Highway road shoulders look inviting for motorcyclists when the traffic is heavy, but is it legal and are they a safety trap for riders?
Some say it is actually safer than filtering between lanes of traffic as there are fewer instances of drivers suddenly pulling on to the road shudders compared with drivers swapping lanes.
Queensland is the only state in Australia that allows riders to use the road shoulder, but only in certain conditions:
the speed limit is 90km/h or more;
your speed is 30km/h or less;
you give way to bicycle riders or other motorcycle riders already using the shoulder;
you are not riding on any unsealed parts of the road;
there are no roadworks;
you are not in a tunnel; and
it is safe to do so.
It used to be illegal if the variable electronic speed signal dropped below 90km/h but that has now been amended, thanks to representations by the Motorcycle Riders Association of Queensland.
Safe to do so
The final conditions “when safe to do so” seems to put the onus on the rider to judge the prevailing conditions.
However, it also allows police leeway to pass judgement on your riding and issue a fine of $341 and three demerit points.
Some riders in other states have called for lane filtering rules to include road shoulders.
However, we have not found a politician or road department interested in amending the rules.
American shoulders
In the USA, California is the only state that allows lane filtering or lane splitting, but it is not clear if riders can use the road shoulder.
Lane filtering or lane splitting in California
Around San Francisco, they are considering allowing buses and car poolers to use the shoulder when traffic is heavy, so it may not be a safe place for riders.
Hawaii this year allows riders to use the road shoulder so long as they did not travel faster than 10mph and traffic was stopped. They must leave the shoulder when traffic begins moving again.
Although the law went into effect from January 1 2019, no road shoulder has yet been officially designated for use by motorcyclists.
Do you believe riders are safer on road shoulders than between lanes? Leave your comments below.
The motorcycle road toll can be reduced by better speed and alcohol/drug use enforcement, safer motorbikes, mandatory helmet laws and improved roads, according to an international report.
These are key points in the latest World Health Organization Global status report on road safety 2018 report released this month. The report is only released every two or three years.
Toll rate flat
The international report also points out that the motoring fatality and injury rate has remained fairly steady as a proportion of population over the past few years.
In Australia, motorcycle crash fatalities have remained flat since 2011 despite an almost doubling of motorcycle registrations in that time. That actually means a decreasing rate of motorcycle fatalities.
Australian crash stats. The flat dotted line is the trend over that time.
Of course, every death is lamentable, but the selective quoting of motorcycle crash statistics, especially during the Christmas/New Year holiday season, can be misleading.
It also serves to demonise riders as having a death wish and therefore not worthy of consideration by other road users.
International report
The WHO report says progress in reducing road fatalities and injuries has mainly been made in high-income countries.
In these countries, there is a high level of enforcement of speeding and drink driving, ABS on motorcycles (mandatory in Australia for bikes over 125cc from November 219), mandatory helmet (99% compliance in Australia) and improved roads, it says.
No doubt politicians and police will just seize on the first issue to raise speeding fines and enforcement.
But they would be ignoring the fact that this is an international report representing 175 countries. By comparison, the low-income countries included in the report (such as Afghanistan) have little to no enforcement of speed or drug/alcohol-influenced riders, no or lax helmet rules and poor roads.
The only category where Australia compares is in the standard of our roads.
Crumbling Victorian roads
WHO says 67% of motorcycle travel in the world is on substandard roads. That surely must include Australia!
(It also mentions separate motorcycle lanes which some Asian nations with much higher proportions of motorcycles have implemented or are considering. We doubt motorcycles will ever have separate lanes in high-income nations.)
WHO says that by 2030, all new roads should “achieve technical standards for all road users that take into account road safety” and “more than 75% of travel on existing roads is on roads that meet technical standards for all road users”.
That’s a long time to wait for appropriate roads that should have been paid for by our hard-earned taxes.
Technology dominated motorcycle news this year with jet thrusters to prevent low-siders, sidecars with a drone launching pad, plus self-riding, self-balancing and even flying motorcycles.
While most of these are fanciful or far-off innovations, there was some advance in more useable technology.
Ducati and KTM have made giant leaps forward with Bosch developing blind spot alerts to prevents sideswipe accidents and adaptive cruise control that keepsthe bike a set distance from vehicles in front.
