Filtering at 90 mph

[Professor]

Was riding along the A1(M) near Letchworth just now, during rush
hour. Traffic was pretty heavy but moving briskly: 75-80 mph in
all three lanes. Suddenly, a bike filtered between lanes doing
about 90. I didn't even see him coming from behind, it was
totally unexpected.

I thought that filtering between lanes at such speed was a bit
extreme. Or am I just getting old? Do you guys do such things?

[PyroUK]

No comment....

[RedTop]

Filtering at 35 is 30 too fast

[kaivalagi]

Filtering through traffic when it's slow or stopped and doing it no more than say 10-20mph faster at most is acceptable to me, but when traffic is making good progress it's just a pi$$ take...

[RedTop]

Agree with Kaivalagi, I do similar speeds to the traffic, however I do a lot of filtering on my journey every day and no matter how fast you go there is always someone up your tail pipe revving it up to get you to move. I think 90 is just stupid to filter, one wrong move on anyones part could be a huge disaster.

[Fallout]

I agree. Filter at above 10mph or so and you're living on borrowed time. Your life, your choice.

[tonyk]

Okay I'll slow down..............
But that wasn't me on the A1(M).

[Professor]

Thanks, guys, for reassuring me that I am not a total sissy when I choose not to filter at speed.

And thanks, tonyk, for promising to slow down.

[Tomor]

Only filter in stationary/ slow moving traffic. If there are lots of gaps, be very weary as people will dart between lanes without looking.

[andrewsmith]

Sad to say I've done it!
But filtering in free flowing at NSL is daft and is in 1 year ban territory.


sent from the shredded wheat factory

[Dunn-y]

If the rest of the traffic is doing the speed limit there really isn't any need to filter.

[Aquila]

Surprised he can ride the bike with balls that size,silly guy!

[atassiedevil]

No point in putting yourself at that level of risk imho. I'll only filter if traffic is stationary or nearly stopped, and i'll never filter past a junction/entrance. Yes, it takes me a little longer but i'll be alive to tell the tail LONG after others will be.
Some people must think they are invincible.

[andrewsmith]

At least he isn't like this nutter

http://youtu.be/mU89Dfnwuyc

mU89Dfnwuyc

[yorkie_chris]

It's a case of risk vs reward.

Risk of a 30mph crash... ok...
Reward of doing 30mph instead of 10... loads.

Risk of a 90mph crash on a motorway doing 80... you've got next to fook all chance of survival.
Reward of doing 90mph vs 70... next to nowt, maybe just for fun.


IMO, it's kn*bbish behaviour.

[NTECUK]

Undertaking a row of cars OK well not Judging.
Going Twix cars doing 70 mph on right 55 mph left No Thanks

[Spank86]

I'm living on borrowed time.

I restrain myself not to filter if the traffic is doing 65 or over.

[ChrisCurvyS]

That's surprising spank - I thought you were very much a law abider?

Personally, I think the key thing is the difference between your speed and the speed of the traffic you're filtering through, though of course cars can swerve much quicker as speeds increase.

I try to follow the 20/20 rule but it's not always practical when traffic suddenly speeds up and/or drivers are expecting you to pass.

[stuR]

3 lanes of traffic doing 70+, he comes off, chances of avoiding being instantly run over are astronomical.

[TheRuffellator]

As most people have said I only filter in stationary or slow moving traffic, filtering on the motorway and dual carriage ways is a death wish IMO!


Sent via Crayola using the black crayon.

[savage86]

over 20mph and it's a overtake not a fliter

[Specialone]

Must admit I've filtered at 80 while traffic has been doing around 30 on the mway, I was playing catch up while enroute to a camping weekend, then it started raining so I stopped and have never done filtering speeds like that since, did scare me a bit in a exciting type of way, that was the scary bit, I liked it.

[Fallout]

The risk of dying in a hideous accident and kissing your own thighs while lying in a heap is what makes riding exhilarating. If you couldn't smash yourself into a meatball while going round corners fast, it wouldn't be fun. Filtering puts your life is in other peoples' hands rather than your own, and since 95% of people are borderline retarded and about as empathic as a rabid ferret, it's a silly game to play. Better to play sometimes more sensible like snakes and ladders, or hide the sausage.

[veenee]

(...)since 95% of people are borderline retarded and about as empathic as a rabid ferret(...)

mega LOL!


over 20mph and it's a overtake not a fliter

isn't it lane splitting then? or it's just American term for filtering?

