Should Bicycles Be Allowed to Filter through Traffic?

dextr3k on 24/02/2023 - 14:17
Last edited 24/02/2023 - 14:36

Hi Guys,

My first controversial post. But something I've noticed recently on my drive into work along the Beach road.

I have no issues with motorcycles filtering through traffic, in fact I am a rider myself and filter constantly. However on the beach road, a 2 lane road with basically no side skirts, I have to change lanes in order to pass a bicycler. Normally that's fine, you are entitled to ride on the road. The issue is, during morning rush hour, there is constant stop and go at the lights. When the light goes red, the bicycle I just passed filters to the front of the line, leaving me having to change lanes in about 20 seconds in order to pass him for a second time. Worse if traffic is slow, I've had to change lanes 3 times to pass this guy.

A motorcycle is able to stay ahead of the traffic when he filters. A bicycle is basically forcing these people to pass him again, with barely any time saved.

Thoughts? Am I a big entitled asshole?

Poll Options expired

  • 178
    Yes
  • 380
    No
  • 15
    You are Entitled
Automotive

Comments

                  • keejoonc on 27/02/2023 - 16:39

                    @Euphemistic: And why do you need to register it? To put it on the road. What else?

                    • Euphemistic on 27/02/2023 - 16:42
                      +1

                      @keejoonc: Just looked at NSW. It’s a $70 registration fee plus weight based vehicle tax. So it’s not a road user charge.

                      As road funding comes largely from general tax revenue, EVERYONE pays for the roads and pays to use them.

                      • keejoonc on 27/02/2023 - 16:46

                        @Euphemistic: You can spin it however you want, but rego is required to put a car on the road. If someone were to buy a car and didn't drive it on the road, they can still keep it unregistered.

                        • Euphemistic on 27/02/2023 - 17:52

                          @keejoonc: And you can spin it however you want. You don’t have to pay to use roads.

                          • keejoonc on 27/02/2023 - 22:33
                            +1

                            @Euphemistic: Tell me how i can use my car on the road without paying? Your secret will make you millions.

                            • Euphemistic on 27/02/2023 - 22:40

                              @keejoonc: Leave it at home and use a bicycle.

                              • keejoonc on 28/02/2023 - 12:42

                                @Euphemistic: Talking about a car here, not a bicyle.

                                I cycle, ride a scooter and drive as well and I can see why people hate cyclists.

                                • ihfree on 28/02/2023 - 13:02

                                  @keejoonc: You can easily ride a dirt bike unregistered. Police won't give chase due to the risk of injury to the rider, or so they say.

                                • Euphemistic on 28/02/2023 - 16:08
                                  +2

                                  @keejoonc: They shouldn’t hate cyclists. They’ve got every right to use the roads.

                                  • keejoonc on 28/02/2023 - 16:56
                                    +1

                                    @Euphemistic: That's not the only reason people hate cyclists. I hate to generalise but even as a cyclist myself, a lot of cyclists are plain d**ks. They claim they have every right to use the roads, but miraculously road rules don't apply to them.

                                    • Euphemistic on 28/02/2023 - 19:34

                                      @keejoonc: Yeah. You shouldn’t generalise. If you are really a cyclist, you need not to amplify the stereotype.

                                      Somewhat unfortunately, when cycling, bending the rules is almost essential for safety.

  • Mumbles on 25/02/2023 - 21:24
    -2

    Short answer is no because its illegal.

    Motorcycles in NSW and A.C.T went through a pilot stage to trial their new lane filtering laws. No traffic laws exist for cyclists to lane filter.

    Bicycles, scooters, mobility scooters have no lane filtering laws granted to them.

    Motorcycles have third party insurance. Bicycles don't.

    If a bicycle is lane filtering they are obstructing lawful motorcycle riders from their lane filtering. The law does not give cyclists the right to be where a motorcycle is. Vice versa a motorcycle cannot use a bicycle lane. They are two different categories of vehicle.

    • Euphemistic on 25/02/2023 - 21:41
      +2

      Bicycles can overtake on the left legally.

      • Mumbles on 26/02/2023 - 09:09

        That's correct. Lane filtering laws are very specific for motorcycles. It is illegal for motorcycles to overtake on the left/gutter.

        What you just described is not lane filtering. I think its a grey area. In NSW its legal for a car to cross the centre line when next to a cyclist.
        https://bicyclensw.org.au/nsw-bicycle-laws/

        Bicycles and motorcycles are different vehicles under the law.

