Nipping about?

Say you're riding along a motorway/dual carriageway and the traffic's
moving fastish 60-70 (well fastish for a cage) but it's quite heavy.

Do you stay in the fast lane keeping up with the flow - or do you nip
in between lanes two and three to make progress through the traffic?

I'm not really talking about lane-splitting 'cos that would just be
silly at those speeds wouldn't it? but just dodging throught the gaps
like. I've done this and I've seen other riders doing it - not that
you see many of them at this time of year - on my way into work (A41,
M1) But, I've read that the Old Bill classify this kind of riding as
dangerous driving, and will throw the proverbial book at you if you
get caught.

What do you lot think?

Cheers
Tariq

 

Paging darcy and Adie.

 

Ahem. I mean darsy, natch.

 

If it's reasonably safe to do so, I will. Especially if the crappy traffic
flow is due to people using the lanes incorrectly, and constantly cruising
in the fast lane, without dropping back a lane when it's clear ahead.

 

Umm, would it? Bugger. Silly old me.

 

And bad lane discipline is due in part to people continually referring
to the outside lane as the 'fast lane'.

 

Its *NOT* a fast lane !

I use the "bike" lane, the one on the inside that is empty 80% of the time due
to the MLOs.

 

I may be wrong, but the outside lane is the one nearest the outside of the
road, not the central barrier, right?

Acceleration lane, then.

 

It is indeed.

No (superfluous smiley noted).

That would be a slip road etc., wouldn't it?

Do it the proper way - Lane 1, Lane 2, Lane 3 (add more numbers as
required) where Lane 1 is the leftmost (apart from the hard shoulder,
you pedantic geek).

 

Oh dear, oh dear. If you must call it something then call it the
overtaking lane. For it is for that purpose for which it is to be
used. Once you've finished overtaking get back over to the left. The
Highway Code refers to the three lanes of a motorway as left, centre
and right hand lanes. All this other crap, "slow lane, fast lane"
etc. is crap used by muppets who don't know how to drive on motorways.

RTFM at:

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/23.shtml#227

HTH, HAND, etc.

Andy
--
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
R1150GS
UKRMMA#17
The UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmfaq1.html

 

*waves* summons for due care and attention.

yep they seem to but I guess I'll find out sometime after the 4th Dec.

--
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Ahem. 0a, 1, 1a, 2, 2a (in contraflow). But I was young and stupid
then.

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Sweet ;-)

Aye, acknowledged - you may wish to add 2b on occasion - for going
past slowly-filtering cunts with small bottles only willing to do 120
in 50mph traffic.

I fucking resent that, you specky twat. There's some lovely bits of
3a round here, all asphalted and everyfink. Come to that, there's a
real dodgy bit just South of Leicester on the Northbound M1 where the
road dips and curves right - and a swathe of virgin tarmac appears,
looking just like Lane 4. Only the presence of the rumble strip under
my arse told me I was closing on a stationary overbridge at 140 ...

 

There is a peculiar sense of satisfaction I feel, doing a steady 90 up
Lane 1, glancing at the nose-to-tail, bumpertobumper cunts in Mundanes
doing 45 in Lanes 2 and 3.

Are they the same as the CLOC? (Centre Lane Owners Club)

 

Or me, the other day on 2 lane + 2 buslane road:

Lane 1 : notice car A in front is decellerating rapidly, notice CD has
no change of stopping, I pull into...
Lane 0a : notice bus pulling out of buslane, to get around Van B
(parked in buslane) which is causing car A the need to slow down
quickly, I pull into...
Lane 1b/lane 2 : get alongside Car A, when he decides to enter Lane 2
(oncoming traffic lane) to get around the bus after all, I pull
into...
Lane 3 : (oncoming buslane), overtake Car A (in Lane 2), and Bus (in
Lane 1), back into Lane 1, procede as normal.

I'm just stupid.

 

Nah - you've not lived until you've overtaken, using the opposite cycle
lane, a bike overtaking a car overtaking a car.

 

Er, it's a normal driving lane, and then however many overtaking lanes.
So calling it *the* overtaking lane doesn't narrow it down to one lane
unless you're on the M65 or similar.

 

I ride a bike to make progress. If I wanted to sit in cossetted
comfort, surrounded by the smell of leather, port and good cigars,
being gently massaged by the sub-seat subwoofers whilst resetting the
cruise control to 20mph, I'd travel by car. I don't.

My concentration levels falter if I'm not on the case, so making
progress is far safer for me than sitting in traffic. TBH, if I'm
doing 3-figure speeds, my observation is pretty much as good as I can
get it, I have all radars turned on and I'm doing a fucking lighthouse
impersonation all at the same time. Doesn't half make the time (and
distance) fly by ;-)

Yeah, **** it. If the traffic is, for whatever reason, travelling at
a speed that is comfortable for me, I'll waft along with it. This,
however, is rare. Rare to the point of sexual fantasy realisation.
Lane splitting, by which I take you to mean riding down the
steel-walled canyon between vehicles, is as safe as houses (in the
current market) as even fuckwitted car drivers very rarely drive into
the side of another car. I reckon you're actually safer passing
between cars than doing the undertaking thing.

Undertaking is fine - there is no specific offence called undertaking
- and is the only way to travel along our crowded (with incompetent,
ignorant cunts) motorways. I reckon there is a certain rhythm to be
found, and you soon pick up the sort of drivers who will pull over on
you and spoil your day. I do give some thought to "minimising
exposure", by backing off a little as the rear of the undertakee is
approached, then gassing it past IYSWIM.

Some might. If you are riding in such a manner as to cause drivers to
swerve or brake, you might attract Plod's attention. It is a good
idea to keep your eyes open, especially in these days of the
proliferation of unmarked Police vehicles, so that you don't hoon past
Plod with millimetres to spare and then cut across his bows while
braking like a twat. Apart from that, how the hell is he going to
catch you ?

#;-)>>

 

Oh alright Mr Picky Pants, I'll change my "the" to "an".

Happy now?

;-)

Andy
--
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
R1150GS
UKRMMA#17
The UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmfaq1.html

 

The latter

This is true.

Paging the orange one.

--
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