SCR: Riding on the line in the middle of the road

[leet22]

Oh, just stumbled across this on another forum and I quote:

 

 

"A mate was riding in Somerset West yesterday and on approaching a red robot he pulled out of his lane passed between two cars and stopped between them at the red robot. As he pulled away a cop car behind him pulled him over and fined him R600 for "lane splitting"!Be careful guys and girls as it has been proved that the eradication of lane splitting will bring down the road death toll by a huge percentage. It will also remove the taxi carnage and is known to heal piles in traffic officers.

 

Well I suppose seeing that there is no other law breaking on our roads lets target the real serious offenses like "lane splitting".

 

That is it I am going to give myself over to serious drinking right now and Join Dozi in his cell a bit later................!!!!!!!!!

 

Sons of beaches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

So, if it is legal to split lanes, which it is not, this guy would not have been fined...

 

I ride past cops everyday while lane spliting on the way to work Metro cops and traffic cops start at 6 and there are loads of them coming from milnerton and never had a hassle. Even SAP.

It is ilegal to cross a solid white line ,and change lanes with out indicating which he may of done to get the fine.

[LazyTrailRider]

The thing that gets to me is when people move between lanes WITHOUT using indicators. If you did, good for you - that would have given the guy at least some kind of warning (depending on how fast he was moving). If you didn't... well then you are the idiot. By not using your indicators YOU endanger the lives of others.

 

I did indicate, but I think he was coming from behind at higher speed than I was. Quite difficult to see a motorbike in a blind spot, to be honest...

 

Unfortunately waving sorry doesn't make a difference when you have just received an involuntary adrenalin rush in avoiding a vehicle accident - but I guess it's the thought that counts hey.

 

Yep, it's true that waving doesn't make a difference to what happened, but I'm always inclined to show (and appreciate others showing) that something was unintentional. I'm fine with someone making a mistake and apologising in general, it's the bastards who intentionally do things with a smug sense of entitlement and without apology that get to me.

[Tiny K]

I did indicate, but I think he was coming from behind at higher speed than I was. Quite difficult to see a motorbike in a blind spot, to be honest...

 

 

 

Yep, it's true that waving doesn't make a difference to what happened, but I'm always inclined to show (and appreciate others showing) that something was unintentional. I'm fine with someone making a mistake and apologising in general, it's the bastards who intentionally do things with a smug sense of entitlement and without apology that get to me.

 

 

Well then in that case I guess he was the irresponsible motorist then. This 'simple' discussion has definitely opened up a great debate.

[slowpoke]

*YAWN*

 

it IS legal in SA to lane split. some of the "old school" cops do not know this though, but if they issue a fine for it and it goes to court it gets thrown out but it will usually be "dismissed" on being queried.

 

it is NOT legal to change lanes without checking your blind spot.

 

it is, however, irresponsible to lane split if you are not sure that the person behind the wheel of the car you're about to pass is AWAKE, NOT ON THE PHONE, ETC. in the same way that it is irresponsible to think you are safe in your own home in SA - ie they will do what they want with no concern for the outcome of their actions because our legal system will allow them to get away with it as our legal system favours the law breakers (aka criminals)

[slowpoke]

ps if you are passing then you must be going faster, and if he remained in your blind spot long enough for you to check, indicate,m check againt hen change lanes he could not have been going that fast could he?????

[pastapouch]

slowpoke, some cops are known to issue fines for your reverse lights that don't work when the car isn't in reverse!

[tazz]

Morewoodmad, you seem to be on the same route as me. Where do you ride to? I go to belville._

I have to lane split on my bicycle everyday in my commuting.

And yes it often means riding between cars that are moving.

I rely heavily on cars to indicate before pulling out.

I also commute Richwood to Belville and have to lane split what gets me is the Idiots who make left turns in front of me without indicating and then just smile and wave

[Flemish Lion]

Isn't it an 'unwritten' rule for motorbikers to split the lanes between the fast and middle lane (in case of a 3 lane highway)? I adopted this rule while riding in Belgium... and so did everyone else!!

 

Here in Jozi, motorbikes split lanes anywhere and everywhere and some even use the yellow lane and narrow lane at the fast lane to get through the trafic jam!!

 

What I'm getting at is that if motorbikers adopt the 2/3 rule cars can expect the motorbikers between those lanes and will thus watch out for them!

 

Just my 2 cents!

[stewie911]

I always try to look out for motorcyclists in my blindspot, but in fast moving traffic you can't always check your blindspot for too long as traffic can suddenly stop in front of you.

