Why block filtering motorcycles...?

Why block filtering motorcycles...?

Author
Discussion

shielsy

826 posts

128 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
akirk said:
just don't be the biker who still thinks that filtering is legal at 70+ within the outside lane of the motorway sharing it with a 2+ tonne car - that I will block for safety reasons, I am not going to be involved in an accident because of some biker's arrogance...
Great logic there. On grounds of safety its OK to block said motorcyclist, potentially causing a collision.

Or alternatively you could just carry on driving as you were and the bike would be passed you in 2 seconds.

akirk

5,376 posts

113 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
shielsy said:
akirk said:
just don't be the biker who still thinks that filtering is legal at 70+ within the outside lane of the motorway sharing it with a 2+ tonne car - that I will block for safety reasons, I am not going to be involved in an accident because of some biker's arrogance...
Great logic there. On grounds of safety its OK to block said motorcyclist, potentially causing a collision.

Or alternatively you could just carry on driving as you were and the bike would be passed you in 2 seconds.
try reading the whole thread wink

supercommuter

Original Poster:

2,169 posts

101 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
shielsy said:
akirk said:
just don't be the biker who still thinks that filtering is legal at 70+ within the outside lane of the motorway sharing it with a 2+ tonne car - that I will block for safety reasons, I am not going to be involved in an accident because of some biker's arrogance...
Great logic there. On grounds of safety its OK to block said motorcyclist, potentially causing a collision.

Or alternatively you could just carry on driving as you were and the bike would be passed you in 2 seconds.
Quite.

akirk - whats to say you misjudge the speed and decide to take it upon yourself to block the biker and kill him there and then? Nice judgement of a safe maneuver that would be.

To all the others who move out the way or just continue as they are, thanks! It makes life so much easier, especially in the cold weather at the moment!

Dagnir

1,836 posts

162 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
Someone said:
Could be ignorance/lack of education.

I have to admit, a few years into passing my test I didn't actually know about the term 'filtering' and thought bikes were simply "over-taking" and similarly to the example you give above, thought they should also wait in traffic
...and there you have it! From the first page and from one of our own!


The question is why???

Edited by Dagnir on Wednesday 18th January 13:41

Dagnir

1,836 posts

162 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
I'm stunned at how many in this thread are claiming to intentionally block people and thefore admitting to us all that they are sad, petty, arrogant ****ers.

To be act like that in private, I can comprehend but to tell everyone?? Baffling for sure....

Piersman2

6,596 posts

198 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
supercommuter said:
I think your sporadic use may not expose you to the amount of motorists I do in my 240 mile round daily trip smile

I also ride a quiet CB500x commuter bike.
I've spent plenty of time commuting up and down the M4, probably 10K miles in total over the years, still can only recall about 4 or 5 knobbers moving over on purpose.

I assume it's more to do with the bike, or maybe I'm gone before they realise I'm there; but not sure what you're doing 'wrong' to trigger one every 50 miles or so. smile



wormus

14,496 posts

202 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
Kick their door mirrors off and ride on the pavement to get around them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjgB3FvnR2A

Dr Murdoch

3,427 posts

134 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
wormus said:
Kick their door mirrors off and ride on the pavement to get around them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjgB3FvnR2A
Erm wouldn't removing wing mirrors make it trickier to spot other two-wheelers?

Cut nose to spite face and all that.

OverSteery

3,586 posts

230 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
wormus said:
Kick their door mirrors off and ride on the pavement to get around them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjgB3FvnR2A
I guess this is why I don't like being called a 'biker'. what a bunch of w*nkers

londonbabe

2,044 posts

191 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
On this subject, if you ride a BMW flat twin with or without loads of luggage and you're too wide to filter, remember that almost everyone else forming a queue behind you isn't. Get out of the way. In London we have an unwritten rule: slow gives way to fast, and fat gives way to thin. Even if the thin thing is only a Vespa or a bicycle.

akirk

5,376 posts

113 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
supercommuter said:
shielsy said:
akirk said:
just don't be the biker who still thinks that filtering is legal at 70+ within the outside lane of the motorway sharing it with a 2+ tonne car - that I will block for safety reasons, I am not going to be involved in an accident because of some biker's arrogance...
Great logic there. On grounds of safety its OK to block said motorcyclist, potentially causing a collision.

Or alternatively you could just carry on driving as you were and the bike would be passed you in 2 seconds.
Quite.

akirk - whats to say you misjudge the speed and decide to take it upon yourself to block the biker and kill him there and then? Nice judgement of a safe maneuver that would be.

To all the others who move out the way or just continue as they are, thanks! It makes life so much easier, especially in the cold weather at the moment!
I think there is a misunderstanding here
- unfortunately the word 'block' used by the OP is not ideal - it implies that the biker has a right of way which is being prevented by a car driver, that is very inaccurate.
- equally the word filtering is often used incorrectly - it is meant to imply making use of space between traffic which is generally going slowly and where there is an option for a biker to go between carefully - the discussion above has morphed - a biker doing what I am refering to is not filtering - they are undertaking within the same lane... that is very different...

there are no circumstances ever when undertaking at c.90mph within the same lane, to the left of a car in lane 3 which is in the process of moving to lane 2 makes any sense - it is suicidal.

