Filtering offside islands legal?

dude are you for real ???:w00t:

i am deadly serious, if your not please do not venture forth, use your oyster.

" i can count on the fingers of one hand , those who queued behind me at an island this summer" (mole2008)

someones honest and not a sanctimonious hyprocritical pussy !

it is an interesting debate, to what extent do we perceive uk traffic/common law applies to us, in differing circumstances given different roles and different skill levels (iq related lol).

Are you consistent, or do you **** up dependant on mood, law is penal ( someone please supply fitting joke ), which suggests if it werent no one would obey, begs the question why get so offended watching someone else do stupid things, is it because you really want to, but penal fear stops you woooohahha (yes never robbed a bank yet)

to clarify we are talking about those small pedestrian refuges with the small bollards that offer cover only to gnomes and those pesky unnaccompanied nocturnal infants you see so many of. the same conveniance factor does not apply to red lights cos they have cameras lookin on em and you cant allways tell.

blather blather blther blthr

“why take 40 mins to transect london, when you can do it in 2 hrs” (wxxxxr2008)

I don’t offside islands, but see plenty of people doing it on Charring X road just before the intersection at Shaftesbury Avenue.

What about this one… There are roadworks just past Hammersmith Flyover (I think it’s Cromwell Road-ish area). There are large roadworks signs etc in the middle of the hatched area that bikers usually filter down. Can you legally offside the roadsigns since none of them are or display a keep left arrow?

I do it all the time myself if the traffic is stationary and I can’t squeeze by on the correct side.

Don’t see the big fu*king deal myself but then again I’m not a quick rider and always do things slowly and carefully.

Personally I dont go off-side in filtering, im quite happy to get upto the island and if the car makes room for me he/she gets a thumbs up, if not then il pass when the traffic starts moving again… But the general image of a biker is that of a risk taker! :D:D The world has too many do’s and dont’s in it!

As far as I’m concerned you can off side if you like… just dont moan and get all “it’s so unfair” when you get done or knocked off. S

omehow I dont see your insurer being all that happy about paying out as like it or not you would be guilty of careless/dangerous driving.

2 days ago I was (with my car) turning right at the traffic light and a couple of bikers were overtaking the long stream of cars taking the offside islands!!! my god!!! they were so lucky (I missed one just for few inches)!!!

EM

Of course, you’re a twat if you “offside” at 50mph. You’re a twat if you fliter past stationary traffic at that speed in town. You’re a twat if the traffic is stopped in both directions because of some disaster and you choose to sit there and rot instead of “offsiding”.

As it’s been pointed out, do any of you speed? Is that law different to the one for traffic islands. Like any law, you choose to obey, break or interpret as you see fit.

Now calling people twats who you’ve never met, that’s either rude or stupid. I haven’t made my mind up about that one. Or maybe it makes you a twat too. Me, I’m a right twat. Did I write twat often enough in this post?

Haha! Nice post :slight_smile:

As for offsiding, I did’nt think it was that dangerous before, but this thread has changed my mind, in terms of protecting pedestrians.

Thanks LBers :smiley: haha

does it feel good when you do it? :smiley:

WELL THEN DONT DO IT!!!

most of these islands are raised by curbs, if im in a jam and ive been waiting for too long i ride up the curb and over it without off siding between the car and sign. if the plod caught me it wopuld probably mean as much trouble however it avoids off siding, i dont like it.

I’ve been out with LBers who have done this very same move.

Experienced bikers.

Sure they knew it was wrong, but they ain’t piping up right now.

:w00t:

Haha, I guess everyone has cheeky moments :S

That could be worse as your technically riding on the pavement.

Off siding a blue keep left sign is a decriminalised offence, so you won’t be getting 3 points as people above state.
What you may find more and more though, is you were caught on CCTV doing it, and fined £60 for the privilege.

Unlike bus lanes, this is an extremely difficult one to try and talk your way out of, so if a PCN comes through the letterbox then you wont have must chance at the appeal process.

Regarding traffic islands themselves being illegal to go around though I don’t think they are. It’s the blue keep left arrow that determines which side you pass.
The main reason I’d like to know this is that there’s an island on way to work where the arrow bollard has been knocked off, so technically there’s no signage to indicate that you must go that side anymore.

It is the sign but by placing yourself on the wrongside of the road you could be considered to be driving (riding) carelessly… but that depends on the circumstances…

A good way to ask all the questions and get the best possible answers, with reasons, is to do a day with Jon Taylor at Rapid Training. (http://www.rapidtraining.co.uk/instructor.php?idd=7). Impressive CV. Based in Kenley. Nurburgring instructor, 500cc champ, Police bike trainer, Rospa and IAM observer examiner, etc etc. the list goes on and on. Nice bloke too. Explains everything about everthing that matters to road riding and track if you want it. Laws, how and when to straightline roundabouts, cornering and overtaking fast and safe, whatever you want. Keep an open mind and you’ll learn shed loads! I’m in the IAM and the training’s not as good as this guy (but its cheaper). Sorry IAM. :w00t:

I got stopped for offsiding on the Old Kent Road about 2 years by a fairly reasonable copper who explained why it was dangerous. I haven’t done it since but see loads of riders doing this everyday - that’s their choice and likewise it is my choice to obey some laws now and then. I see this post was resurrected from last year and people seemed just as quick to jump on someone then as they are now. If someone asks a question - it’s because they want to learn something! Calling someone a twat for asking a question is b@llox. I thought the point of this forum was to learn and share information, experience, etc. All I can see though is people getting attacked by the first respondant, and then everyone else jumps in. Someone got slagged off for saying he was nervous about riding in London recently. He got told to ‘man up’. I’m sick of it. Intenet forum pack mentality - how brave. London Bikers? A lot of you belong in the Shame section in my opinion. Feel free to disagree!

Said the pot to the kettle? :stuck_out_tongue:

Hello mate, how’s things?

If there’s no sign telling you to keep left at some cones, you can treat them as an obstacle and do what you like. but what I would say is be careful, some p*sshead may have moved it and you’ll find a fixed observation camera may have seen you (then you’ll have to prove it wasn’t there… by which time they’ve replaced it! lol).
Also, there may be some dodgy tarmac & crap on the other side of the cones.

Either way, go for it… I would! Obviously slow and keeping my eyes peeled… :smiley:

I try to avoid offsiding them where I can, but if I do I make sure there is no traffic coming at me and trickle past taking extra care to look for peds and then crack on once I’m past.