 

@Flemish Lion, I think they have halfway adopted the lane splitting between fast lane and second fast lane. That's where I'm more alert for them passing

[Guest Big H]

*YAWN*

 

it IS legal in SA to lane split. some of the "old school" cops do not know this though, but if they issue a fine for it and it goes to court it gets thrown out but it will usually be "dismissed" on being queried.

 

it is NOT legal to change lanes without checking your blind spot.

 

it is, however, irresponsible to lane split if you are not sure that the person behind the wheel of the car you're about to pass is AWAKE, NOT ON THE PHONE, ETC. in the same way that it is irresponsible to think you are safe in your own home in SA - ie they will do what they want with no concern for the outcome of their actions because our legal system will allow them to get away with it as our legal system favours the law breakers (aka criminals)

 

To add to your "yawn"...... in the days when I was still travelling form Pta to Rivonia every day I used to get idiots on bike who would travel at a high difference of speed between the guys virtually standing still on the N1....... do you really implicate that what those brainless people was doing is legal and the few I saw ending up battered and bleeding was within their rights??????....... please search and publish where it says that in the traffic ordonance........ I do not believe you!!!!!!

[slowpoke]

To add to your "yawn"...... in the days when I was still travelling form Pta to Rivonia every day I used to get idiots on bike who would travel at a high difference of speed between the guys virtually standing still on the N1....... do you really implicate that what those brainless people was doing is legal and the few I saw ending up battered and bleeding was within their rights??????....... please search and publish where it says that in the traffic ordonance........ I do not believe you!!!!!!

 

 

it has already been posted onthis thread - persons operating pedal cycles and motorcycles may treat each lane as a roadway and pass other vehicles in each lane - ie each lane MAY, legally, have a biker passing a car in it all at the same time. obviously this is not practically possible. i never said that overtaking at high speed is the smart thing to do, but as long as the bike is not exceeding the speedlimit they are legally correct. it is, howver, stupid to lane split at more that 10-20% faster than the cars are driving.

 

it is NOT legal for a bike to ride in the yellow lane any more than cars and it is also not legal to cross the solid white line either.

 

the norm is to split to the left of the furthest right right lane (ie on the highway that is between the OVERTAKING, or as seffers call it teh fast, lane and the middle lane)

 

no amount of cagers arguing about "my $%^& is bigger so up your because i don't know the law" will eliminate the fact that it IS legal to lane split and it is NOT legal to change lanes without checking and indicating BEFORE you do so. you might get away with it due to our courts favouring the wrongdoer and giving suspended sentances etc (and the bias towards the "rights" of the wrongdoer taking priority over the rights of the victim) and you might come off with minimal damage because yes, your car is bigger. end of the day you will answer to your god. you decide if your ego and cnveniece are worth it.

[American Flyers]

I use my motorbike on M3 everyday between Tokai and Cape Town.

I do understand what is the problem. The traffic cop told me that

I can go thru the traffic, but the speed must not be more than

40km/hr. But there are crazy bikers who do over 40km/hr.. I just

pray for them because the graveyard is waiting for them...

I also notice some drivers don't check at the back, they just want

to jump the gaps without using indicators. Most of them use cellphone

all the time and they don't concentrate enough....

[Guest Big H]

I suppose bikers will insist this guy heas the right to split lanes??????.......

[slowpoke]

I suppose bikers will insist this guy heas the right to split lanes??????.......

 

nope - that's a 3wheeler

[Stretched@Birth]

I'm very aware of bikers lane splitting, and generally try to make space for them when they do so, which mostly gets an appreciative wave. What gets me though is the sense of entitlement by some bikers (yes, I'm referring to the prat on his BMW GS 650 with the orange headlight cover who rides on the N3 between Marlboro and Alberton) lash out at cars who do not give them the space to split. Said prat kicked a car about 3 cars ahead of me a few weeks ago though the driver of the car did nothing wrong.

 

If everyone just showed a bit of mutual respect for each other, there would be no issues, "Think Bike", but at the same time, "Think Car" too...

[Guest Big H]

I'm very aware of bikers lane splitting, and generally try to make space for them when they do so, which mostly gets an appreciative wave. What gets me though is the sense of entitlement by some bikers (yes, I'm referring to the prat on his BMW GS 650 with the orange headlight cover who rides on the N3 between Marlboro and Alberton) lash out at cars who do not give them the space to split. Said prat kicked a car about 3 cars ahead of me a few weeks ago though the driver of the car did nothing wrong.

 

If everyone just showed a bit of mutual respect for each other, there would be no issues, "Think Bike", but at the same time, "Think Car" too...

 

Look at the pic I posted above...... the guy at the back has a chainsaw on his running board....... just imagine what that saw will do to the leg of the "prat"!!!!!!!