Well, I got knocked off on the way home last night. I was filtering though traffic on a dual carriage way, as the traffic slowed down approaching a traffic island. A guy in a vauxhal corsa decided to dive between the lanes. I was on the inside of him at the time and from the damage to his car, it looks like my handlebar hit just below the rear passenger side window. I would estimate doing about 20-25 at the time of impact, the cars were moving much slower, due to heavy breaking. I came away with bruses. The bike fell on its right hand side and slid into the back of the car in the other lane. The driver said he didn't see me, despite me being behind him for awhile before the incident. i'm positive I didn't see him indicate, as I would have stopped in time, if he had. He says he did indicate, and the other witnesses didn't seem to want to commit saying if he did or didn't. My bro reckons the insurance will just go with 50/50 blame unless I can prove he didn't indicate. on a side note it took the AA 5 hours to get me home (I was 12 miles from my house). Thats the last time I use them, the recovery guy said RAC are better.
I see your point, but the traffic was breaking on the approach to a island. Are you telling me the if you are in two or three lanes of traffic, traveling at 20mph and the cars in the lane to your right are moving slower you don't "undertake"? From Highway Code - 268 Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions, you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake. However as I was filtering, you could argue that I was weaving in and out of lanes to overtake.
but were you in a lane or were you between lanes...... My original point is that there is no such thing as a generic "filtering" because it can and is interpreted in so many different ways. You have to look at each individual case or set of circumstances on its own facts... from my perspective of passing other road users i will arrive almost in a present position announcing im here behind you, and the key for me is to wait for a reaction this can be a dab of brake lights rapid head movement or a slight vere to the nearside......and on that note as we drive on the left the natural reaction from a road user is to move to the nearside rather than the offside....almost like a survival reaction.....this is why its more risky to pass on the nearside as if you didnt get a reaction on your arrival and they do it as you pass it will generally be a move to the nearside and then oops.
Absolutely. Pssing on the nearside is a very dangerous game. I've seen so many bikers skittled in London traffic while going down cycle lanes it's not funny.
If two cars in adjoining lanes are parallel and going at roughly the same speed, filtering between them is a pretty safe bet, because the cars are extremely unlikely to veer towards one another. But if there is a car to your right and a gap to your left, the chances of the right car suddenly veering left are quite high, so filter with increased caution.
