FFMC Protest 13th March

[Bugsy]

For all motorcyclists.

There is a nationwide motorcycle protest scheduled for the 13th March to protest against government plans to make filtering (lane splitting) illegal.

Misconceived bureaucracy for sure.

Details can be found HERE

Get out there and protest if you can.

.

[Chancer]

Lane splitting, does that mean riding two or three abreast in one lane?

[Bugsy]

I've posted this comment elsewhere but its relevant on here as an explanation for anyone who is unclear about filtering on bikes.

Unfortunately, there is in France, like most Countries, an

element of motorcyclists, albeit small in number, that filter

dangerously. The vast majority, however, use the manoeuvre in a safe

manner to pass stationary or slow-moving queues of other vehicles by

virtue of the fact that a bike is much narrower than a car. Most car

drivers will be well aware of the 'leg-out' thank you that they receive

after pulling over a little to give a motorcyclist safe room to pass.

Filtering

has many potential hazards that the rider has to take account of to

ensure both his, and other road users safety. That said, it is,

provided its done at an appropriate speed and with due awareness of the

existing hazards, a perfectly safe manoeuvre.

This legislation

will stop this completely and would mean that a motorcyclist would,

when use of the opposite lane is not possible, have to sit in the queue

with all the other traffic. Pretty stupid really.

Target the

'numpties' by all means, and deal with them severely, but this proposed

introduction of a 'blanket' ban, that is so typical of governments

these days (its easier) is ill conceived and badly thought out.

[Chancer]

Gotcha, I think.

Use of the other lane being impossible, meaning solid white line?

What if you are overtaking a mobylette or a cyclist?

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Gotcha, I think.

Use of the other lane being impossible, meaning solid white line?

Or oncoming traffic.

What if you are overtaking a mobylette or a cyclist?

Interesting point.

[/quote]

[Sunday Driver]

Just to clarify the situation over 'filtering'.

There is nothing to prevent you from executing a normal overtake of a vehicle, be it a mobylette, cycle or a nuclear tanker, providing the signs and road markings do not prohibit it.  So, overtaking down the outside of a slow moving or stationary queue is not the issue.

Filtering occurs when there is a multi-lane queue of vehicles, eg on a dual carriageway or an autoroute, where the motorcyclist squeezes between the two queues in order to make progress down the road - 'la circulation entre les files en cas d’embouteillages' as the FFMC describes it.   

As Bugsy says, it's a potentially hazardous manoeuvre because you are reliant on the observation of the other drivers in both queues to notice that you're coming through.  If the queues are slow moving, then drivers will likely be concentrating on the vehicle/traffic in front rather than looking in their rear view mirrors for filtering motorcycles. 

I wonder how much support the FFMC will get from urban car drivers who have had to endure those mirrors being knocked/broken by filtering bikers.....[Www]

 

[Pierre ZFP]

Well said SD.

At slow or stopped traffic I have no problem at all with bikes making progress and will pull over where possible as many others do, this is usually rewarded by a 'foot waggle'  So far so good.  What I object strongly to is the same thing at high speed.  If I'm in the left hand lane doing the speed limit whilst overtaking the slightly slower right hand lane, I do not expect or want a biker weaving his way up the centre at great speed.  This seems to be getting more and more prevalent.

It's all very well telling car drivers to 'Think Bike' but more than a few bikers need to be told  'Think Car'

[Sunday Driver]

Pierre

The situation you describe of a bike blasting through at high speed between vehicles is certainly illegal and I expect it would be condemned by most riders.

However, gentle slow speed filtering in traffic jams is a different matter and has been generally tolerated up to now.  Whether the change in attitude of the authorities has resulted from some recent bike/car accident statistics, I don't now.

Perhaps the FFMC could better advance the cause of motorcycle safety by encouraging the French traffic authorities to follow the example of their UK counterparts and open up cycle/bus lanes to motorcyclists.