Filtering and passing queuing traffic

Apologies in advance for the long read, I may be over explaining everything...

After a couple of months of not having the chance to get out, I finally got out for a ride last weekend and it was the first time I came up against a queue of traffic at roadworks where i've decided to make my way to the front.

Single carriageway, with a solid white line on my side. Couple of cars are nice and move over, but within 10 car lengths i'm stuck beside a car as the one in front is too close to the solid line. Fair enough, it's bumper to bumper so he couldn't move even if he wanted to. I couldn't see the start of the queue, and there's nothing oncoming, so I edge over the line and make slow progress down. I'm scanning for places to pull in if i see something oncoming, there's the odd spot where there'd be just enough room to pull in close to a car if I had too but i'd rather not. I've got a decent view around the bend in the road, nothing coming so I pull out further into oncoming lane and speed up. Luckily nothing come down, I got near the front and the 3rd car in line waited to let me in (thanks!), although I did notice I was then in a yellow hatched no waiting box .

This situation is something any experienced biker wouldn't bat an eyelid at. Proven by the fact 1 minute later another biker came down the line and parked right at the front of the queue as if it wasn't an issue. So because i'm still wet behind the ears and probably overthink every small detail too much, I have some questions for you more experienced guys and gals.

1. The whole "don't overtake/filter unless you can see to get back in" is fine in theory, but doesn't work in practice. You're looking down a line of traffic, it would be impossible to judge the gaps between cars from that angle unless you have the ability to bend light. Traffic lights on multi-lane carriageways are the same, if you're 30 cars back, you can't tell me you can see a gap near the front before you start filtering. Once you're committed you can start scanning for pull in places, but there's no guarantee there will be one. This is the number one reason I don't filter very often, how do you start to approach this situation?

2. So i crossed a solid white line. It extended for the entire length of queue, and whilst I started with my wheels inside the line, I very quickly had to go over it. The other biker I saw couldn't have given 2 F's. Is it a case of take your chances and hope no police cars are in that queue?

3. Everything i've read says never go to the front of a queue. But every biker I know or have seen does exactly that. They will pull into cycle boxes in front of the lead car, be half over the stop line, go past the red "wait here" board at temp traffic lights. Is this another case of just hoping there's no police around? Anyone actually be taken aside for a stern warning for doing that kind of thing?

4. What do you do if traffic starts moving before you've found somewhere safe to pull back in? I had this the first time I tried to filter with a friend and it's probably what put me off trying it again. He's confident and shot down the middle of two lanes and parked up half over the stop line at the lights and was away when they changed without hassle. I come bumbling down slowly, see the lights start to change and can't find a gap to pull in. So i poo myself as cars either side start to pull off and i'm in the middle. Luckily after a few cars passed me a nice driver to my left slowed to let me in.

Now I know there's a golden rule of "if you're not confident, don't do it". But you have to practice to be confident right? I ride only for pleasure on nice weekends so luckily i'm not dealing with rush hour traffic or poor weather at any point.

Best way to learn how to filter and survive is to get to Italy, any of the big cities and drive. First observe what locals do, it seems all are sick of life and willing to die. But after some times you will get the point.

Everyone has their own way of doing things. I don't cross solid lines because doing so only gives motorists a reason to resent bikers. Those who move over to let you past won't do it again if they think you're taking the Mick.

I generally look for a reasonable gap ahead or plenty of space on the road if something comes the other way. If you find yourself in the oath of oncoming traffic with nowhere to go then it's entirely your problem.

Just because other riders sometimes ride like nobs doesn't mean you have to. Make your own decisions and when filtering err on the side of caution. You only need to get it wrong once.

If people make space always acknowledge them. It's amazing how many bikers don't.

Apologies to those who may have read this tale before . Similar situation , a line of queing cars but this was at a railway level crossing . So going to the front of the queue could pose no risks at all because there couldn't be anything coming the other way . Wrong ! The driver of the third or fourth car in the queue got impatient and suddenly veered out into a factory gateway to do a U turn . Along comes me on a GS 550 , overtaking the queue as I had done a dozen times before and BANG ! I hit the car at an angle and went over the bars . I suffered a massive bruise to my chest from hitting the mirror and my left foot was crushed so badly that it still occasionally hurts even now . The forks were slightly bent but I got them straightened. The car , on the other hand, had some damage on every panel down the right hand side . There was a funny side to this. When I recovered I shouted " I've only had this bike a f*****g week ! To which the lad driving the car replied " I've only had this car a f*****g hour !! " So the message is , whatever the situation ALWAYS expect the unexpected .

I stopped reading when you said you crossed solid white line, passing a stationary vehicle is allowed filtering is not your putting your self in a no win situation should it go wrong, its not just the wheels, no part of you is supposed to be over said lines.

WARNING. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY.... Filtering is a practiced skill and everyone will have their own techniques and levels of comfort for doing it. I look at stationary or slow moving traffic queues as if it's a concertina. When the first or first visible in the queue starts to move, the line slowly starts to open up and that's when I get going, always looking for the gap I'm going to slot into when things get a bit tight. It's always important to look out for that twitching wheel that may want to pull a u turn in front of you as covered by a previous poster. How's the foot these days [mention]fastbob[/mention] ?

