Driving along today in the car and wanted to turn left quite a way ahead. I’d already clocked the scooter a few cars back but then see them making their way up the inside. Not going slow but at normal road speed, the traffic was moving slower. I check my mirror and indicate, see him in the mirror and he comes from up the inside and moves behind and then overtakes as i turn left.
I’m wondering what people think of riding on the inside like that as i see it quite a bit on my commute.
My feeling is that a car can turn left easier than turning right across traffic.
Having said that two of my four offs have been people turning right in front of me without indication.
Any thoughts?
Edited cos i realised i’ve had 4 offs and not just the 2!
Never “undertake” myself and I think people that do just have a death wish.
Just about o.k. if your sneaking up to turn left yourself but otherwise, why take the risk? A car driver in this country is not obliged to give indication to turn left. Common sense and the Highway Code say he should, but there is no compulsion.
Get squashed you only have yourself to blame.
Undertaking is illegal, and with good reason! Only a fool undertakes! The scooter rider was lucky you were a biker, Digger, as most drivers would just turn without looking, and most without indicating. Right-hand turns are fraught with danger as you say, but then you shouldn’t overtake on a junction out of common-sense. I sure don’t after having clipped a car like this before (I was lucky to stay on) when someone just turned on me.
I don’t know about nowadays, but when I learnt to ride (sounding old here, it was only five years ago), they taught us to ride defensively, i.e. to expect a car to turn at a junction without looking. You have to be able to respond to the unexpected.
I’m no angel on my GSX-R 1000, but I apply these tactics and learnings and believe it’s kept me off the floor and out of hospital.
If the lights are red, traffic stationary I FILTER up the inside occasionally, but only if through looking ahead I see I have enough room and there is a space I can slot into, and there are no busses, trucks or vans. Keep an eye on those lights tho and prepare to stop. I only ever do it at exceptionally low speed and only in stationary traffic.
I dont see this as any different to filtering between two lanes - to a point. However as soon as traffic is moving or the light looks like its about to change to let the traffic go, I consider it undertaking and dont do it. Never ever undertake moving traffic thats death wish material that.
Perhaps I should change this behaviour…
I think I pretty much do the same as Redster. I’ve undertaken but only if traffic is stationary, and even then I do it slowly. As far as I see it it’s no different than going between two lanes of traffic. I just wouldn’t do it in front of a junction.
There’s a junction in Kingston with 2 lanes at traffic lights to go right, but the left lane filters into the road as it turns and so doesn’t have traffic lights. Usually the 2 right lanes are chocka during peak times, so if there’s no room to filter I go along the left lane and join in at the front of the queue. Undertaking really but at the same time traffic could be flowing there any.
Basically I’m saying that in some circumstances it seems okay to do, just as long as you don’t do it in stupid places, you keep your eyes open and don’t cause trouble for anyone else. Basically as long as you’re not being an idiot. That’s how I see it anyway
People who do this are terwatts in my opinion - there’s been numerous occasions where I’m overtaking slow moving traffic, on for usually a scooter ridden by a suit, to fly up on the inside, undertaking traffic at speed. The car drivers then get startled at some little terwatt buzzing past inches from their nearside door so swing their car out to the right - and into the path of those who are overtaking on the correct side 
Ride up the inside like he did and you WILL have an accident. Car drivers have a difficult enough time seeing us when we ride on their right hand side, confuse them and ride on the left as well and you will be in a whole world of hurt.
And we’re going to see a lot more of it from January 5th when we can use bus lanes.
Is this true? Really? Or is this only true if you manage to do it and not get involved in an accident? Surely it’s an obligation to give a signal (assuming there’s other traffic around - which, in the real world, there pretty much always is)
I’d have thought that in any real life situation, I’d be at fault if I turned left without indicating and then was invovled in an accident.
Happy to show my ignorance, but I can’t believe this is true.
Me too, but only in Central London. As soon as traffic starts moving I get back into the traffic flow.
the only time i do it is if traffic is not moving - mainly to pull up to lights
Like Sherrie said sometimes in central London you got to do it or you wont be moving for ages… :ermm:
Undertaking in local traffic… hmmm not for me. I like to sit right behind the driver, that way he can see my light flicker in his mirrors. If I decide to go, not much he can say about it. Also if he decides to jam the brakes, I’ve got less distance to avoid him, and less braking required to get me out of the way.
As Jay said, just watch for right turns, AND parking spaces. People generally dont expect to be overtaken on the left, so there’s less care taken when turning in that direction.
Having said that, on A/M roads, I give the outside lane guy a fair chance to pull over. Depending on my mood, I’ll either flash them, or just speed past (giving a wide berth) if they’re being a d*ck. Could be followed by a tosser gesture :Whistling:
well always i notice lots of scooter and bike riders that undertake and go blasting past me in the morning…I just let them go flying past me. Id rather get to work in one peice.
Only undertake in stationoary traffic waiting at lights, only doing it if I see enough space for me to allow to go ahead of the traffic in the MC boxes. Otherwise I don’t bother…
What’s the difference between going to the left of the cars in the first lane to the left of the cars in the second or third lane? Same thing, just one row of traffic to worry about and stationary hazards on the left side.
Like a lot of people are saying, I do it in stationary traffic to get to the front of traffic if it’s the only way forward. In stationary traffic the cars shouldn’t be moving anywhere anyway, and if there is room then I’ll be overtaking, or between traffic because that’s where I would’ve been on approaching the lights, so I’d find a gap and see if I can move through it. If I can’t I’ll look for the next best gap to start working my way through
Nice and easy to just call everyone “terwatts” isn’t it. It’s just the idiots that do it without thinking or caring what trouble they cause to everyone else that are twats
Dont forget people people like to jump out of cars at the lights too. Dropping partners, Kids off etc. I know this can happen on both sides of the car, but it’s a lot more common on the left, and most people arent expecting anyone to pass on that side.
And Mark, I experience that too - I actually do feel for some drivers (sometimes) when they experience being overtaken from BOTH sides simultaneously… what do they do…?
At the end of the day, one’s illegal, and one’s not. Just take into consideration the others’ resulting actions from your manouvre… 
Personally i don’t do it. Certain places on the ride into work on a dual carriageway i get bikes whizzing up the inside causing cars to dither about which way to move over. Does the bikes overtaking on the right no favours whatsoever as while the car driver is looking at their nearside mirror they ain’t paying attention to the side i’m on!
Did it myself this morning, stationery traffic and a cycle lane on the inside, so i used it… upto the lights and then moved to the middle of the road to filter past the rest of teh stationary traffic.
I have to confess that I undertake quite often on multi-lane roads (including one-way street) if there is a clear lane to the left. I do it if there is a lot of room, keeping well to the left - I keep a close eye on the car being overtaken and am ready to take evasive action if they change lanes.
I will not go past vehicles in the same lane unless, as othes have said, the traffic is stationary. I am really careful about filtering past lorries and buses.
I was shouted at by a biker a flip-up helmet on Monday on the A40 because I would not filter past the left side of a huge construction lorry. The gap was very tight and he could have caught me had he pulled forward. Flip-up twerp can shout all he likes because there was no way I was going up there!
any hole’s a goal 
(in traffic of course)