[Owenski]

Filtering puts your life is in other peoples' hands rather than your own, and since 95% of people are borderline retarded

Pretty much my thoughts on it.

I filter but generally stick to the IAM 20/20 ruling.

Thats not to say I've not done the 70 between 50's etc but I've learnt to ride with a thought in my head. Its very simple and it relys on your human desire to not been seen to be a jackass, its like this "What would the headline read".

Basically based on the manor I'm riding, what would the headline read on the article written covering the accident. In turn that means how would my loved ones perceive my death. Would witness's state I rode on borrowed time and deserved what I got? I know this would devastate my wife and it would leave my kids wondering why daddy was such a tool and now he's not around.
Or would it read "**** out of luck because car drivers are dumb"...
If its the latter its a bit easier for them to take and I can go with a clear conscience.

By the sound of it, had this guy binned it. His headline would have hurt people just as much as his demise.

[Dan505]

I find it a struggle (with my desire to keep breathing) to filter at anything over 15mph!

[ClunkintheUK]

I tend to filter a lot, but its all at lower speeds. I have filtered past between 15-20 mph traffic and oncoming on my commute quite a bit. On motorways/big a-roads, I won't filter much above 30 mph, and even that is usually when it has sped up and I am looking for a good place to re-insert myself into traffic. In those situations I'd rather be moving faster then the traffic.

I always find filtering on my commute to be different to filtering on roads that I don't know or at different times of the day. On my commute the cars are much more predictable to me, and I know exactly how much space there is on the road.

[Spank86]

That's surprising spank - I thought you were very much a law abider?.
I see them more as guidelines.

[Biker Biggles]

Can you stop in the distance you can see to be clear?The answer will be no at anything like those speeds especially if you add in the possibility of things changing in front of you as cars change lanes.Inconvenient,but they do swap lanes quite a lot,and they will likely kill you if you happen to be blatting up the middle when the car moves.

[ophic]

Can you stop in the distance you can see to be clear?The answer will be no at anything like those speeds especially if you add in the possibility of things changing in front of you as cars change lanes.Inconvenient,but they do swap lanes quite a lot,and they will likely kill you if you happen to be blatting up the middle when the car moves.

I'm not advocating filtering at 90mph but my extensive experience of motorway commuting tells me cars are a lot more likely to change lanes suddenly in slow moving traffic than at NSL. What you really have to watch for is any gaps that a car might fit into, and any differential of speed between the lanes.

[NTECUK]

I usealy find that the cars on my commute dual carrige way all sit in the RH lane .
Thus the left lane is clear for faster traffic.

[kaivalagi]

I usealy find that the cars on my commute dual carrige way all sit in the RH lane .
Thus the left lane is clear for faster traffic.

Just keep to a slighter faster pace and within the speed limit and there's nothing wrong with that ;)

Beats tailgatting or filtering at the NSL lol

[Red ones]

Was it a blue pointy?

[Professor]

I don't think it was an SV at all. I think all post-2003 SV's have lights at the back like on my bike - two parallel lines of lights. This one had lights in the form of a "honeycomb".

BTW, I've seen a red pointy a few times on the AI(M), on the stretch between the M25 and Hatfield. Could this be you, Red ones?

[Red ones]

I sold the red pointy last month. Now have a blue pointy, though a little damaged after a bash today.

[Professor]

Will be on the lookout for a blue pointy from now on.

[joe_f59]

I usealy find that the cars on my commute dual carrige way all sit in the RH lane .
Thus the left lane is clear for faster traffic.

The A12 is retarded isn't it

[ethariel]

Wee bit fast to be filtering at, I usually stop filtering on a motorway/dual when the average speed picks up to 40+ - but thats just me.

Tho round town if i stuck to filtering at 15mph then i might as well go buy a car or take the train

[NTECUK]

The A12 is retarded isn't it
TheM11, M25 isn't much better

[Biker Biggles]

The A12 is retarded isn't it

Essex innit.;)

[NTECUK]

Educating Yorkshier ......
lol same pathos ,different acent .

[Nobbylad]

I'm not advocating filtering at 90mph but my extensive experience of motorway commuting tells me cars are a lot more likely to change lanes suddenly in slow moving traffic than at NSL. What you really have to watch for is any gaps that a car might fit into, and any differential of speed between the lanes.

Agree