Big Bosch tech
Bosch tests jet thruster
But the biggest tech story of the year for us was the Bosch jet thrusters that prevent low-siders.
The system uses pressurised gas to blast a jet of air out of the high side of the bike when sensors, gyroscopes and accelerometers detect the wheels sliding sideways.
This sudden jet of air is designed to help counteract the slide pressures and lift the bike back up.
ON the one hand, it would be great to have tech that would prevent low-sides, but just how much will this add to the weight of the bike and its expense.
And, like an airbag inflator it would be a one-time activation, so you would be up for the expense of a new activator after it’s been deployed.
Given the problems with faulty Takata airbags, we’re not so sure about this tech.
Quirky tech of the year
There have been some quirky bits of tech this year.
One of the most interesting is Suzuki beacon light that shines on the roof to make traffic aware of the rider’s presence.
They filed for a patent this year so it may be a while before that comes to market.
Furion M1 Hybrid SportBike
Then there’s the Furion M1 hybrid motorcycle from France that has a Wankel rotary engineand an electric motor. So far, its only CAD images on a computer screen.
And here’s some tech you never thought you would need that will be available soon in Australia.
Riders whose bikes won’t trigger a change in a traffic light to green would welcome more of these activation buttons that have been installed at some intersections for cyclists.
It seems cyclists get everything they want from governments. Even their own roads!
In this case, their strong lobbying for these buttons may also help motorcyclists.
They are located on poles close to the road so riders can push them and trigger a change in the traffic lights.
These have been installed because many modern bicycles are made of carbon fibre which will not trigger traffic light sensors.
There are varying types of sensors used around the world but the most common is called an inductor loop. It consists of a wire loop placed in the asphalt leaving a telltale rectangular cutting in the road surface to detect the metal in the engine block.
Motorcycle Council of NSW chairman Steve Pearce says they have discussed the issue with Roads and Maritime Services.
“So far we have not received a reply except that they are looking into it,” he says.
“Our suggestion was actually a pressure pad at the front of the lane which would be triggered by a motorcycle.
“As the weight of a motorcycle is less than a vehicle, it would need to be a bespoke item.”
Report traffic light problems
RACQ safety and technical manager Steve Spalding says they have also raised the issue of motorcycles not triggering traffic lights with Transport and Main Roads “a couple of times”.
Steve Spalding and his Bandit
“Their advice is to report the lights to the relevant road authority for attention,” he says.
“They told me they can adjust the sensitivity but if they adjust too much it can then pick up traffic passing in an adjacent lane.”
Rider advice
Steve advises riders to correctly position their motorcycle over the cut lines in the road where the loop sensors are placed.
“Don’t stop in between them,” he says.
“You can also try moving forward to allow a car to position over them if they won’t trigger.
“From a safety perspective I’d suggest a rider not stop over the cut line closest to the adjacent through-lane but position themselves over one of the other lines (there are usually three running parallel to the lane).
“This gives them a bit more of a safe space if a passing car runs too close, or drifts into, the turning lane where they are sitting waiting for a turn light.”
Christmas is a great time for a ride, but it is also one of the most dangerous for riders with roads full of families rushing to their holiday destinations.
They are towing caravans or have vehicles overloaded with bikes, luggage and toys and drivers are stressed by screaming kids in the car.
The last thing they are concerned about is giving you any space or consideration.
So our best advice for surviving the holiday with your skin and licence intact is to stay away from the holiday routes and find some back roads to ride.
Here are some other tips and Christmas messages from various motorcycle industry people.
More than any other road user, motorcyclists are vulnerable to road conditions. If it doesn’t feel safe to continue, then stop and wait until conditions improve. You are the best judge. Toughing it out generally is an indicator of subjecting yourself to additional risk.
Rest every couple of hours. Plan your ride. On your way there will be some great places to stop and rest, and enjoy the local hospitality and scenery. Taking a regular break will keep you fresh and alert.
One of the easiest strategies we can implement to survive is to not drink and ride.
As motorcyclists we must apply a new set of philosophies to our riding. We face situations now that weren’t as prevalent a decade ago. Aggressive vehicle drivers with gadgets aplenty distracting their attention on the road, road deterioration, road design and road furniture that’s not rider friendly, bicycle friendly infrastructure that disadvantages motorcycles (bicycle lanes) targeted motorcycle penalties, to name a few.
