Can anyone tell me if it’s legal to filter in France:)
Ive never felt the need to filter because the french know how to use the roads there, the only vehicles that you see hogging the outside lanes in france have english plates. The french will pull out after indicating, they will leave the indicator on for as long as they are in the outer lane then pull back in once they have passed the vehicle in front. Now why cant we do that, and they only have 2 lanes to our 3. It is indeed laughable how we drive in england.
I’ll second that Mr Reapa!
Riding through France changed a lot of my opinions about it. Filtering is fine and people really look out for you and get out of the way to allow you through.
Speeds are pretty high and as long as you’re not caught speeding through a town or village you’ll be fine.
I stopped at a Mcdonalds (shame on me) then changed my mind cos of a big group of chavs (or french equivalant!) and I was worried about leaving the bike with all the luggage on it. As I went to move off I had a Spaz attack and dropped the bike. Said Chavs all ran over to help me pick up the bike and make sure I was ok!
Really made me question why I live in this miserable country!
I think the position is that you’re not strictly allowed to filter, but that everyone does.
Judging from my trucking experience in Paris, especially on the Boulevard Peripherique, people filter like mad, and I haven’t seen any Gendarmerie trying to stop them.
:DThanks guys you’ve been very helpful, as usual:D
Yep- they ‘filter’ like crazy on the Paris Peripherique by which I mean at crazy speeds. Also if they think a slow moving car is straying out of lane they will give it some on the horn plus a good old whack on the roof as they go past.:crazy:
Aye aye to that… first time I was in France was with LB 2 years ago so couldn’t judge their driving. After I went to Euro Disney with the missus and I was very very impressed with the French roads and the driving attitude. Amazing… I fell in love, I was in a hurry on way back and was mainly in overtaking lane but as soon as I saw anyone faster I would pull up and let them pass, wouldn’t wait until they were up my ass.
Surprising, it is not that hard to judge how fast a car is by checking your mirrors or see it coming.
Since some of you are pure English care to explain the shitness you get over here??? Was it always like this???
Yes to filtering in France… to echo above comments you will find the French drivers very accommodating of bikes: they will always move over for you. French bikes will usually either lift a hand off the bars in greeting a fellow biker or a foot off the peg… all friendly and chilled. Take it easy through towns and villages though…Bon voyage Q
+1. They are VERY keen on enforcing those limits (which has the effect of making the D and N roads still lovely to drive on, but means they do bring down your avge speed on a trip).
I think it’s cos were so crammed together. I think we’ve got about a quarter of the land mass of France but about the same population. In laboratorys when they overpoplate an area with rats they all start killing each other and being generally shitty to each other. That is what’s happening in this sceptered isle I’m sure of it!
Plus the French have a different attitude, if they feel mistreated by the authorities they have a revolution. We have a bit of a whinge and then turn over and take it like bitches…!
Argh this really isn’t the time or the place from now on I shall stick to motorbike talk…!
Filtering is technically illegal in all of France. But everyone does it, and nearly everyone in a car has ridden a bike in their youth, so they ‘understand’. The only exception to the technical illegality that I know of is the Paris mayoral decree in 2006 (?) that said that lane 2A on the Periphique is for bikes to filter in as long as they use hazard warning lights if fitted. Wonderful madness that is! Bikes doing well over the speed limit with cars doing 5kph scraping the concrete median wall to your left (lane 3) and cars on the right in lane 2 nearly sharing lane 1. It works very well!!!