Mr. Fish is a British scooter rider (Piaggio BV250), and YouTube video blogger. He recently added the capability to narrate while riding and his droll sense of humor is engaging. This recent addition to his collection is a bit unnerving for me as he scoots his way through traffic. It’s easy to see the commuting advantages of lane splitting. I know the wide angle makes things appear to move faster but even so, it’s not something I’d be comfortable doing so I’ll choose to lane split vicariously through Mr. Fish.
For those unfamiliar with the term — lane-splitting is the act of riding your scooter or motorcycle in the space between lanes of cars and trucks. They may be stopped, they may be moving. It gives a rider the chance to keep moving when everyone else is at a standstill.
Have a look and see what you think.
No. Why to dangerous for this old man.
Same here. I’m afraid…
I loved the play by play. But I’m too chicken to try filtering – too many crazies out there who would open the door, ‘just because’.
I have to agree with you Canajun — in the states there seem to be a lot of competitive drivers than seem to resent any advantage others might have, especially on the road.
When I was in CA a few years back, several motorcycles would pull up next to me in traffic and explain that lane splitting was legal in CA and then take off through the traffic jam. Maybe it is faster but not for me. A relative said that lane splitting dropped his freeway time from over two hours per day to 20 min. Quite a change.
I’ve seen aerial views of California expressways with traffic at a standstill. From that perspective there is a lot of space between vehicles and I might be tempted to lane-split at a walking speed or a bit faster. Certainly not at road speeds.
I’ve read of people claiming big commute time changes. Hard to sit in traffic for two hours knowing you could just ride between the traffic.
Even if you wanted to, with some investigation it is illegal here in Pennsylvania (Lane Splitting Not authorized; PA Vehicle Code 3523 (b),(c)
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/75/00.035.023.000..HTM
So I too will have to live vicariously through Mr. Fish.
The colourful language, however, is perfectly legal so I’ll have to practice my best British accent and stick to that 🙂
Cheers,
Steve
I think California is the only state to allow filtering. Pennsylvania certainly doesn’t allow it. Living in central Pennsylvania there isn’t enough traffic to even think about it. A traffic jam here is a 5 minute wait…
Lane splitting needs clarification between lane-splitting and berm-riding. In some jurisdictions lane-splitting is legal and berm-riding is not. Also, there was a great deal of questionable riding in the video. Safety should be a significant factor in our riding decisions.
I posted the video in part as a curiosity but probably more so as an example of the more dangerous things a rider can do on the road albeit in only a few places. It reminds me of the difference between what can be done and what makes sense. Each of us has to make that decision. Around here we can’t lane-split so the parallel for me is speed. Lots of riders exceed the speed limit and invoke a kind of horsepower aesthetic to justify it. Like lane-splitting, at least in part, it seems risky with suspect rewards.
But at the end of the day we each make our own choices.
Their research claims that lane-splitting is better and safer than sitting in traffic:
http://www.gizmag.com/motorcycle-lane-splitting-filtering-safety-research/34425/
Thanks for the link to the article Don. As much sense as it makes logically I have a hard time with the cultural aspects — queue jumping would make drivers crazy. Until the world doesn’t rebel at the notion of someone else getting over on them I can’t see it ever being safe here.
Note tMr. Fish is recording either in the early morning or late evening.
A dangerous time of the day to be doing so
And in the UK lane-splitting is legal.
Mind this Mr. Fish is being shall we say less than cautious as to his filtering.
Just because the process is allowed, it is not to mean it should be done.
The self expression of Mr. Fish is to be in
a mad rush to get to his destination;
why?
At this rate he could end up in a pine box on his way to the crem.
Good question that relates to everyone in a hurry — what’s the mad rush about?
I will chime in as the California native that lane splits on a daily bases. That guy is F*%#ing nut! Most of what he does is not legal on the Ca. roadways. There were guidelines set out by the CHP http://www.ridetowork.org/files/docs/lanesplitting_guidelines.pdf
“Berming” would fall under no passing on the right. I know the sound strange but there is a defferance between splitting between 2 lanes and passing in the parking area or a bike lane. Yes I know there are those that do not follow the guidlines, their connection to a higher power must be much stronger than my own.
I don’t want to pressure my higher power to keep me safe from bad choices.
“Berming” seems especially dangerous since you don’t expect activity to pass on that side and I could see all sorts of situations develop that would not be good for a rider. It kind of happens here on campus when bicycle riders zip by between my car and the curb, especially at intersections. I’ve learned to watch for them but I wonder what’s going on in their gourd when they ride that way.
Scooter riding and lane-splitting through traffic can be rewarding because it’s easy to get through regardless of how heavy the build up is….however, being aggressive is counterproductive. Upsetting other drivers just builds a culture of “us” and “them” and ‘cage’ drivers become less inclined to allow a bike through. This guy is really quite aggro, a good rider expects everything and rolls with it. Here is advice on lane-splitting on NZ roads: http://www.rideforever.co.nz/assets/Uploads/PDFs/ACC7009-RIDEFOREVER-Infosheet-FA.pdf
The document you reference does a great job outlining the hows and whys of lane-splitting. I agree with you about aggressive riding (or driving) being counterproductive. You end up strengthening the us and then thinking and more rage.
Saw a news report this morning about a road rage incident resulting in a shooting. The reporter cited a federal report that suggests one in four US drivers experiences uncontrollable road rage. That’s scary.
Whilst this guy is, as he says an impatient bastard, his style of riding is not that unusual. I don’t know exactly where this video was shot but somewhere in outer London (west perhaps) and that is almost a separate country from the rest of the UK. It has always been congested and the driving culture (as opposed to the law) says that you can do almost anything you want as long as you get out of the f**king way!
I doubt that the drivers are particularly bothered by being passed like that but at the same time I don’t suppose they’d be bothered if he got squashed flat either. I don’t ride like that because I don’t like that level of risk but perhaps if I lived in London again I might get a bit more focused on ‘getting through’. Even after 40 years of living in Nottingham I have never really got used to the dozy drivers.