So, if I see a biker doing that up a stream of traffic from behind then yes I will position my car to ensure that there is safety and the biker doesn't believe that a gap exists when in fact no gap is present. That is not blocking as that implies that a safe gap existed - in the scenario I am discussing there is no safe gap - however that doesn't stop some bikers - road positioning is a core part of driving well - making sure there is absolute clarity for other road users so that they know what you are doing and your intentions - that could mean closing down a perceived gap, it could mean slowing down to provide a gap, it could mean moving to another lane earlier than otherwise - in all cases it has nothing to do with trying to frustrate a biker, but ensure safety for myself and those around me...

if a biker sees that as being blocked then that is a perception issue for the biker - being blocked is a car preventing what would otherwise be a safe overtake / filter - I am referring to instances which are clearly not safe - and dealing with them predictively ahead of the biker arriving where I am... And lets not pretend that all bikers are good riders - I see some fantastic bikers out there and it is a delight to help give them space to progress, but there are sadly far too many bad riders (as there are car drivers, but bikers are more vulnerable), I live in the Cotswolds and see some horrendous misuse of the roads around here, and having arrived on the scene at a biker fatality, I would prefer to do what I can to prevent it - if a few biker warriors on a forum get uppity about it and claim that is being blocked - so be it wink

Dagnir

1,836 posts

162 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
^ I hope karma gets you smile

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
akirk said:
I think there is a misunderstanding here
- unfortunately the word 'block' used by the OP is not ideal - it implies that the biker has a right of way which is being prevented by a car driver, that is very inaccurate.
- equally the word filtering is often used incorrectly - it is meant to imply making use of space between traffic which is generally going slowly and where there is an option for a biker to go between carefully - the discussion above has morphed - a biker doing what I am refering to is not filtering - they are undertaking within the same lane... that is very different...

there are no circumstances ever when undertaking at c.90mph within the same lane, to the left of a car in lane 3 which is in the process of moving to lane 2 makes any sense - it is suicidal.

So, if I see a biker doing that up a stream of traffic from behind then yes I will position my car to ensure that there is safety and the biker doesn't believe that a gap exists when in fact no gap is present. That is not blocking as that implies that a safe gap existed - in the scenario I am discussing there is no safe gap - however that doesn't stop some bikers - road positioning is a core part of driving well - making sure there is absolute clarity for other road users so that they know what you are doing and your intentions - that could mean closing down a perceived gap, it could mean slowing down to provide a gap, it could mean moving to another lane earlier than otherwise - in all cases it has nothing to do with trying to frustrate a biker, but ensure safety for myself and those around me...

if a biker sees that as being blocked then that is a perception issue for the biker - being blocked is a car preventing what would otherwise be a safe overtake / filter - I am referring to instances which are clearly not safe - and dealing with them predictively ahead of the biker arriving where I am... And lets not pretend that all bikers are good riders - I see some fantastic bikers out there and it is a delight to help give them space to progress, but there are sadly far too many bad riders (as there are car drivers, but bikers are more vulnerable), I live in the Cotswolds and see some horrendous misuse of the roads around here, and having arrived on the scene at a biker fatality, I would prefer to do what I can to prevent it - if a few biker warriors on a forum get uppity about it and claim that is being blocked - so be it wink
Idiot.

Edited by xjay1337 on Wednesday 18th January 14:32


Edited by xjay1337 on Wednesday 18th January 14:34

Dr Murdoch

3,427 posts

134 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
xjay1337 said:
Idiot.
+1 (and i'm not a biker)

Davel

8,982 posts

257 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
londonbabe said:
On this subject, if you ride a BMW flat twin with or without loads of luggage and you're too wide to filter, remember that almost everyone else forming a queue behind you isn't. Get out of the way. In London we have an unwritten rule: slow gives way to fast, and fat gives way to thin. Even if the thin thing is only a Vespa or a bicycle.
I ride an BMW R1200GS with panniers and a top box and have no problem filtering mostly.

I don't hold other bikers up. If they are catching up then I move over and let them pass me but it rarely happens.

shielsy

826 posts

128 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
Akirk - a question for you

In the interest of safety... You are walking down the high street minding your own business. You spot a mechete wielding maniac running towards you at high speed. As he gets closer it becomes apparent he is going to run straight passed you. He's 10 yards away from you.

What do you do?

julian64

14,317 posts

253 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
brrapp said:
Dr Murdoch said:
So you have, I do apologise beer
Cheers beer so nice to have a bit of civilisation.
My post count is through the roof and I never see people apologise on here. I wish PH would do a search and anyone who's ever typed the word 'apologise' on this site should get a special avatar to let people know they are talking to an adult.

brrapp

3,701 posts

161 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
julian64 said:
brrapp said:
Dr Murdoch said:
So you have, I do apologise beer
Cheers beer so nice to have a bit of civilisation.
My post count is through the roof and I never see people apologise on here. I wish PH would do a search and anyone who's ever typed the word 'apologise' on this site should get a special avatar to let people know they are talking to an adult.
My New Year's Resolution was to try and be nice to the other person in every conversation/interaction I have this year. Surprisingly difficult at first, but as I'm getting into it, even more surprisingly rewarding.

_Neal_

2,658 posts

218 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
akirk said:
there are no circumstances ever when undertaking at c.90mph within the same lane, to the left of a car in lane 3 which is in the process of moving to lane 2 makes any sense - it is suicidal.

So, if I see a biker doing that up a stream of traffic from behind then yes I will position my car to ensure that there is safety and the biker doesn't believe that a gap exists when in fact no gap is present.
Personally I'd be creating a gap for a biker doing 90mph in the same lane by moving slightly right, possibly even lifting off slightly, not trying to slow him down in a way that he wouldn't be able to predict. I fail to see how that is "positioning for safety" when the biker may brake hard or swerve as a result of your actions.

In my view, making a judgment about what risks other road users are prepared to take, and potentially winding them up in the process, is only going to end badly.


RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Wednesday 18th January 2017
quotequote all
_Neal_ said:
In my view, making a judgment about what risks other road users are prepared to take, and potentially winding them up in the process, is only going to end badly.
yes Not to mention that it's the highpoint of arrogance and a self centred attitude. The law is designed to make judgements on what is acceptable and the police are paid by us to uphold it.