        If they were the same category then why not write/legislate the same lane filtering laws for bicycles?

        • Euphemistic on 26/02/2023 - 12:20
          +3

          Regardless of what it’s called, op mentioned bicycles going to the front of a queue. Which is legal for cyclists to do on the left.

  • TEER3X on 26/02/2023 - 09:12

    In Melbourne, I've seen police pullover motorcyclists 3 times in the past few months, because of what looked like to be lane filtering?

    Not sure if they did that just before traffic stopped or if they were pulled over for other reasons. Definitely weren't speeding.

    • Mumbles on 26/02/2023 - 09:22
      +2

      Most likely they were P platers or L platers. Only full license motorcycle holders are allowed to lane split. So its easy for Police to make a determination.

      Or they lane split between a moving bus/truck (officer saw it as dangerous as well as illegal). The lane filtering laws don't permit a motorcycle to squeeze a stationery bus.

      Those are the two most common reasons. Police frequently see unskilled P plate riders doing multiple offences but it takes ages to catch up and pull them over eg. Overtake on shoulder, overtake using gutter, using bicycle lanes, folding in side mirrors, not display P plate, not give way, not stop behind line/cross pedestrian walkway, etc.

  • hawkshead on 26/02/2023 - 09:38
    +1

    Don't cars go like super fast? I dont get what the problem is? if you're concerned try walking? or leaving earlier? you're still going super fast and will get there a lot faster than if you werent driving. dont sweat the small stuff.

  • gentlekoala5906 on 26/02/2023 - 09:42

    I remember some (profanity) cyclist hit my side mirror with his handlebar while filtering through stopped traffic. He looked back and kept going - prick.

  • Wasabi Ninja on 26/02/2023 - 09:59

    Sooner or later you get squished or come off a bicycle if you do the heavy traffic commute. Let them enjoy the time they have. Things I’ve seen as a paramedic stop me from ever wanting to ride a bike on the road.

  • lostgoat on 26/02/2023 - 10:30

    Who would go on a road with any bike ( motor or push ) with everyone looking at screens nowadays ? They really are coffins on 2 wheels .

  • ChatCPT on 26/02/2023 - 11:52
    +3

    What timing!

    I just got home after a red P plater took me out on my bicycle. Broken bones. Plates and screws in me. Can’t work. Can’t sleep. Constant pain. Can’t put toothpaste on! Hate this

    My thoughts as someone who loves and has all three modes - car, motorbike, bicycle. Trust me when I say this. Bicycle is the worst. Have plenty on years on all 3 and love my two wheels but please acknowledge that your life in the hands of others not you no matter how skilled you are.

    On my bicycle I had a headlight, brake light, high vis on, helmet, broad daylight, quiet st, zero traffic still the red p plater says didn’t see me and she took me out.

    You can do all the right things but what is the point of they don’t even bother checking both ways before pulling out and you (cyclist) always gets punished for it. Decent deore brakes but no abs like car or motorbike will always get punished even if not at fault.

    Coming back to OP. I believe motorbikes should be ok filtering. Cars move for me. Hear me. Big headlight usually high beam on during the day. Exhaust mod loud. I make my way carefully to the front and take off never see those cars again! So those cars couldn’t care less. Plus motorbike filtering to front leaves one more bit of space behind for traffic.

    On my bicycle, long time ago I tried filtering, but the cars caught up right away and I felt like an ass holding them up so never did it again. Plus I could feel the negativity towards me so I didnt want to risk getting some tradie on a bad day. So I only take bike paths otherwise quiet streets and very rarely footpaths very slowly because I know how much the Uber bicycles frighten me when I’m walking around the cbd

    Take care all. Stay safe and be happy!

  • ToyotaCrownHybrid on 26/02/2023 - 13:02

    If he's faster than a car, yes.
    Which is why motorbikes are fine.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2023 - 13:24
    -3

    Nothing should be allowed to. Motorbikes weaving in and out to get around cars, clipping mirrors because they can't fit but also now can't slow down quick enough to avoid them as they scream through, scaring people by zipping in front of their car unexpectedly just after traffic has started moving forward making the car driver stand on the brakes so the few behind all do too, etc is feral behaviour. Motorbikes accelerate faster than cars so there's no reason a motorbike can't just stay in the position it was and do it's lane changes to get in front once traffic is moving freely again. When I can see what they're about to do in the mirror, if I'm still rolling, sometimes I "let my car drift" to the right to block them while pretending to look at something in another direction. It's probably legal for them to do it too, but I don't care. Like most things (e.g. people with staffies, dogs on leashes, etc) everyone believes THEY are "responsible" and "it's only a few doing the wrong thing" but then 9 of 10 do the above and give themselves a free pass. e.g. "Oops, wasn't expecting the the traffic to start moving, sorry I cut in on you…" Yeah, exactly why you shouldn't be doing it, "Chopper."