Enjoy your riding. At end of each journey mark yourself out of 10. Getting to your destination without any ‘exciting moments’ while enjoying your time on the bike is extremely rewarding and satisfying.
The holiday season is the perfect time to unwind and spend time with your family and friends. For those lucky enough to own a motorcycle, we hope you get the chance to enjoy the great weather on your bike and urge you to ride safe. We look forward to advocating for riders again in 2019.
Life is not always a race, take a moment to look and take in your surroundings. This can have a few perspectives. Take a look around, you will see what is going on and by slowing down you can judge the situation better.
We have become more needy of things to be fast paced and we forget to take a look at what we already have around us.
Being able to stop your motorcycle as quickly as possible (for whatever reason), with effective use of the front and rear brake, will give you the very best chance of staying safe. Riding, like skiing, is so much more fun when you do it well.
The world’s first motorcycle clothing safety ratings program, MotoCAP, has given just half a star each to three sets of rider leggings and mixed reviews on gloves.
MotoCAP has set a target of testing 10% of available jackets, pants and gloves in its first year of operation.
Leggings tested
BulliIt Fury Jeggings
So far, no women’s jackets or pants had been tested, but now they have tested three pairs of women’s leggings.
The Bull-It, Draggin and Oxford leggings rate just half a star for safety out of five.
The Draggin Stealthz leggings also rated half a star for comfort, while the Oxford Super Leggings rated three and a full five stars for the Bull-It Fury SP120 Lite Jeggings.
Ducati Corse C3 gloves received maximum protection ratings, while Macna Catch Mesh and DriRider Air Ride scored just one star.
No ratings were given for comfort.
Four stars went to Harley-Davidson Circuit waterproof and Alpinestars SP-2, three to Ixon RS Rallye HP and Five Gloves Sportcity and two stars to Dainese Mig C2.
Testing target
MotoCAP testing equipment
In October, a Transport for NSW spokesman told us leather pants are also being tested.
When MotoCAP was launched, the motorcycle clothing industry was not invited to pay for testing to guarantee independence.
The gear was bought anonymously from stores and local online outlets.
However, MotoCAP has invited companies to submit products for ratings and pay a low fee to cover testing.
It is not yet known if these new items were randomly selected or provided by distributors.
Companies can voluntarily advertise their rating using the MotoCAP logo.
MotoCAP is a not-for-profit organisation in partnership with the following: from NSW – Transport for NSW, SIRA and the NRMA; from Victoria – VicRoads, TAC and RACV; from South Australia – DPTI, MAC and RAA; from Queensland – TMR and RACQ; from Western Australia – the Western Australian Road Safety Commission; plus the Australian Motorcycle Council and the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation.
The Transport for NSW spokesperson says MotoCAP is designed to “reduce road trauma and injury severity for motorcyclists” by informing riders of their choices.
“It is hoped this will be achieved by raising consumer awareness of, and demand for, better protective clothing, and manufacturers and suppliers will respond to that demand,” he said.
“The MotoCAP rating system will be continually monitored and feedback will be considered to identify any improvements that can be made.”
Electric car company Tesla is further developing its Autopilot software that detects lane-filtering riders as shown in this driver’s YouTube video.
One of the biggest issues about the rapid move toward autonomous vehicles is how they will detect small and vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
In one incident in San Francisco last year a lane filtering rider was hit by a Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle being driven in autonomous mode.
Tesla has now launched its Version 9 software update to Autopilot 2.0+ hardware that has a more advanced “neural net” to detect smaller and faster-moving objects around the vehicle.
That includes lane-filtering motorcycles.
In the above video by Tesla Model 3 owner Scott Kubo, there are several examples of lane-splitting riders in LA travelling at much higher speeds than the 30km/h lane filtering maximum in Australia.
The system struggles at times to detect them both day and night.
Tesla detects lane filtering rider in video, but not on the sidescreen graphic.
In some cases it mistakes a bike for a car and in others the bike is in the next lane and passing right through cars!
Scott says drivers also use their ears to detect motorcycles and suggests an audio sensor to help the camera and radar sensors.
Remember advertising with motorcycles doing wheelies and burnouts and bikes draped in near-naked women?