WARNING. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY.... Filtering is a practiced skill and everyone will have their own techniques and levels of comfort for doing it. I look at stationary or slow moving traffic queues as if it's a concertina. When the first or first visible in the queue starts to move, the line slowly starts to open up and that's when I get going, always looking for the gap I'm going to slot into when things get a bit tight. It's always important to look out for that twitching wheel that may want to pull a u turn in front of you as covered by a previous poster. How's the foot these days @fastbob ?

Ah I think I understand. I never really thought about it being a concertina but I can see what you mean. Maybe me panicing when the lights go green and i'm not in a lane is what's doing me. I probably just need to keep moving slowly and gaps will naturally present themselves as the concertina opens towards me and the cars just in front start to move away. At which point I can give it a quick zip into a gap.

I was pootling about today, and i was quite happy sitting in the line along with some others, but plenty of others though were filtering, like anything else there is a time and a place

I filter through traffic all the time, I got good at judging cagers whilst I was a motorcycle courier so its all just second nature to me and I dont really think about it too much as overthinking it takes up valuable resources for the time a cager does get impatient

I stopped reading when you said you crossed solid white line, passing a stationary vehicle is allowed filtering is not your putting your self in a no win situation should it go wrong, its not just the wheels, no part of you is supposed to be over said lines.

Except ( Apparently ) in the case of an agricultural vehicle . That's what a copper told me when I complained about being done for crossing double white lines while overtaking a recovery vehicle that was towing .

WARNING. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY.... Filtering is a practiced skill and everyone will have their own techniques and levels of comfort for doing it. I look at stationary or slow moving traffic queues as if it's a concertina. When the first or first visible in the queue starts to move, the line slowly starts to open up and that's when I get going, always looking for the gap I'm going to slot into when things get a bit tight. It's always important to look out for that twitching wheel that may want to pull a u turn in front of you as covered by a previous poster. How's the foot these days @fastbob ?

It can occasionally become very uncomfortable for a few minutes. The problem with feet is that there are so many bones that you can't really do much to set them . On the plus side , I could not face the prospect of three weeks resting it because I was in a broken relationship but hadn't moved out yet so I went into work to escape her indoors with one shoe and a slipper on . I asked for a change to an admin role and that was the point in my life where I overcame my barriers about computers . This gave me the confidence to broaden my horizons work wise and my life went down a different time line . Every cloud...

Bicycle, breakdown, dead person, or something slow moving under 10mph if memory serves me right.

If recovery vehicle was doing more than 10mph or was it 15mph ( am pissed ( cause Friday)) then you are a naughty fastbob

I was pootling about today, and i was quite happy sitting in the line along with some others, but plenty of others though were filtering, like anything else there is a time and a place

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(Not my video so copyright of original YouTube poster)

That looks hilarious

Bicycle, breakdown, dead person, or something slow moving under 10mph if memory serves me right.

If recovery vehicle was doing more than 10mph or was it 15mph ( am pissed ( cause Friday)) then you are a naughty fastbob

It was midnight and the road was empty . I knew full well that there was a police car crawling along behind me . I actually did the overtake because I thought I was being helpful by letting the coppers also overtake , which they did by the way. This is why I contacted them to explain my actions and appeal to their sense of reason but they were the wrong kind of coppers . They didn't pull me over because they were responding to a job .

I was pootling about today, and i was quite happy sitting in the line along with some others, but plenty of others though were filtering, like anything else there is a time and a place

 

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No not me, but i do like those moves, i will have to practice them

I stopped reading when you said you crossed solid white line, passing a stationary vehicle is allowed filtering is not your putting your self in a no win situation should it go wrong, its not just the wheels, no part of you is supposed to be over said lines.

"Rule 129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less."

If traffic is stationary (even momentarily) does that not allow you to hop a few cars? I must admit the if it goes wrong it's probably fault rings high in my brain WHENEVER I filter just to keep me cautious...

Not traffic no, there is no mention in the above for passing slow moving or stationary multiple vehicles, and what happens when it goes wrong it's not going to be 50/50, if it's a risk your willing to take that's down to you, I'm sure we all have done things that we shouldn't but every now and then people pay for those decisions.

There is a vid on YouTube of a traffic cop filtering down the middle of the white line which put parts of his bike over it, I'm sure if that were you or I we would be screwed.

I was pootling about today, and i was quite happy sitting in the line along with some others, but plenty of others though were filtering, like anything else there is a time and a place

 

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Ha ha ha that could be so me sometimes. I just hate to think the videos of me sitting in traffic listening to my music on my intercom tapping my feet doing the head bang to queens bohemian rap you know the head bang from Wayne's world lol .

I was told if your wheels go over the solid white line then the cops can pull you .as only when the wheels cross the line .as if there was no other traffic in the lane then you would not be crossing the line so when I pass on a solid white line I stay in the lane as when I do that manover it's the long down hill just few mins from my house which is the main road in to town which rush hour clogs up theres not many vehicles that dont move over for me to pass while I'm still in my lane . (Unless is a bus at the bus stop then I go over the line )

If any part of the bike crosses the solid white lines including panniers, it's an offence. Exceptions accepted