    • ihfree on 26/02/2023 - 19:44
      +3

      God, so many bad takes from you.

      Research shows that filtering is beneficial to traffic flow. You should just let them past.

      I often do the opposite and give them more room to make passing easier. Remember, a bike filtering does not take up space where as a bike queuing means that traffic queues are longer, ore time is take to clear red lights, etc.

      It's easy to see when traffic starts moving. You're also higher up on a bike so have more visibility.

      You need to let go of your ego and acknowledge that people "queue jumping" can be beneficial for you and everyone else.

      • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2023 - 23:21
        -4

        "Filtering" … lol. Love the assumption it's like "purifying" water, starting with a preconceived bias it's a responsible/good thing before any alternative view they haven't thought of is put forward, when it's actually toxic behaviour. i.e. How many times do we hear of car drivers opening their door and cleaning up a cyclist? Well it's MORE dangerous, MORE likely to happen with a powered motorcycle that is wider/heavier/traveling faster that suddenly appears from nowhere in a split second after being able to see 30 cars behind, and when most car drivers are concentrating FORWARDS because everyone around them is stopped.

        And please don't try to tell me "most motorcyclists are responsible"… that they move between cars slowly, carefully, blip their lights/horn (which again, only a percentage of drivers are going to see anyway because they're still not looking behind them), or whatever else to warn cars, because I frequently see motorcycles SCREAMING down the gap between two lanes of cars. (I see it less so with Ls, but particularly with red P platers.)

        A car cannot do the same due to no room. And a motorcylicist who rides on the white line while cars are moving is just asking to become a pancake. So why should it be ok when traffic isn't moving. There's limited space, which can change at any second by someone opening a car door. This is why we have LANES in the first place. i.e. You don't change lanes with a car beside you. You do it in front, or behind another car. The fact I've seen so many motorcyclists cannot control themselves, have no patience (though it save 3-4 seconds at the most) who think an orange or red light and a narrow gap = the grand prix is ON, should be why it's made illegal to not wait back where they were until traffic is back moving at cruising speed.

        A few times I've seen people open their car door to empty an ashtray and speeding motorbikes slam their brakes on so hard their rear tyre lifts off the ground. And yes, emptying an ashtray is feral behaviour too, but these "I'm bored what can I do while I wait" kind of behaviours don't occur in moving traffic. i.e. People aren't opening their car doors to empty ashtrays, stretch a leg out straight that's been in a cramped position for 100km, or to let a breeze pass through the car while stopped on a steaming hot day.

        What they DON'T KNOW is why they shouldn't be flying between two stationary or barely moving cars. There's no way of knowing who will open what that will send them flying.

        I've also had plenty of d___heads on motorcycles (but admittedly, it's usually the ones on red P's, with an all black motorcycle, and dressed all in black…) young guys who haven't matured in the head yet to stop being thrill seekers/risk takers… who thought they could judge gaps accurately from 20+ cars back, accelerate the entire way to either clip my mirror, or have to jerk their handlebar up/down suddenly when they realise too late the mirror is at the same level as their own handgrip, nearly wiping out into mine or the opposite car's fender with their front wheel as they quickly try to "blip" their handle under/over my mirror.

        I'd rather move over to close the gap and have them cursing me than spending another 3 weeks phoning every wreckers in the country looking for a collectable chrome mirror, or washing their brains off my fender.

        It's not a matter of "bad takes" … it's a matter of you only seeing one narrow view: your own. People who think this kind of road behaviour is a good thing are only seeing their own entitled need to be at the front (for the sake of being at the front) or "need" to arrive 12 seconds earlier. I'm seeing both mine AND their safety.

        • ihfree on 26/02/2023 - 23:31
          +1

          Yeah lol, not convinced. It's still a bad take, imo. To address a few points:

          Car drivers who don't check their doors(or their passengers doors are not responsible drivers. As a motorcyclist, you're not meant to filter next to parked cars.

          A car cannot do the same due to no room.

          Duh. That's the whole point of the law - reducing congestion. Less space is taken up when traffic is stopped. It's also safer for motorcyclists because they're not stopped where a car can rear end them.

