Techniques for filtering

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Maz

Guru
I'm just starting to gain confidence in filtering along the outside of stationary/slow moving traffic and was wondering if any experienced filterers could offer advice on technique.
Do you always stay on your side of the road? Do you mentally keep note of a gap ahead of you to tuck into in case of oncoming traffic etc etc?

Cheers.
 

JamesAC

Senior Member
Location
London
You can't always stay on your side of the road. If you are "filtering" you need to allow for people opening their doors on the off side (even in a line of traffic) to let a passenger out, or to chuck some rubbish out. If there is traffic comming the other way, then tuck in on the correct side of the white line until it is safe to carry on filtering.
 

Peyote

New Member
Yep, what James said. I tend to try and filter on the right hand side if at all possible and that often means crossing to the opposite lane, I do feel safer filtering on the right though.

I could be teaching you to suck eggs here, but always look as far ahead as possible to see what the traffic is up to, brake lights are a particularly useful indicator. Also, keep an eye out for slim cars that you can slot alongside if you have to move back into your lane, old style minis are particularly good for this!
 

palinurus

Velo, boulot, dodo
Location
Watford
Travel fairly slowly, cover the brakes. Watch out for vehicles turning right, sometimes they do this at exactly the same time as the indicator goes on. Sometimes it us unannounced. If the jam is unusual, and causing frustration, drivers will sometimes try and get out of the queue by U-turning and going back the other way.

Take care when approaching junctions on the left, drivers in the queue will stop to let other drivers cross the queue if they are turning right. These drivers will often assume that it is clear to pull out.
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
a tip from my scooter training is to ride wide, like really wide, it makes you much more visible to both oncoming traffic and people turning right and gives you enough time to react to pedestrians stepping out through the traffic

I've started passing slow/stopped traffic on the right now routinely, no brainer other than watching out for the oncoming traffic behaving itself, pull over as and when, no rush though if you're in town, the traffic following will all have seen you and expect you to pull back in, just a matter of waiting for the first one that lets you in, should you leave it late
 
palinurus said:
Watch out for vehicles turning right, sometimes they do this at exactly the same time as the indicator goes on. Sometimes it us unannounced.

Happened to me last night!! Guy made a dash for a right turn after deciding he couldn't wait any longer, I slammed into the driver side door/window. Luckily I was OK and no damage to the bike. Did he get out to see if I was OK? Did he F**k!!
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
as a balance to that, chap turned right through a gap today and came close to hitting me bowling along in primary in the bus lane

yeah I should of anticipated better although I did stop/swerve, as he did in fairness, his look suggested he thought it was my fault, heaven knows how

so that accident can happen on either side of the line of traffic
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Eat MY Dust said:
Happened to me last night!! Guy made a dash for a right turn after deciding he couldn't wait any longer, I slammed into the driver side door/window. Luckily I was OK and no damage to the bike. Did he get out to see if I was OK? Did he F**k!!

Jeez! Is that not an offence - not stopping at the scene of an accident?

Did you look VERY scary?:biggrin:
 

mosschops2

New Member
Location
Nottingham
Since no-one else has mentioned it - thought I'd add, that in slow moving two-lane traffic, like in the mornings heading into the city - there is a long A road (A610) which has 2 lanes of traffic which mainly does 0-10mph, I tend to travel between the two lanes of traffic. I find this gap is OK, there is little lane changing, I am (so far) never caught out by cars in the wrong lane - as if they are they tend to have to signal for a while, and move very tentatively. There is no issue with peds - as they are not dappy enough to cross 4 lanes of traffic where there isn't a crossing (as there are plenty of crossings, and invariably the other lanes are much quieter and therefore much faster moving traffic).

I duck into the left lane when I'm going the same speed as the traffic, and preferably behind a lorry or something that offers a bit of drafting opportunity!

Generally the middle gives me a lot more room than the left (even where that would be a "safe" option: no parked cars, no drives or roads on the left, stationary traffic), and is better than facing 40mph cars head-on.... I don't like the central islands - which cars get too close to for me to go through normally. And I'm not a fan of going the "wrong way" around central islands....
 
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