Changing attitudes and the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) have virtually wiped out this sort of advertising.
Has this taken some of the thrill and sex out of motorbikes? Could this be contributing to the downturn in sales, particularly among younger people?
The motorcycle industry doesn’t seem to advocate a return to sexist and irresponsible advertising.
In fact, the industry is now so socially responsible about advertising motorcycles there were only two complaints to the ASB this year and both were dismissed.
Advertising complaints
One was for a motorcycle industry ad and the other was for an insurance company.
The IAG Insurance ad depicted a man riding a motorcycle to shops repeating “milk and toilet paper” over and over. He then stops to urinate on a tree before continuing to ride to shops.
It’s actually a scenario many male riders could associate with having been caught short while out on a ride.
The complainant said: “Public urination is illegal, offensive and unhygienic.”
In its reply, the advertiser said the “tone of the spot was light hearted and humorous in nature”.
The ABS panel considered whether the advertisement was in breach of Section 2.6 of the Advertiser Code of Ethics (AANA) concerning Health and Safety Unsafe behaviour.
It states: “Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety.”
The panel dismissed the complaint saying there was no nudity, the audio was discrete and “the inference of a man urinating in a deserted Australian bush area when appropriate facilities are not available would not be considered by most members of the community to be against Prevailing Community Standard”.
Good to know!
Another dismissed complaint this year concerned a Geelong Motorcycle Service Centre ad on the back of a bus featuring a motorcycle doing an “irresponsible” wheelie or mono while wearing jeans.
You mean like this?
The company said the ad was artwork that depicted a rider with appropriate protective riding gear including protective motorcycle jeans.
ABS found that the ad did not breach the code concerning Health and Safety Unsafe behaviour.
They considered that “a still image of a motorcycle stunt being performed in a fantasy situation is not a depiction in this instance which most members of the community would consider to be unsafe or against prevailing community standards”.
This compares with the judgement to uphold two complaints in 2017 for print ads for Volley sand shoes that showed a couple siting on a motorcycle and not wearing helmets.
Volley ad
Other products promoting motorcycling is good for our industry as it promotes motorcycling as an adventure.
However, the complainant lodged their concern “on the grounds that it is misleading with regards to safety and irresponsible given the efforts by government and other groups to encourage motorcyclists to wear adequately protective clothing”.
“Indeed, in relation to helmet it could be seen as encouraging people to disregard the laws.”
The ABS found that the ad did breach the code.
Some of the other complaints in the past few years have consisted of sexism, unsafe riding, not wearing helmets, and even a Transport Accident Commission motorcycle safety ad that was “too graphic”.
Motorcycling is sexy and thrilling which is easy to advertise, if the bureaucrats will let you.
It also has a lot of practical virtues, but they don’t make good ads.
Police have issued a warning to motorists not to cross flooded roads and even to be on the lookout for crocs.
And they don’t mean those Crocs shoes or crocodile-skin motorcycle seats!
Heavy rain and flash flooding are expected on the Queensland and northern NSW coasts in the next couple of days.
Police and emergency services have reiterated their call: “If it’s flooded, forget it”.
Riders are particularly vulnerable to being swept away in fast-flowing creek crossings.
Police say they will fine motorists hundreds of dollars for negligent driving if they attempt to cross flood waters and get stuck, requiring rescue.
Crocs warning
But there is also a unique problem for riders in Far North Queensland … crocs!
With North Queensland well-known ‘croc country’ police near Tully came across a crocodile sitting near the middle of the road last night. Officer’s fortunately were able to avoid the animal however with heavy rains still falling from ex-tropical cyclone Owen wildlife can be expected to be displaced and may wander onto roadways.
If you think hitting a roo is a problem, try tangling with a croc!
You may have crossed this particular crossing before and think that the water is just a little higher than normal. However, there could be a sink hole underneath and you could lose your bike and then be swept away in the fast-running waters.
Flooded water is unpredictable. Is the level still rising, how fast is the water flowing, is it flowing at different rates in different parts of the crossing, is a sudden surge of more water on its way, what objects have been washed down and are now submerged underneath such as barbed wire?
There are too many unknowns.
Don’t be that idiot that goes playing in flooded waters and ends up losing their bike, forcing emergency services personnel to risk their lives trying to save you.
