LANE FILTERING (UPDATE)

[Natman]

So discussion will no doubt start:

PRESS RELEASE:
NSW GOVERNMENT SET TO LEGALISE SAFE LANE FILTERING FOR MOTORCYCLISTS
NSW will be the first of the state and territories to legalise motorcycle lane filtering Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay announced today.
Minister Gay released a package of changes to help ease road congestion and improve safety by reforming laws for motorcyclists.
“Today the NSW Government is releasing common sense solutions to key issues for motorcyclists while maintaining road safety for other road users,” Minister Gay said.
“This package is further evidence of the NSW Liberals & Nationals easing congestion on our roads, whether it’s through record investment in infrastructure or small changes with a big impact like our pinch points program in Western Sydney.
“Last year we held a successful trial in Sydney CBD last year of motorcyclists being exempt from existing lane filtering laws in an attempt to ease road congestion and measure potential safety issues for other road users.
“As a result of the trial we will introduce a new law that will permit fully licenced motorcyclists to legally filter past stationary vehicles at intersections when it is safe to do so.
“Riders will be able to filter at a speed limit of 30km/h.
“It is important to note the new law will not apply to school zones during hours of operation where there might be an increase in pedestrian activity.
“However, the dangerous practice of filtering over the speed limit of 30km/h will become its own specific offence.
“Filtering at high speeds is dangerous and will increase the crash risk for motorcycle riders and other roads users, particularly cyclists and pedestrians.
“The new rule changes will give us the opportunity to communicate with riders so they better understand the risks involved with lane filtering and educate them on safe filtering practice.
“I am also pleased to announce we will fix an anomaly that currently exists in NSW legislation regarding the minimum spacing for motorcycle rear indicators.
“The legal spacing under Australian Design Rules is a minimum of 180 millimetres yet under NSW legislation road authorities were enforcing a minimum of 300 millimetres.
“A lot of motorcyclists complied with Australian Design Rules yet riders driving around in popular bikes like the Suzuki GSXR-750 or the Honda XR250L were still getting hit with defect notices.
“This package of reforms is a result of close consultation with key stakeholders such as the NSW Motorcycle Alliance, Motorcycle Council of NSW and NSW Police.
“We listened and fixed the problems. It’s another example of this government removing unnecessary red tape and getting things done after almost two decades of inaction by the former Labor Governments,” Minister Gay said.
Conditions to manage the safety risks associated with lane filtering:
 Filtering only permitted when it is ‘safe to do so’. Situations where it is not ‘safe to do so’ may include:
o When the manoeuvre is at high speed between moving traffic; and
o Riders will be required to comply with all other road rules when performing the lane filtering manoeuvre, including rules that do not allow them to overtake to the left of vehicles in the kerbside lane (adjacent to a pedestrian path), travel in the breakdown lane, or when filtering around trucks and buses.
 Imposing a speed limit of 30km/h.
o Clearly defines the maximum speed riders are allowed to filter at. This makes it clear that filtering over the speed limit of 30km/h is illegal.
o Setting at 30km/h will limit filtering to slow moving traffic where vehicles are moving at or below this speed
o This speed is 10km/h lower than the 40km/h limit currently implemented in high pedestrian activity zones
 Limit filtering to fully licenced riders only (excluding Learner or Provisional riders)
o Manoeuvre only allowed by experienced riders who may have more highly developed hazard perception and motorcycle handling skills.
o May reduce risk of inexperienced riders having crashes associated with inadequate gap selection or awareness of pedestrians/other road users while filtering.
 No filtering in school zones during hours of operation
o Ensures that filtering does not occur around schools on multi-lane roads where there may be an increase in pedestrian activity by children

[Pezzz]

 
Now to make it Australia wide and documented.
I think all the provisions are great and pretty much what i do all the time anyway ...   

[Biggles]

Excellent.  There will be an influx of motorcyclists to NSW!!

How long before QLD, VIC, TAS, SA and the Territores catch up?  Not long, hopefully, with standardisation of road rules.
30 kph is fast enough- I generally have done it at 20 except where it's miles of traffic jam out on the highway.  But at intersections, for a few car lengths, 30 is more than enough.

BRING IT ON!!

[Marcus]

Brilliant... hopefully the rest will follow

[StinkyPete]

Great news indeed, and we wait patiently  to see if other states will follow.

[Brock]

It is already permitted in WA, ie:-  there is no law against the practice.

[Marcus]

We all know WA doesn't count...

I'll let myself out

[STeveo]

Any idea when this will become law?