          A few times I've seen people open their car door to empty an ashtray

          Yeah, that's an offence that should result in being fined into the next dimension.

          A lot of your rant is about L&P players who can't legally filter… soooo that would still happen anyway.

          • [Deactivated] on 26/02/2023 - 23:56
            -1

            @ihfree:

            ar drivers who don't check their doors(or their passengers doors are not responsible drivers.

            EXACTLY. And HOW does the guy on the cycle know which are, and which aren't? He doesn't. Yet they still scream up gaps like everyone's door is welded shut.

            • ihfree on 26/02/2023 - 23:57
              +2

              @[Deactivated]: Yeah. You're not meant to filter between parked cars. It's illegal to open a door while driving.

              Done legally, with everyone following the rules, there should be near zero risk.

  • Zephyrus on 26/02/2023 - 14:27

    If they don't filter, then bikes would be spread throughout traffic. It's better to have them all in one group rather than have everyone try and pass each bike individually.

  • pegasusx on 26/02/2023 - 15:15
    +2

    I have commuted via all three modes of transport.
    Motor bike, car and road bicycle. I work in the CBD Sydney. Door to door road bicycle has been the quickest out of the three. Because of the ability to filter through sitting or (slow <20km) traffic and the ease of bike storage vs parking. If i get to the front I usually pick up speed to 35-40km easy. Filtering through the sitting traffic again.

  • BHR on 26/02/2023 - 15:45
    +5

    Sounds more like every 30 seconds the cyclist is having to pass your car parked in the middle of the road blocking everyone at least three times?

    You’re not stuck in traffic, you are the traffic. You’re just annoyed a cyclist doing 25km/hr has a higher average speed than you do despite your car capable of much more.

    https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustBikes/videos

    • Mysterious Laptop on 27/02/2023 - 10:42

      No.. it's because the bicycle doesn't have the capability of getting beyond traffic after it filters through. As other's have said, on a motorbike 'it's one less car', but cyclists end up slowing people down and not being able to catch the next light.

      • ihfree on 27/02/2023 - 10:51

        slowing people down

        What about their effect on the network as a whole?

      • BHR on 27/02/2023 - 12:00
        +2

        It appears it must as it caught up and passed the car three times?

      • eternalveg on 27/02/2023 - 12:15
        +2

        doesn't have the capability of getting beyond traffic

        There is no beyond traffic. It's peak hour. You just get up to the next lot of traffic.

      • jaybo on 27/02/2023 - 13:03
        +1

        slowing people down

        you're right, all those cyclists should be driving instead, that'll make it all move heaps quicker

  • beach bum on 27/02/2023 - 09:31
    +1

    As a motorcyclist that lives near the beach, I don't think there's any good places for cyclists unless you have dedicated bike lanes and the associated "euro" style urban planning.

    They have a big path on the Goldy now beachside , that's a recipe for disaster with tourists with water in their ears coming off the beach and straight into the "path" of geared up bikes riding fast up and down the whole coast.
    It will take a kid or two getting killed before they do anything, like ban them off footpaths.
    (Sorry I mean shared road/path?)
    I think common sense needs to prevail , take your chances on the road or slow the FK down around people (yes earbuds too)
    You're, " rights" do not supersede everyone else.
    Goes for cars out on the main road too ..
    This is the most likely place for the"young" to die , a road.
    Treat it as such .

  • eternalveg on 27/02/2023 - 12:19

    If we stopped bikes passing on the left when car traffic was banked up, you may not pass the same cyclist over and over again. But you'll be passing the next lot of cyclists who are now going a bit slower because they were unable to filter past the cars at the lights.

    So the same amount of passing bicycles. Is that really any better?

    It slows down the cyclists, but it doesn't make your commute any faster.

  • jaybo on 27/02/2023 - 13:02
    +1

    maybe if more people rode their bikes and less people created traffic by driving, we wouldn't need the world's tinest violin orchestra for entitled people complaining about how their commute is taking slightly longer because their cars are so big they get stuck in a conga-line of slow moving traffic.

    • keejoonc on 27/02/2023 - 16:41

      Totally unrealitic in a country like Australia where everything is so spaced out, weather is too warm etc.

      • Ch34p on 27/02/2023 - 18:57

        He's not saying everyone rides a bike, just more people riding bikes and not driving cars.
        E.g. everyone within a 5km radius of work rides to work. That'd be a huge benefit to traffic.

