Clipping Cars While Flitering?

Shit, it didn't sink in.

Again, I don't say that. I say "I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?"

Anyway, thanks everybody for the chat. I'm taking my GS and going home now, filtering at most of the lights (when is safe). I promise all of you that I'll try my best to not clip any mirrors...

thanks for the advice

Don't do it. If you do it, indicate that you are going to pull over and exchange info.

Calm Down Boys. Having lived in parts of the world where "Filtering" or "Lane Splitting" as we say on this side of the Atlantic was the norm. I am very much missing the legal blind eye to LS. I think it should be legal everywhere in the USA, just as it is accepted almost universally in the free and sometimes otherwise world. I don't mean to start a debate on the legal or rationality of LS, and I won't engage the trolls if they start...

That said, I have touched a car or two in my travels down the white line. The most memorable was a morning in Stuttgart, Germany in late October of 2010. I was slinking past a looonnnggggggg line of cars along the white line when I attempted to slide past a new-ish BMW sedan to get to the front. The man driving was getting a royal ass chewing from the woman in the passenger seat, I don't know what he did, but my hard case did impact lightly on the left rear corner of his bumper. I stopped, looked over my shoulder and raised my face shield as I made eye contact with the driver. He shrugged and waved me on with an "It's OK" gesture, all the while the woman never stopped yelling at him.

There is no doubt in my mind that a different driver would have had a full inspection and exchange of information, of which I would of course been responsable for.

Lane Splitting is a good idea so long as the Motorcycle Rider understands that in an altercation, they are at fault. Only in America have I experienced the jealous cage driver. I mean they (Cage drivers) are not jelous when it's raining, or cold, or brutal hot. They are only pissed off when they are stuck in the A/C with XM radio for a few minutes and God Forbid I sneak by them, sweating bullets with a slipping clutch in 100 degree heat.

I got off topic and I apologize...if you touch anothers veheicle, you need their OK to move on, other than that, don't be such a Player Hater.

How can you determine no damage unless you stop and look? Not uncommon for a mirror to cost over $500. Agree with the other poster, it's a hit and run.

This is a motorbike forum,and honestly if you are not using those mirrors to look for motorbikes
proceeding up the middle and moving over to give them more room then they deserve to smashed off.

How's this thread going?:eek1

This!

I sat on the 405 for almost 2 hours yesterday (to go 10 miles) and got to enjoy endless motorcycles floundering between the lanes - man, there are some really bad riders out there. I'd say about 25% were doing it right and the other 75% were a wreck or a fight just waiting to happen.

Filtering / splitting is not legal here ... that aside, back when I had had less practise at it I clipped a passenger side mirror while moving past a stationary 4WD ... my bad. There was no damage to their mirror but the clipping made mine move a bit.

As I waved "sorry" to the driver I noticed they seemed excessively irate for the level of offense:eek1. A bit road ragey actually:huh. I thought WTF !!! and racked off out of there as soon as possible.

ok ... it was my bad ... I probably should have stopped ... but a/ there was not even a mark on his mirror and b/ I didn't like his tone so I decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Besides there was nowhere to pull over safely, the light changed to green and anyway ... I was sure that humungous 4WD with all the farkles was destined for off road use so he better get over worrying about the odd scratch or three. Heck, I am sure he bought so his mates thought he was tough and all.

Moving to give room

Just wondering what you would think if a car passed you and clipped your bars? If you didn't crash I suppose you would be very understanding as he continued on his way?

I would be right mad at myself for letting them get that close.

I did verbally abuse a woman who ran me off the road one day ... there wasn't even any touching. I vented, she apologised, I went on my way cursing myself for letting it happen.

As I said in my previous post there was no damage to the other vehicle ... if I had broke something I probably would have stopped .. and yes I do mean probably and not definitely ... IMHO a red-faced tweaker is not to be messed with... moving on was the bike equivalent of rolling up the window and locking the doors.

This is a goofy thread.

I don't see how it could possibly matter what you did, why you did it, or if it was legal or not. If you hit another vehicle, you take responsibility and they decide if it's ok or not.

How can there be any question on the subject?

It's almost as if an anti-LS/filtering poster started this thread in order to attack the practice.

Absolutely correct. If they hit you then why were you so close and didn't have an escape. If you hit them then why were you so close and didn't have control. I suppose it is just human nature to "dance with the devil" and put your skills to the test.
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But have you considered the consequences?
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As I filter in the UK I am often filtering though slow moving traffic. On occasion drivers move in their lane. This is especially prevalent if the traffic has been slow for a while as the drivers pick up phones and do other shit. what was a perfectly reasonable filtering gap as I am at the rear quarter panel can become frighteningly tight a split second later as both drivers move toward the line.

Once, a Transit van and a Caravan did this on my way to Heathrow in December. With nowhere to go and slush under foot and tire I clipped the minivan's wing mirror quite hard. I stopped and exchanged details.

The other day, I 'ticked' a SUV mirror with my mirror. Almost sounded like when you put cards in your spokes as a kid. I slowed and looked back and the driver had not even noticed and was still chatting on his hand held phone (illegal here £60 and 3points). I did not stop.

Depends on the situation.

Just curious, what were the 75% doing different than the other 25%?

I employ the 20mph rule, if traffic is moving at 20mph or better, I take a place in a lane of trafic. If traffic is floundering at less than 20mph, somewhere around the 10 mph mark I'll slip out onto the white line until the 20mph is reached again. Many riders have a much higher number than that, I have my comfort zone and they have theirs. I have experienced car drivers moving over to give motorbikes a better whiteline to ride on several occaisions. They have all been in Europe and the UK where I believe they take driving a little more serious than we do.

The fact that almost everybody in Europe started out at age 15 on a scooter or moped, makes the entire car driving population aware of motorcycles and sympathetic to our plight. If you want to talk about crazy filtering, try riding in Italy or France, I loved it, the traffic is aggressive, but it is not personal. Everyone competes with themselves, not against you, so the hatred and jealousy is not there.

Anti Lane Splitters are just PLAYER HATERS YO!

To the "My mirrors could cost upward of $500 to replace" crowd...if you have a supercar or ultra high end luxury vehicle, or even an antique/vitage vehicle with unobtainable trimwork, I will notice you and take special care should I decide to overtake.

If you are driving a beat up 10 year old City Car with parking lot dings and scrapes as well as bumper stickers, I am less likely to take you serious when you say "Hey man, you touched my mirror and now my car is ruined".

I doubt America will ever really embrace lane splitting, and I am not holding my breath, so all you anti LS types can score a victory and enjoy the sweet wine of triumph. I wil stay in my lane and continue to work towards another overseas posting where the drivers are more reasonable.

So YOU choose which cars deserve to be "touched" or not?

:huh

Me, myself and I at its best.

You don't have to touch a car while filtering, is it that hard to understand? If you do, you did something wrong. Even if the car moves, as long as it stays within its lane, your fault. You are the one crossing the line, live with the consequence. How special are you to determine that you can touch or even damage a car if it's old, beaten, blue, a hatchback, from X brand or whatever?

I don't say that it doesn't happen, mistake can happens. It's like anything else, you must do your best to prevent it but if it happens, well, there's nothing more you can do than apologizing.

But turning it into a "non-issue", an acceptable "collateral damage" or worst, a kind of common practice is plain wrong.



This post is not about filtering or not...but courtesy and respect.