the legality part of this (because i simply dont know) it can be done, very usefully if you have a long way to go in front of you
My take is if vehicles are stopped do it very slowly and cover the brakes!!!! if vehicles are moving, do it very carefully I personally pack it in after about 40 mph cos the time saving is " imho" not worth the risk the previous post which mentioned "six sense" is just about spot on!!!!!!!!!!
 
I was told by my RoSPA instructor to apply the 20/20 rule.

Only filter at 20mph more than the traffic is moving, and only up to your own speed of 40mph.

Even then it's down to personal judgement , 6th sense, etc.

Yup. In my case it was 15/15. Seems to serve well in most situations.

Passing between lanes of moving traffic on the motorway at speed can be seen as riding without due care.

Not intended to be a nancy survey - just a relatively inexperienced rider asking for the opinions of the more experienced.

Didn't you get the memo? Sunday is reserved for old hand superstar riders. You'll offend them with your pesky questions. Back on your CB500 newbie. Show some respect. ;):rob

Ultimately I'll do what I feel comfortable with but as far as i'm concerned you never stop learning. :thumb2

:thumb2
 
What kind of a nancy survey is this? :confused:

The whole point of a bike is to avoid sitting in the same queue as the cage drivers, whether that queue is stationary or travelling.

I filter if I consider it's safe. That may be at 10 mph, it may be at 90 mph :nenau

If there's the option to white line I will do that as well :aidan




:stupid ......thing I hate most in life is looking at the back end of a car......filtering is good in my book ......:thumb
 
I am always looking for a nice 'safe' space around myself when on the motorway. If that means moving from lane 1 to 2 or lane 3 to 2 then I do it. I always try not to slow down by breaking with the cars in lane 3 but move onto the white line or into lane 2.

I also filter up to around 75mph when I feel that traffic is moving slowly and cars are looking to change lane into a 'faster' stream of traffic.

I am also quite intolerant of cars that stick at 60mph in lane 2 and cause big queue's behind them.

As for ATT, I do understand that trucks are slower but need to make progress, including overtaking slower vehicles and make provision for this. As a rule truck drivers are far more aware of bikes than the average car driver.

Sports car (or sporty cars) are pretty good at looking in mirrors but the old favourite - women are mainly in a world of their own.

I hate transit and sprinter vans as their wing mirrors stick out miles :(

As for people on their mobile phones or sending texts (or reading newspapers whilst moving slowly in traffic jams), don't get me started !
 


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