WA finally allows lane filtering

[ruSTynutz]

Almost six years after lane filtering was first introduced for motorcycle riders in NSW in 2014, Western
Australia will finally fall into line this year.

However, some WA riders may not be as pleased as you would think as they claim they have been lane
filtering for some time with the police turning a blind eye.

Now that lane filtering rules will be introduced from 29 March 2021, that also means fines.

However, the fine is $100 and two demerit points which are the lowest penalties of any state.

Welcoming the new rules, Motorcycle Riders Association of W.A. spokesperson Dave Wright says he
had a meeting last week with the WA Road Safety Commission on the topic.

As in other states, the maximum speed a motorcycle is allowed to travel at when lane filtering is
30km/h and learners are not permitted to filter between lanes.

The rules are slightly different to other states and riders are advised to acquaint themselves with
them before filtering. Click here for Road Traffic Code 2000 details.

The main points to bear in mind are that riders are not allowed to filter at school or pedestrian
crossings, in a school zone, or next to a heavy vehicle.

Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts says the Road Safety Commission consulted with
“a broad range of stakeholders to ensure that community concerns were addressed and reduce
the likelihood of motorcyclists or other road users being exposed to unintended safety risks”.

Source: https://motorbikewriter.com/wa-finally-allows-lane-filtering/

[Brock]

It was approved over a year ago I think, however may not have been brought into law. WA always had a fairly liberal attitude to filtering, but if you upset Mr Plod you could have been done for failing to overtake correctly

[ruSTynutz]

I dunno about WA but here in Victoria there's not one mention of motorcycle filtering being legal in the Vicroads Learner handbook (The Road to Solo Driving).
To me, that is absolutely crazy! Why would you not want new drivers to know of the possibility of a motorcycle filtering pass at traffic lights etc?

Just another black mark against Vicroads, in my eyes... 

[Bodø]

In South Australia filtering is legal, but not for Learner Rider's or those riding scooters on a car licence.

[ruSTynutz]

In South Australia filtering is legal, but not for Learner Rider's or those riding scooters on a car licence.

Much the same here, except for the riding of scooters on a car licence bit...

That brings up another issue of course, no consistencies between States in regard to what you can and cannot do... 

[Williamson]

I dunno about WA but here in Victoria there's not one mention of motorcycle filtering being legal in the Vicroads Learner handbook (The Road to Solo Driving).
To me, that is absolutely crazy! Why would you not want new drivers to know of the possibility of a motorcycle filtering pass at traffic lights etc?

Just another black mark against Vicroads, in my eyes... 

We seem to have almost diamaetrically opposed views on many matters where VicRoads is involved.  Having worked at VicRoads or its predecessors for 25 years, and then closely with VicRoads for another 20 years, I think I have a pretty good understanding of how they operate.

Having said that, I can also say that I certainly don't see eye to eye with with VicRoads on all of their action or lack of action on many initiatives.

Re. mention of lane filtering in the VicRoads motorcycle handbook, I wouldn't support this being added.  This is one of the higher risk type actions some motorcyclists can take, promoting this would IMHO be wrong.  There are also probably many, many other actions 'legal' motorcyclists and drivers can take, but these are not mentioned in the handbooks.

As mentioned in another post, VR has done much for road safety and all road users, probably more than any other state, and in particular for motorcyclists. 

[ruSTynutz]

I dunno about WA but here in Victoria there's not one mention of motorcycle filtering being legal in the Vicroads Learner handbook (The Road to Solo Driving).
To me, that is absolutely crazy! Why would you not want new drivers to know of the possibility of a motorcycle filtering pass at traffic lights etc?

Just another black mark against Vicroads, in my eyes... 

Re. mention of lane filtering in the VicRoads motorcycle handbook, I wouldn't support this being added.  This is one of the higher risk type actions some motorcyclists can take, promoting this would IMHO be wrong. 

Sorry, Michael, I should have made it clearer, I was referring to the car learners handbook, the Road to Solo Driving...

In my opinion, car drivers (new & old) need to be made aware of this "legal" manoeuvre...
How else will they know they should be looking out for motorcyclists filtering, and also to the fact that it's not an illegal manoeuvre?
It certainly won't be because they've downloaded a full copy of all the road rules you are expected to know.   

Re the Motorcycle Learner handbook, there's already info pertaining to lane filtering... 


P.S...For those in Victoria that would like to brush up on all the road rules you're expected to know, they can be accessed by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/y5z6q7w6