Etiquette when filtering

As a new rider the idea of filtering is new to me and wondered if there were any general do's and dont's that should be observed.

Today I filtered between two rows (up the middle ) of traffic to a red light on a one way system, safe in the knowledge that the cars at the head of the queues were not over zealous Ferarri or Lambo owners, to be greetd by another biker in the opposite direction shaking his head vigourously at me!

Have I breached an unwritten rule or something?

Cheers

nb650

Meeting anything coming the other way in a one-way system is a fair indicator someone has made an error.....

Are you sure he wasn't just nodding at you?

Originally Posted by nakedblue650

As a new rider the idea of filtering is new to me and wondered if there were any general do's and dont's that should be observed.

Today I filtered between two rows (up the middle ) of traffic to a red light on a one way system, safe in the knowledge that the cars at the head of the queues were not over zealous Ferarri or Lambo owners, to be greetd by another biker in the opposite direction shaking his head vigourously at me!

Have I breached an unwritten rule or something?

Cheers

nb650

2 rows of traffic in the same direction? I'm a little confused as you said it's a one way system implying traffic in only one direction, but you say the biker was going in the other direction

From what you've said it doesn't sound bad but I can't really tell...

Ah! That doesnt read so well!

Probably not acurately described by me! It is dual carriage way (40) that forms part of a one way system with a contraflow of two lanes going the other way seperated by a reservation with a cross roads to allow other vehicles to join.

Over zealous if he were nodding.........maybe he had a serious nervous twitch!

Clear as mud!

nb650

[SoulKiss]

Only Etiquette I know of is check your mirrors and if you are holding someone else up who filters faster, move over and let them past.

Sound more like he was heading the wrong way up a one way street, ignore him as a moron.

Remember that filtering is overtaking. If you're filtering between two lines of moving traffic then you really do need your wits about you, particularly if the speed is over 10 - 15mph, as car drivers often change lanes without looking. And if they do look, they don't see - generally if drivers see a gap they go for it. Cars in the offside don't expect a bike to be coming up on the inside. So you need to anticipate and have an exit strategy ready if you need one. If the traffic's moving any faster, then you'll need balls of steel and it might well not be safe to filter.

I can't see you did anything wrong. I do this every time I go to Liverpool on the bike - the A483 leading into the A55 Chester by pass is a dual carriageway and the tailback is usually a mile long (seriously) so a brilliant filtering opportunity. As Soulkiss says, the only etiquette I know of is to move over if there's a bike coming up faster so as to let it pass.

If the bloke was shaking his head perhaps he hasn't got the skill to filter and wishes that he did, so tut tuts at everyone else

could the other guy have just been cut up by someone else or something. im sure people must have wondered what ive been doing when shaking my head is disbelief at something.

[Stu]

Don't understand what his problem was. Adding to the points above, if you are overtaking solid traffic and another biker is overtaking his solid traffic coming towards you, who has right of way is still down to who is on their own side of the road as defined by the white line.

Cheers Ed

I am only presently filtering where I am familiar with the lights sequence and when traffic is stationary! Self employment dictates that risks are minimised!

I did think at the time 'whats the problem?' and obseved that he had an old Honda with the square headlight (NOT on by the way), jeans and trainers and wondered where his ability to pass judgement on me was founded!

This was the same day as a twist-and-go teenager in slow traffic gave me a nod similar to a lifesaver and rolled himself gently into the back of the car he was following!

nb650