[Pezzz]

It is already permitted in WA, ie:-  there is no law against the practice.

Would still be good to have it here anyway to put an end to the debate once and for all.
Jumping off a building committing suicide is not illegal either here but the  still take an interest and if you end up with them at the end I am sure you cannot just walk away.

[Natman]

Further release http://news.com.au/national/new-laws-make-nsw-first-to-give-motorcyclists-approval-to-move-past-stalled-slow-cars/story-fncynjr2-1226838504353


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Biggles]

How about these tough Sydney bikers.
No one will dare argue with them coming down their lane!!!



All sounds like it's gonna happen...

[Shiney]

    AWESOME!!!   

[STeveo]

Just read it becomes law on 1st July 2014.

 

[Biggles]

Just read it becomes law on 1st July 2014.

 

Plenty of time for the other States to adopt it as a Uniform National Law, save people getting pinged when interstate and forgetting themselves, or in border "villages" like Albury/Wondonga and Coolangatta/Tweed.

[cravenhaven]

Filtering???, I always thought it was called lane splitting. Or is that something different?

[Marcus]

same thing

[Old Steve]

My understanding is that:

Lane filtering is passing between two rows of stationary vehicles, as in the NSW law

Lane splitting is hooning down between two lanes of moving vehicles, as in sudden death wish.

[Old Steve]

I've just sent the following e-mail to Scott Emerson MP, QLD Minister for Transport and Main Roads, e-mail

TransportandMainRoads@ministerial.qld.gov.au



Minister,

I am a motorcycle rider in Mackay.  As you will probably know, following a trial in central Sydney, NSW are to introduce a law allowing motorcycle lane filtering.

This will be allowed under controlled circumstances, some of which are:

Only being allowed between lanes of stationary vehicles
Only allowed at a maximum speed of 30 km/hr
Not allowed within school speed zones
Must be conducted safely

Lane filtering is where a motorcycle is ridden between two lines of stationary traffic such as at traffic lights, an intersection or at a
traffic hold up.  This is a safe practice which also allows a smoother flow for cars and other four wheeled vehicles.  A motorbike takes up a vehicle space in traffic.  If, when the traffic is stopped, the motorbike is allowed to lane filter then the car behind moves up one space in the queue, overall this means that one extra car makes each light change for every motorcycle which lane filters.  This makes a huge difference for the extra vehicle which makes the light change!

Motorcycle lane filtering shouldn't be confused with lane splitting where a motorbike rides between two lanes of moving vehicles.  The NSW law change will not (and should not) allow lane splitting, and neither should any law which Queensland adopted.

Would your Government consider introducing a law allowing motorcycle lane filtering?  This is an opportunity to copy the NSW law word for word with little extra work, afterall NSW have already done the trial and analysed the results and this is a chance to introduce a ratioinalised law across the country.  Queensland adopting this law would promote the introduction of the same law by all the other States.

Also this would be an opportunity to show your Government understands the needs of ordinary motorcyclists, and that recent laws have been aimed at criminal elements and not specifically at motorcyclists in general.

I urge you to promote the introduction of this lane filtering law.


Write your own letter and send it to your State's Minister of Transport.

[spanner]

 

[cravenhaven]

Thanks for the clarification Steve. Good on you for pushing the message that MC's have a valuable place in modern traffic design

[Shiney]

Awesome work Old Steve

[Totgas]

I hope you don't mind however I have sent a copy of "Old Steve's" letter to the media outlets and the Premier in QLD.
A. 

[Old Steve]

Whoever you are, wherever you are, feel free to steal/copy/modify my letter and send it to your own Minister of Transport.

Remember to change Queensland to the appropriate state if you don't live in our tropical paradise.

[Totgas]

OK I wrote to the QLD Premier (forget his name) regarding NSW introducing lane filtering and suggested that QLD might like to adopt a similar stance. He passed my letter onto the transport minister and attached is his response;



Now that all sounds very typical however I can't get past the line that there is no law in QLD prohibiting lane filtering. I have at least two ticket that would say otherwise. I do however intend to keep this letter handy the next time I'm pulled over.

By the way I also sent the letter to all Media outlets in QLD, apparently it wasn't news worthy, probably because it clashed with the more controversial bikey stories......
Regards,
A.

[spanner]

Do  you still have copies of those tickets?  See if the comments are lane filtering OR for the other 'offences' mentioned in the letter.

If it states you were lane filtering you may have a case to get those points and dollars returned ..... If you could be botherd but I suspect that it will state setting like .... Driving with out due care and attention or something similar.