[J-dawg]

I've always found the American 'no-filtering' rule incredibly strange. Whenever I'm stuck in traffic in the UK (in a car), it's a completely normal sight to see bikers and cyclists filtering to the front of the line.

I've seen large motorbikes fitting through gaps that simply don't look big enough, but I've never actually seen anyone get a wing mirror knocked off. (I guess bikers develop a very accurate mental picture of how wide their bike is).

Nobody considers it rude, as it doesn't slow down the cars in the slightest. The bikes simply fit through the gaps. Can anyone explain the American take on this?

[nhangen]

Americans would have problems with this for 3 reasons:

1. You're cutting in the line. Most people wont say anything if you do it in person, but I can guarantee you they're thinking about saying something, and in their cars something to the effect of "this is why motorcyclists get themselves killed."

2. You're creating a traffic jam because now there are 3 vehicles and 2 lanes. This is especially problematic when there are multiple bikes that have "filtered."

3. Usually (almost always) the people that do this are riding sport bikes, and sport bikes have a bad reputation in this country for riding recklessly and dangerously. You'll never see someone on a Harley doing this, for example.

This is not common, but here's a recent example in my area of what happens when a motorcycle gets under someone's skin:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/fhp-driv...

[cag_ii]

As someone who lives in California and practices lane filtering daily, I think you'd be surprised how much of a non-issue all three of your points are.

Addressing #1, the problem with cutting in line is that people now behind you will have to wait longer for their turn. This is very rare when a m/c filters. It's much more like moving around the line than cutting in line. Most drivers here in CA are very well aware of this when lane filtering occurs. Additionally, m/c's will generally not go to the front and occupy the lane, but rather ride between the lanes... essentially opening up an additional lane.

#2 is very much like #3, motorcycles are generally gone before drivers put their cell phones away at a newly green light. The 2 lanes are designed for the size of cars, motorcycles can safely ride between these lanes.

#3 may be a regional thing to your area, but most definitely not true in Ca.

There are certainly some drivers who get angry at motorcycles for "cutting in line", but I've personally experience many, many more drivers making extra room to let riders pass.

[nhangen]

I grew up in Ohio, lived in both Georgia and North Carolina for decent periods of time, and now live in Florida. I've owned a cruiser in 3 of the 4 states, and would never feel comfortable in between lanes, or driving a car with a motorcycle in between lanes.

I get that this is standard all over the world; I'm just presenting examples of why some drivers, like me, find this to be a curious practice.

You'll never convince me that sport bikes aren't the devil though. Some ride responsibly, but most don't.

[aianus]

> You're cutting in the line.

Is it really cutting in line if I can get to 30mph in the time it takes the leading car to move his foot to the gas pedal? Nobody is being delayed.

> You're creating a traffic jam because now there are 3 vehicles and 2 lanes.

That's not how you filter. You go to the front between the lanes and then move over in front of one of the leading cars. This also allows others to filter behind you.

[nhangen]

That's the definition of cutting in line.