I’ve been on the roads for about 2 years now, I ride all year round as I just plain hate driving a car… it’s not me!
Anyway… the last few times I have been filtering through traffic i’ve become a target of excessive hoot’ing at. Im not sure if it’s just frustrated drivers sitting in road work traffic or my filtering. Basically when I filter through traffic “alot” of the time id say im just over the line and onto the other side of the road (as the gits on my side dont pull over to let me through) and I even do this when traffic is on coming, although if there is a corner I cant see around or a large vehicle coming I pull in behind a car and wait it out… does this sound ok or am I deserved in being hoot’ed at? :D;)
Whenever I can I get out as far away from the traffic I am filtering past (i.e. on the left). This gives me more time to react in case of any of them pulling out, cyclists, etc.
Who hoots you - the oncoming traffic or the filtees? If I am out wide and a car is oncoming I usually get a light flash, but I am always in close by the time they pass.
heya dont worry about it mate ur doin ok. As long as you give yourself enough space and time to react Wait till you get hooted at or reved at by a biker because ur going at ur comfy speedn not his
Aye I move over to when I get a chance. But god help the twat who sits on my ass without buying me a drink first when I cant move ova. Ima stubborn bastard n my lil “gladus” will out manouver many a bike in traffic lol:D:D
I prefer to filter to the right of the traffic rather than through lanes, whereever this is possible (no cars changing lanes)
I sit out as far as I can and often well over the white line. Oncoming traffic obviously has priority, so I duck in when I have to, though 99% of oncoming cars are considerate enough for me to do this without any issues.
Did get caught out by a non indicating car turning into a garage - so am a lot more cautious where the cars I am going past could be turning right. Never do this at a junction - indicators or not.
Just to add - you have to watch for cars being let out from sideroads or entrances - as they can cut in front of you when they are turning right.:w00t:
I filter all the time and have never been hooted at, so I think it might be the way you are doing it.
If it is oncoming traffic that is hooting then it might be worth thinking about whether you are visible enough. It is very hard at night for oncoming cars to pick out a motorcycle filtering towards them against the background of car headlights. I have found this really difficult for example driving up Hanger Lane. It is a 40 mph limit and so you have fast cars going one way with stationary traffic on the other side. At night you will not identify filtering bikes until very late and it gives the driver no time to check whether they can pull in to allow room for the bike. I filter very conservatively in these circumstances.
To be honest i could get hooted at when i filter but then i’m unable to hear them i have no idea:P Sod 'em i say just get on with your journey and stay as safe as you can. If i come up behind a bike also filtering they either pull over or clear off, mind you thats not often, due to the noise of the thumping V-Twin;)
Don’t think anyone has ever done the hooty thing on me. I have to filter pretty well all the way in and out on the A40. There’s filtering and plain ol’ overtakin’. Just do either at sensible speeds and all is, generally, well. As for bikes (or scoots) filtering behind me I’ll always let ‘em thru’ as I’m not keen on being pressed to go faster … rarely happens though as I tend to filter with a fair amount of determination
You get some people that do that - I think they get scared.
I hear what you saying about other bikes hooting etc when there is obviously no way to go. But saying that (not sure if the guy is on here) i have to apologise to a rider from the other morning. Stuck behind two trucks, & the guy starts revving and hooting at me to move over, which I did, when we then get past them, he slows down to 20 so he can look at sumtin or other, I got a bit ticked, and ended up having a little play with him on the road, eventually he got the pic and moved over so I could get past. (not my finest moment)
Cheers guys and girls… sounds like im doing the right thing Just after a couple hoot’s I started to question myself.
I havent been hoot’ed at by fellow bikers, when I clock a biker coming up behind I always move in to allow them past… as I was on L’s I actually had one biker on an R6 pull up next to me and offer to guide me through the traffic which was great of him.
Where I was made unemployed over a month ago ive been riding pretty much any hour of the day and mainly in the 3pm school ruins… which is where ive been getting the toot’s… which makes me think it’s probably just school mums on the run getting abit scared… I always filter/overtake at a sensible speed as I try to keep what’s happening in the environment around me at a good thinking able speed just in case any last minute U turns or so happen.
What follows may sound like a lecture, but I think there is some confusion here so I want to help sort it out.
Filtering is passing between two lines of slow-moving traffic, and what’s being talked about seems to not be “filtering” but merely overtaking.
On overtaking, the Highway Code para 167 says: “DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example … when you would force another road user to swerve or slow down.”
Those hooting at you are arguably concerned that you are entering their path and potentially causing them to take avoiding action. If it were just one or two drivers doing it, I could put it down to jealousy, but this seems different. I would therefore say that you should assume that what you are doing is probably wrong, and that you are open to a charge of “driving with due care…” if a plod is somewhere nearby and hears the commotion.
Nevetheless, if you are going to continue overtaking on the opposite side of the road in the face of oncoming traffic, as what you are doing is reducing their freedom to manouvre on their side of the road, please do at least keep a look-out for potential hazards facing oncoming drivers which may cause them to move out towards you involuntarily - cyclists, potholes, parked vehicles, etc.
Yeah that does help Big Pug… i’ve always found the line between filtering and overtaking blurred as you hear so many different takes on the two.I always consider the environment im riding in as I get all steamed up in my lid when a car driver does something stupid which affects me so I always think “I dont wanna be one of those guys that does that to other road users”. As I know how frustrating it is seeing someone that seem’s to just not care on the road. I think it maybe that im passing to closely to cars on my side when filtering/overtaking… being from a Motocross racer background im used to being in a tight environment and going into a corner with 10 other bikes within inches of eachother… which has made me develop a very good instinct when it comes to looking ahead, juding distances, gap size, speed, etc. I guess a gap or say a distance from a car that im comfortable with the other driver may not be.
i had a episode the other week where i got hooted at alot going from chiswick to hanger lane, it was 3/4 times, i was being ver careful and miles away from any cars, i was a bit confused, maybe it the same bloody misreable drivers :P:P
(not my finest moment)