Good advice Shiney. I've been practising for & years
and have pretty much applied those methods.
What I've found on the Gateway motorway in the morning and afternoon Peak Hour Traffic Jam is that filtering has made it much easier.
I have been able to set the Cruise control on at 30 km (GPS speed) and just coast up the left, centre or right hand side where ever there has been room. The Left or right hand side is most often preferred because you only have to look at traffic on one side.
I have noticed a lot more bikes are doing it and far fewer bikes doing 70+ km/h down the left safety lane.
I still get the occasional knob who tries to stop me "jumping the queue" and cutting me off, but now with the legal option to go left right or centre then More often than not they fail.
Spoke to a colleague who has been doing similar to me and he said at least now he can just concentrate on looking at what the other vehicles are doing and not if there is
waiting to ping him for it. So he feels safer and more assured.
Some lessons I have learnt this week:- On Highways and Motorways, as you approach an "Off ramp", you had better be back in line with traffic because some people pull left to start their exit well before the start of the off ramp. You can't rely on their indicators working or being used!
- On Highways and Motorways, as you approach "On Ramps" you can often go down the left and find a gap to pass through in the traffic using the on ramp and then continue up the left, however have a plan to merge back into traffic in case that opportunity doesn't present.
- As Shiney said, always check there isn't another bike coming down the safety lane or centre you wish to move into. (Theoretically they should be already only doing 30 km/h, but may be travelling faster.)
- If you are using the Safety lane when you approach bridges, blend in before you get to the bridge because there is often not enough room between the traffic and the guard rails and concrete barriers. (Oddly enough there is often enough room up the middle) The south bound fly over on Deagon Deviation is an exception as it has a beautifully wide safety lane.
- In Road works (especially with Narrower Lanes) it is best to stick with the flow of traffic. Here you can often get enough forward separation of the traffic in left and right lanes to slalom between left and right and still make good progress.
- With the CB on the bike, a quick word to the Truck drivers and holes are often made wider. A wave and a thank you go a long way. Most Truck drivers are aware of the new regulations (As you would expect from Professional Drivers)
- Finally patience is a life saver. Never poke it into a hole you are not sure of.
Like Biggles, very few lights have been Red as I approach, but the few that have been Red, I have had easy access to the front line in order to Zip away. One of them I pulled up beside another bike who happened to be the first vehicle in the queue and we took off together.
