Hello from the Scottish Borders

[fossie]

"Filtering", I love it!!

It's known as filtering here because our roads in towns are still the same as the 60's basically but with more cars that are now coming more US in size over the years, so space is a premium , so filtering is squeezing to the front.
I have been a dispatch rider for nearly 30 years now, Bikes are used in cities because a delivery/ collection that would take a van to do in 30 + mins takes us less than 10 mins . It is not a case of speeding past lines of cars just getting past these daft buggers in these cages who are lined up traffic lights to traffic lights , more we ignore them and go to the front maintaining movement .Also we park outside our collection point for a few minutes where as vans need to find a loading bay.
On our motorways which are wider lanes it not a case of speed more momentum ....as the cars slow down or come to a stop we just move between and carry on the momentum......getting angry with the cars just gets yourself angry and making hasty descions .....most cars drivers here don't hinder you unless you ride like a tw*t. Audi's are an issue here aswell ....but they were in Germany aswell on out last trip ....ask Sparki! ( though the rest of the German drivers were appreciative )

Fun fact....Frank the Manc Yank used to be a dispatch rider here in Manchester until he moved to NYC to open a Candy store ( Kerries Kandies , Corum New York ) . Anyway he received some education about "filtering " on the freeway from a very angry uniformed chap brandishing a pistol,,who wouldn't / couldn't understand the concept of a narrower vehicle squeezing past stationary vehicles . instead gave him an invitation to contribute to the state funds

[GSF34058]

Back in the 1990s I used to be a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists. Filtering was taught as a technique for 'making adequate progress', and I was once criticised on an observed ride for not filtering when it was possible to do so. Filtering is also mentioned in section 88 of the 2007 edition of The Highway Code, the UK rules for road users.

Why would yuo not filter? There's no point in hanging around at the back of a queue of traffic when it's possible to go (safely) to the front?

David

[SamK]

On Italian motorway tailbacks, the bikers use the hard shoulder.

If you don’t filter in town in Spain, they look at you as if you’re crazy

[Bikeazoid]

Fossie, GSF34058 and SamK, thanks a ton that answers allot I have been curious about. Fossie, wow, I didn't know there still were couriers there, here they died out with email. We do have Amazon and others, but they show up with an aircraft carrier (huge van).

When people tell me how stupid it is to filter, I ask "have you ever been rear ended in your cage?" they say yes or course. I say "well, you get whip lash when someone is liking something on face book and slams into you, I become a cripple".

I think states here that don't allow filtering should just ban motorcycles, it would save them billions from having to pay the permanent disability of all it's mamed cyclists, just my two cents.

[johnr]

Welcome. Wonderful area you live in.
One of our favourite "Border Raids" was to ride from West Yorkshire to the Borders and back, in 12 hours.
Route was A1 North to A68, just over the Border we hived off to Bonchester Bridge, on to Hawick, Selkirk, Peebles before stopping at Moffat for lunch outside an old coaching inn. Then on to St Mary's Loch, stopping for an ice cream at Cappercleuch, back via Selkirk, Hawick to Bonchester Bridge, where we cut down through Kielder and back to West Yorkshire.
Most memorable ride was chasing a guy along the road from Moffat to Selkirk. I was on my Hayabusa, he was riding a Ducati ST2. Wasn't you, was it?

moffat to selkirk is a stunning road, i once showed a clean pair of heels to a gsxr1100 slabby down there on my dr big, propper bend to bend toescraping stuff right upto the bit wheree i overcookd the bend, ran out of road and fortunately found an open gate into a field where a farmer was ploughing, i shot through the gate at about 50mph, fortunately the dr big was quite capable off road, and i spotted another open gate back onto the road about 50 ards across where the farmer had obviously been bringing some equipment through, i waved as i shot out of the gate and id only lost about 50 yards on the gixxer. great biking road.

[johnr]

"Filtering", I love it!!

It's known as filtering here because our roads in towns are still the same as the 60's basically but with more cars that are now coming more US in size over the years, so space is a premium , so filtering is squeezing to the front.
I have been a dispatch rider for nearly 30 years now, Bikes are used in cities because a delivery/ collection that would take a van to do in 30 + mins takes us less than 10 mins . It is not a case of speeding past lines of cars just getting past these daft buggers in these cages who are lined up traffic lights to traffic lights , more we ignore them and go to the front maintaining movement .Also we park outside our collection point for a few minutes where as vans need to find a loading bay.
On our motorways which are wider lanes it not a case of speed more momentum ....as the cars slow down or come to a stop we just move between and carry on the momentum......getting angry with the cars just gets yourself angry and making hasty descions .....most cars drivers here don't hinder you unless you ride like a tw*t. Audi's are an issue here aswell ....but they were in Germany aswell on out last trip ....ask Sparki! ( though the rest of the German drivers were appreciative )

Fun fact....Frank the Manc Yank used to be a dispatch rider here in Manchester until he moved to NYC to open a Candy store ( Kerries Kandies , Corum New York ) . Anyway he received some education about "filtering " on the freeway from a very angry uniformed chap brandishing a pistol,,who wouldn't / couldn't understand the concept of a narrower vehicle squeezing past stationary vehicles . instead gave him an invitation to contribute to the state funds

then of course theres the european extreme filtering championship, which involves 25 miles of stationary traffic on the autobahn, the uk kat club cold wet and lost and a game of motorway chicken where the winners were the ones who held their nerve as the filtering between stationary cars went from 30....40...50...60...70...80...mph and you just fixed eyes on the tail light of the bike in front and hoped the guy at the head of the queue had good reactions.... that was an interesting days riding....