i always thought and was taught that indicating was kinda what it says on the box... give an indication of what you are about to do. in N.Z its 3 seconds before you make your move. in the uk it seems to be whilst making a move or up to 3 seconds after
I haven't posted this in a while, time for a re-post: The Highway Code A guide to staying safe on the highway! Time for a safety tips reminder! Remember always: MSM Manoeuvre - that gap you see there, contrary to popular opinion, is not the driver behind giving the driver in front a safety buffer, to allow for emergency braking and such. That is sheer nonsense. That space (real or imagined) is there specifically for you. Seize what is rightfully yours. Signal - remember, you must always use your signal to show other users what manoeuvre you have just performed. If you don't signal, how will they know that you have just pulled in front of them? Please be considerate. Mirror - it is essential that you use your mirror after a successful (or indeed, unsuccessful) manoeuvre, to check that the driver behind you has fully appreciated what you have just achieved. Don't forget to give a wave, if the driver behind is still on the carriageway and hasn't veered off on some impromptu sight-seeing tour. You may find upon checking your mirror that the driver behind is sitting in his vehicle, but is also in your vehicle as well. This is not unusual and there is no reason to be alarmed. Sometimes the driver behind you may be seen to be yelling and gesticulating wildly - this too is normal and entirely to be expected. He is undoubtedly congratulating you on a truly awesome piece of motoring skill. Pat yourself on the back and give another cheery wave in acknowledgement. The Golden Rule - manoeuvre swiftly and decisively, to ensure that other road users have no opportunity to react foolishly and dangerously to your actions. The ability to surprise and delight other road users is a valuable and respected strategy for safe driving. Happy motoring everyone!
Mirror signal manoeuvre is taught these days as; move, check text, give wrong signal, throw fag out of window, random brake, check text, swerve, increase speed to 65, gesture meaninglessly at the queue of traffic behind you in lane 3, all doing your 65mph. Rinse and repeat on M5 everyday.....
hence my small desire to have that 88mm Howitzer positioned secretly behind the radiator grill, for those.....'moments'......
What are these things of which you all speak? When I go for a ride, usually for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs., I might see 3 cars, outside of the towns of course .
Pretty much standard practice in London and on the M25 to have all the motorbikes filtering through the cars on any lane. The highway code states no more than 5mph quicker than the vehicles you are passing I believe so the police will leave you alone as long as you are not obviously doing dangerously quicker speeds. The thing to watch for is stopping at the front of traffic in the cycling box on junctions after filtering. Despite being an obviously safer place for motorbikes it is illegal and can get you points if you are really unlucky. Most people still do it but the police put on ops every so often if a junction is considered a problem area.
Last time I undertook a car on a motorway (I try to avoid them at all costs on my motorbikes), I followed this purple volvo which was sat in lane 4 of a 4 lane motorway for a good mile or so. The inside lanes were completely clear, no traffic anywhere and yet he sat in lane 4. After realising he wasnt going to pull over, I undertook - fairly quickly - probably a bit more than your 97mph. Hey presto, all the blue lights came on and it was an unmarked police car who promptly pulled me over and started treating me like something he had stepped in. That was probably the last time I went on a motorway on my bike. Now I just stick to the backroads.
Seems to be some muddling between undertaking ( which when done properly is nothing more than passing in another lane ) and filtering , which is not using a lane at all , strange that this can sometimes be acceptable when passing in another lane can sometimes be construed by th powers that be to be dangerous ,,,,,,,,,, personally i pass anywhere there is room to ,,, filtering i do at slow speeds always warry of the idiot who will randomly open a door , or something. / one steping from a blind spot
Europe always seems a lot better in this respect. Holding people up by lane hogging is very much looked down on whereas in this country it's the opposite.
Folk on the continent do seem more ready to move over. I wonder if it has something to do with our culture of queuing. Perhaps we don't see it as holding others up, but as waiting in line.
^ I think you have got it in one, I remember in France that a driver would lean on his horn if you didn't leave a big enough gap in front of your car to aid his/her queue-hopping progress, and that was seen as perfectly acceptable. I can appreciate this today while making progress on a bike past queueing cars as it seems drivers have gone out of their way to close the gap in front of them but maybe sometimes it's just that it hasn't occurred to them.