That was my mistake
One of my water crossing failures was in a low-flooded causeway. I was riding a big Yamaha Super Tenere through on the clear wheel tracks but the water was flowing faster where there was a gap in the weeds upstream.
Even though it was a low level and the bike substantial, the water velocity was enough to push my front wheel slightly off track, into the slime and down I went.
I was lucky not to be swept off the causeway into the fast-running creek.
It was a stupid thing to do and I acknowledge that.
After the storms have passed and the skies turn blue, there will be an enormous temptation this weekend to go out and play in the waters.
However, flood waters can take a lot of time to subside, so remain vigilant and cautious.
ACT police have renewed their call for help to identify two riders who were videoed in separate incidents where a car swerved toward them while they were legally lane-filtering.
Police were made aware of this video a day later and began investigating.
A second video later emerged showing another rider also being intimidated by the same driver.
This surely demonstrates that the first incident was not accidental. Instead, the driver seems intent on causing alarm and/or injury.
ACT Police made their first call to identify the riders in late November.
Second call for riders
The riders have not yet come forward so they have now renewed their call.
The rider in the second incident
It seems the driver cannot be charged without police interviewing the riders.
If you are one of the riders or you know the riders, please contact ACT police.
Police issued these details of the incident:
About 4:30pm, the riders were separately travelling northbound on Majura Parkway, Majura, when a green Ford Falcon swerved, almost colliding with the riders. At the time, the riders were lawfully lane filtering.
If you are one of the motorbike riders affected please contact ACT Policing on 131444. Please quote reference 6327970.
Police are also urging anyone who knows the motorbike riders or who witnessed or has dash-cam footage of this incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
Please quote reference 6327970. Information can be provided anonymously.
ACT Police have confirmed they will alert us on the outcome of their investigation into these incidents.
Lane filtering is now legal in all states and territories (except NT and WA which is expected to follow shortly) and has been legal in NSW more than four years.
So there is no excuse for this driver’s ignorance of the laws as the ACT is inside the state of NSW.
Not only is lane filtering legal but it also benefits all motorists as it helps move heavy traffic more quickly.
What does it take for drivers to understand this?
You can do your bit to educate drivers by sharing this article you are reading now as well as this “Open letter to drivers“.
Perth incident
Meanwhile, in another road rage incident in Perth on Sunday, October 28, a driver swerved at a rider twice.
We posted YouTube video of the incidents, but it has since been removed.
However, it showed the driver trying to hit the rider at traffic lights, then a second time further down the road.
At the end of the video the driver gets out at traffic lights to have a go at the rider, but forgets to engage his handbrake! His car almost rolls into the car in front.
We contacted WA Police to make them aware of the video.
They said they would investigate and we have continued to follow up, but they say they are still investigating.
Filtering rage
Drivers trying to obstruct riders has been happening ever since lane filtering was introduced.
Check out this video from last year sent to us by Newcastle rider Harry Criticos.
“I was filtering legally when a driver stuck his whole body out in an attempt to block me,” the 2016 Triple Black R 1200 GS rider told us.
“I did not stop and he did make contact with the bike. I hope it hurt.”
It might be worth telling your driver mates that this particular motorist not only got hit, but also copped a $325 fine and three demerit points.
Lane filtering is legal
Surely it is time for some major advertising campaigns in each state to advise motorists that riders are allowed to filter and what benefits there are for ALL motorists.
So far, lane filtering education campaigns have been minimal and mainly aimed at riders, not the general motoring public.
We not only need major ad campaigns, but also roadside signage such as this photoshopped sign.
Here’s a sign we’d like to see!
We are not aware of any polls about lane filtering in Australia.
However, in California where lane splitting (filtering at higher speeds than 30km/h) is legal, polls have found it is vastly unpopular among other road users. The main objection is that it’s unfair!
That breeds hostility which results in stupid behaviour such as in the above video.
Lane splitting is unpopular in the USA
So long as lane filtering remains unpopular and/or erroneously believed to be illegal, motorists will do stupid and dangerous things to stop riders filtering.
Police ‘not interested’
Not only are authorities not interested in educating the motoring public about lane filtering, but police don’t seem to help, either.
Harry says police were initially not interested in following up on his complaint about this driver.
After we published the video, Harry went back to the police to find out why they did not charge this driver.