        • keejoonc on 27/02/2023 - 22:30

          Thats obvious but who wants to ride a bike to work and turn up all sweaty? Australia just isnt designed for riding bikes - climate wise and city planning wise. You would then have to carry change of clothes, towel etc. There are reasons why people dont do it much. Electric scooters are probably more viable option for a lot of people as you wont need a change of clothes or have to take shower.

          • Ch34p on 10/03/2023 - 11:36

            @keejoonc:

            1. Climate wise? There's plenty of months in the year in the southern states where the heat isn't an issue. Agreed in a place like Brissy it's probably not appealing. You also can take it pretty easy on a mere 5km commute on a bike with minimal sweat. Particularly in the morning before it heats up.
            2. City planning wise? That can be fixed - look at the Netherlands where it used to be car central.
            3. Carrying a change of clothes and towel isn't difficult - you can generally leave them at work too.
            4. The reasons for people not doing it are a perceived lack of safety, no culture, and lack of end of trip facilities. All can be fixed. Another reason is that people are lazy.
            5. Electric bikes mate

            The question is, why don't we want to change or give it a go, given the benefits would be enormous to society, e.g. the public health benefits and improved traffic flow for people who have to use a motor vehicle?

      • Euphemistic on 27/02/2023 - 21:00

        It’s only unrealistic because we’ve designed our cities and lifestyle around cars. seemed like a good idea in the 60s/70s but it’s a dumb idea that we are paying for now. Netherlands have turned their car centric cities into places where people cycle in huge numbers, and it’s not Lycra clad on race bikes for the large pet, just regular clothing on comfort bikes.

        We can do it here, but it’ll take a decade or 3.

  • Hangryuman on 27/02/2023 - 17:38

    Attritution bias - I'm a better-than-average driver, doing the right thing, so WTF is with all these entitled a$$holes making my life more difficult !

    What irrits me with bicycle riders is when they act like a vehicle with the traffic flow, and then want to act like a pedestrian when they get a red light

    I reckon bicyclists tend to be the rats of the road - holier-than-thou lookame saving the planet a$$holes who happily cut through pedestrians at crossings - and I'm reading more frequently of high-speed cyclists in London smashing into pedestrians legally crossing the street because - oh, I didn't want to have to slow down for a second … GRRRR !!!

  • Dunks on 28/02/2023 - 06:36
    -2

    I can't stand cyclists on the road, especially when there is a lane for them and they dont use it. Instead they ride in the middle of the road and slow or block traffic.

    Another thing that erks me, they pay no insurance or rego but want to use our roads.

    Entitled much.

    • Euphemistic on 28/02/2023 - 07:21
      +1

      want to use our roads.

      My emphasis on the important word there. They are taxpayers roads. Rego does not ‘pay for the roads’. There is no special payment required to use the roads we ALL pay for.

      Many cycle lanes and paths are designed so poorly they don’t go anywhere or are downright dangerous. My cycle commute is around 8km. Of that, there is about 1km of off road cycle path and about 1km of supposed bike lane that puts me in the sporting zone. I refuse to ride it for risk of someone opening their door completely blocking the lane and potentially punting me into the traffic lane.

      As for insurance, the carnage caused by motor vehicles is what requires insurance to pay for the injuries caused to other parties. Cyclists cause so few injuries to others it is not be worth setting up CTP insurance to cover them.

  • Daddy Chill on 28/02/2023 - 08:55
    +1

    Footpath is the best place to ride and jump off the corners of the driveway

    • Euphemistic on 28/02/2023 - 09:50

      Sigh. If only it was legal in NSW.

  • SpicyStew on 28/02/2023 - 10:33

    Only when they are a minority, you have the courage to speak up

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQSwQLDIK8

  • dearears on 07/03/2023 - 13:35

    Pressed No, whilst staring at a 12" long scratch on my left door.

    The Lycra brigade can do whatever they like as long as they own up to their actions.

    I know it ain't gonna happen.

  • graham johnson on 19/03/2023 - 08:04
    -3

    What pisses me off about this, is we have to allow 1 meter clearance when passing these clowns. BUT as soon as you hit a traffic light and stop and they sneak between your car and the gutter to get past, you have to do the same again. Surely if drivers have to provide 1 meter clearance they should have to do the same….Its worse when you are trying to do a left turn and they sneak past meaning you cant turn even if you have a green arrow…… Its their lives that are at risk……. NOW I purposely pull closer to the gutter so they cant pass so this doesn't happen….

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